Sports Review 2021-22: Wolfson teams enjoy strong showing after lockdown hiatus

2021-22 was a strange year for sports after a hiatus for many clubs and competitions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the disruption, Wolfson sides played well and many teams reached the finals in their inter-college "Cuppers" tournaments.

The men's football and basketball sides both made it to the finals, with the latter winning the cuppers for just the third time in College history. The Volleyball and Rugby sides reached their respective semi-finals, both finishing third, and the Women's football team contested in the quarter finals.

“After a tough couple of years, it’s been wonderful to see a vast array of sports flourishing within Wolfson!" says WCSA Sports and Societies officer Scott Wilson. "We've seen excellent achievements from Blues athletes and success in many intercollegiate competitions, with several new trophies in the College cabinet."

"Moreover, I’m proud that our societies represent such convivial and approachable environments, with many beginners getting involved in sports for the first time. It’s so important to get that balance right, and Wolfson represents an amazing environment to both competitively succeed and to try new things!"

Team overviews

You can read updates from each team in the accordion below. For contact information to join the teams, visit the WCSA website.

Basketball (Men's)

Re-started by Giovanni D’Addario this year, the Wolfson basketball team had a strong showing in the regular basketball season, and were promoted up a division in the college league in Michaelmas Term. The team was distinctly Wolfsonian in its diverse line-up, with over 10 different nationalities and all degree levels represented, including PhD students, Masters students and mature undergraduates.

In the Basketball cuppers, the Wolfson team was supercharged by blues talent in the form of the University captain Vittorio Masina and his brother, alumnus Riccardo Masina. Vittorio & Riccardo helped the side secure an additional pair of blues from Magdalene, Matt Offeh and Stan Hinton, who joined the Wolfson side in the two permitted ‘external’ slots after their own side failed to qualify.

Wolfson won the Basketball cup after defeating St John’s, Christ’s, and Darwin colleges in the knockout stages, and triumphed over Jesus College in the final (57 - 44). The cuppers trophy is proudly on display in the cabinet in the Club Room, this being the third time Wolfson has won the award (previously in 2014 and 2005).

Champions of Cambridge: Wolfson College triumphant after decisive basketball cuppers win

Boat Club

This year the men's teams were captained by Bobby Humphrey while the women were co-captained jointly by Laura Blenkarn and Nancy Karreman, who also served as Novices’ Captain in Michaelmas term. The overall Club Captain was Alex Chan. The Boat Club had some of the strongest interest in rowing ever seen at Wolfson, with more than 40 students learning to row for the first time this year.

The rowers got off to a strong start in 2022 with the women's second boat (W2) finishing first in the Talbott Cup in March. Wolfson also had a very successful showing in the X-Press Head races in June, with the men’s first boat (M1) logging the fastest time in the men’s second division (8m02s). The women’s first boat (W1) also rowed exceedingly well in the X-Press, with the result that together M1 and W1 won the John Dent Trophy for the fastest combined time (17m09s).

Unfortunately luck was not with the Wolves for the May Bumps, when the return of College blues athletes raised the bar for success even higher. Despite consistently strong performances, M1 dropped from first to fifth place in the second division, and W1 dropped from tenth to thirteenth, also in the second division. M2 dropped from third to 12th after two unfortunate overbumps from First & Third III and Girton II.

Nevertheless the Wolfson teams remained in high spirits and were buoyed by over 100 students and alumni who came to cheer on the teams from the riverbank and Boat Club marquee. The Club also celebrated the contributions of Tom Davies, Emeritus Fellow and former Treasurer of the Boat Club and Boat Club Friends, for his commitment to the WCBC over the past 25 years.

The Boat Club also had a busy social calendar with regular board games nights, “swaps” with other colleges, and the termly formal Boat Club Dinners.

Wolfson College Boat Club

Football (Men's)

The men's team had a fantastic start to the season and were top of the table in the local Sunday league - which consists of college teams as well as university departments and external clubs linked with the University - at the end of Michaelmas term. Unfortunately, injuries sustained by a few key players meant the side dropped to a fourth place finish out of 16, but this still ranks as the joint best finish in Wolfson's history.

In the MCR Cup, the men’s side made it all the way to the final, where they faced off against their main rivals from Cambridge Assessment. Wolfson unfortunately lost 3-1 after the tide was turned by a hotly contested penalty decision in the first half.

The side was captained this year by football stalwart Mike Yates; player of the season was Jack Talboys; and the team’s top scorer was Will Oxley. Oxley’s impressive tally of 26 goals also tied him for first place across the league as a whole, and auspiciously, he will captain the Wolfson men’s side next season. ‘Most improved player’ went to Shreyas Guntur, and Ted Steer’s fantastic long-range strike against Trinity Hall was voted 'goal of the season'.

Football (Women's)

The Wolfson women & non-binary football team is shared with Darwin College and co-captained by Lucy Green (Wolfson) and Lin Joo (Darwin). This year the squad continued to grow with more structured and refined training sessions taking place twice a week, a large engagement in socials that hadn't taken place before, and a plan for summer training and games for those still in Cambridge between academic years.

The Wolfson/Darwin team held onto a mid-table position after last season's league promotion to the second division. Unfortunately the side were knocked out in the quarter final of Cuppers this year, after reaching the final last year, but despite the lack of silverware outgoing captain Lucy Green has been really proud of the increase in recruitment and retention of new players, particularly those completely new to football.

The highlight of the year was of course the Lionesses’ victory in the Euros, which has enthused the Wolfson/Darwin club to aim for greater expansion and success of the women's team and women's league moving forward. From the Wolfson side, the team are hoping to find an enthusiastic captain to take over from Lucy (who is graduating) and join a wonderful and committed group of women who are carrying the team into next season.

“The future of football is more exciting thanks to the Lionesses!” Women’s captain Lucy Green reflects on a changing game

Rugby (Men's)

Wolfson is a constituent part of “All Greys RUFC”, an inclusive rugby team of mature undergraduates and postgraduates across five colleges; including Darwin, Hughes, St Edmunds and Clare Hall. The team was captained this year by Wolfson student Christopher George (who is now moving on to become president of the Cambridge Union, a first for Wolfson and indeed any mature college).

This year the All Greys made it to semi finals in the inter-college “Cuppers” tournament, placing third overall, which is a club record. The team also raised over £1,000 for charity in this year’s Jack Merritt Memorial Match, who was a member of the All Greys when he was killed in the London Bridge Attack in 2019.

Elsewhere the team played their regular weekly matches in the college league, with trips to Wolfson or Darwin bar afterwards. Other social events included watching rugby games, curry nights, socials with other sports teams from Wolfson, and going to watch the Varsity match together.

Volleyball

Wolfson had an excellent cuppers run, finishing with a resounding win over a strong Peterhouse side (which included 3 blues players) to take third place overall. Unfortunately, after losing the first game against a mixed-college side (which consisted of all the best players from colleges without a club), Wolfson was assigned to a lower bracket, making third place the highest they could get.

Wolfson also boasted three members of the University team (CUVC) this year: Carlo Sandoval (blue), Brendan Ng Wee Hong and Javier De Haro Arbona (blue). The Wolfson side was captained by Claire He, who was highly commended for organising additional games in the Wolfson grounds as well as casual, uni-wide tournaments at midsummer common.