Superleague 2010

18/08/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs drew with WHOREFC 3-3 (won on points difference)

N.Shaw & J.Hindle beat E.Hewens & S.Baring 15-10

G.Hoskins & S.Chapman lost to N.Bunyan & M.Skjott 11-15

N.Shaw & S.Chapman beat N.Bunyan & S.Baring 15-9

G.Hoskins & J.Hindle lost to E.Hewens & M.Skjott 14-15

N.Shaw & G.Hoskins beat E.Hewens & N.Bunyan 15-12

S.Chapman & J.Hindle lost to S.Baring & M.Skjott 11-15

The Aston House Studs produced a battling performance to crown their stunning Superleague campaign with victory over WHOREFC in the Grand Final at Westway last night. With Laurie Brock, Robert Desmond and Justin Shaw all unavailable, the Studs’ squad resources were stretched to the limit, but captain Spencer Chapman pulled a selectorial rabbit out of the hat at the last minute, calling up North Oxford stalwart Nick Shaw to make his Studs debut in the showpiece match of the summer season. With the opposing WHOREFC team batting all the way down the order, every game was going to be tough and so it proved. Gareth Hoskins and Spencer Chapman failed to capitalise on a good start in their first match against Nick Bunyan and Mike Skjott and went down 15-11, but honours remained even after the first rotation as Nick and Jeremy produced a strong performance to beat Ed Hewens and Simon Baring 15-10 in the next door court. With a large crowd watching on – including a vociferous (thanks Emily!) Studs contingent – the tension continued to mount as the second round of matches got underway. Nick again proved to be the dominant force for the Studs as he and Spencer produced the biggest winning margin of the night, with a 15-9 success over Bunyan and Baring. In the other match, Gareth was still a bit below par, but with Jeremy cutting and volleying with controlled aggression, the Studs pair stayed in touch with Hewens and Skjott all the way to 14-14. However, Jeremy and Gareth failed to take the one chance that came their way and the WHOREFC boys nicked it 15-14 to take the score to 2-2. Going into the final rotation, the maths was simple. If the games were shared again, the Studs had a six point advantage to defend or improve on. Nick and Gareth got off to another good start, and despite a strong fightback from Bunyan and Hewens, the Studs top pair were never behind and won 15-12. All Spencer and Jeremy needed to do in their match was to avoid defeat by a 10 point margin and this they duly managed, although they were unable to win their match, going down 15-11. The job was done though – an 81-76 aggregate win and a clean sweep of league winners, playoff champions and the tournament MVP award for Gareth Hoskins. A fantastic end to a fantastic Superleague season!

28/07/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat The Academy 5-1

G.Hoskins & E.Thompson beat J.Black & J.Butler 15-3

R.Desmond & S.Chapman beat J.Reynolds & S.Matthews 15-7

G.Hoskins & S.Chapman beat J.Reynolds & J.Butler 15-8

R.Desmond & E.Thompson beat J.Black & S.Matthews 15-5

G.Hoskins & R.Desmond lost to J.Reynolds & J.Black 13-15

S.Chapman & E.Thompson beat S.Matthews & J.Butler 15-0

The Aston House Studs completed their regular season Superleague campaign in fine style last night at Westway, overcoming The Academy 5-1 to maintain their unbeaten record, clinch top spot in the league and claim first seed status for the play-offs. After last week's slightly disjointed encounter last night's match produced some highly enjoyable Fives, with Robert Desmond inspired by his new Aston House Studs t-shirt to show some of the form that brought him a host of titles last season, Gareth Hoskins and Spencer Chapman providing the North Oxford know-how and Ewan Thompson proving himself to be up there with the best Number 4s in the competition. The Studs knew at the start of the evening that 5 points were needed to be 100% certain of finishing top of the league and with Fives legend John Reynolds in the opposition ranks - not to mention former Cambridge University Secretary Julian Black - that was never going to be easy. The Academy line-up was completed by Sam Matthews and Josh Butler, two local Westway youngsters with plenty of talent and promise for the future but a lack of experience at this level. The first round of matches was always going to be crucial: Gareth and Ewan won comfortably but Robert and Spencer needed to lay down a marker for the evening by taking on and beating Reynolds, and this they did with an impressive display. Buoyed by his win over his Old Citizen mentor, Chief Stud Spencer then repeated the dose, teaming up with Gareth to beat Reynolds and Butler 15-8. One winning cut in particular by Spencer against John produced a lap of honour of the like rarely seen outside an Olympic stadium. With Robert and Ewan also winning, the Studs were able to relax and enjoy the last round of matches. Spencer and Ewan made short work of the two schoolboys, whilst Gareth and Robert played in the game of the evening against John and Julian, a terrific encounter with all four players playing better and better as the game went on and with little to choose between the pairs. In the end, a period of play in the middle of the game where Robert and Gareth struggled to return cuts for a while was probably crucial as John and Julian got The Academy onto the scoreboard with a 15-13 win. The semi-finals feature Katona vs WHOREFC and The Studs up against One Love next Wednesday evening, with two matches standing between us and another trophy.

04/08/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat One Love 4-2

G.Hoskins & S.Chapman beat A.Kalra & R.Patel 15-8

R.Desmond & J.Shaw lost to A.Cybulski & M.Stonebridge 10-15

G.Hoskins & J.Shaw beat A.Cybulski & R.Patel 15-11

R.Desmond & S.Chapman beat A.Kalra & M.Stonebridge 15-13

G.Hoskins & R.Desmond lost to A.Cybulski & A.Kalra 13-14*

S.Chapman & J.Shaw beat M.Stonebridge & R.Patel 12-8*

*scores when lights went out at 10pm

The Aston House Studs continued their impressive run in the Westway Summer Superleague, following on from topping the regular season league table by clinching a place in the final in two weeks time thanks to an epic 4-2 play off semi-final win against a tough One Love team. The match was tight right from the start, with Gareth Hoskins and Spencer Chapman making hard work of defeating Arun Kalra and Raj Patel, whilst in the other court Robert Desmond and Justin Shaw were unable to prevent Alex Cybulski and Robert’s fellow Old Cholmeleian Matt Stonebridge levelling the scores at 1-1. The second rotation was crucial: Gareth and Justin played well and rode their luck with some handily timed edges and ledges to beat Cybulski and Patel to 11. With Robert and Spencer 13-10 down next door to Kalra and Stonebridge the match looked like it would be level going into the final round. Spencer appeared to be tiring and there looked to be no way back for the Studs duo. Justin and the supporting Michael Millership were unable to watch such was the tension but suddenly a couple of unforced errors from the One Love youngsters and some inspired returning from Robert and Spencer changed the momentum and they powered home to a 15-13 win and a 3-1 lead. This put the Studs in a strong position going into the final rotation: One Love had to win both games and erase an overall points difference of 8 to progress to the final. With so much at stake, the last two games were as close and tense as the first four. Gareth and Robert established an early lead against Alex and Arun but were pegged back and stayed neck and neck to 13-14, whilst Spencer and Justin gradually got their noses in front to lead 12-8. At this point the Studs had done enough to ensure qualification into the final, but the match had gone on so long that the 10pm Westway lights out deadline prevented either match from being completed. With the scores at end of play standing, the Studs had won 4-2. The final is in two weeks time, but with Robert unavailable, a tough match awaits us against the winner of the WHOREFC vs Katona clash.

21/07/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs drew with Ganguly's Gangsters 3-3

G.Hoskins & J.Shaw lost to P.Cohen & R.Perrie 7-15*

R.Desmond & I.Mitchell lost to A.Theodossi & J.Steadman 12-15

G.Hoskins & I.Mitchell lost to A.Theodossi & R.Perrie 5-15

R.Desmond & J.Shaw beat P.Cohen & J.Steadman 15-9

G.Hoskins & R.Desmond lost to P.Cohen & A.Theodossi 8-15*

J.Shaw & I.Mitchell lost to R.Perrie & J.Steadman 9-15

*results count as 15-14 wins to Aston House Studs due to ineligible player

The Aston House Studs continued their unbeaten record in this year's Westway Superleague last night with a 3-3 draw against the Gangsters and in the process clinched a play-off spot with a game to spare. Next week's match against The Academy will decide where the Studs finish in the table and a convincing victory will be enough to secure top spot. Last night's match was slightly disappointing in that Gangsters captain Anita Ganguly had to withdraw at the last minute leaving the Gangsters a player short. Competition organiser Peter Cohen stepped into Anita's shoes to ensure that the Gangsters had a full complement and the game could go ahead and the late change had several consequences: on the plus side, it guaranteed 3 points from the match and a play-off spot as Peter was an ineligible player. On the minus side, Peter's presence in the Gangsters line-up meant that Ant Theodossi and Ryan Perrie were able to play at 2 and 3, making life very tough for the Studs to add to the three points. With Laurie Brock away in Thailand, his Cambridge partner Robert Desmond stepped into his shoes to make his Studs debut. Hard though Robert and fellow Studs Gareth Hoskins, Justin Shaw and Ian Mitchell tried, and despite the vociferous support provided by watching Stud Emily Scoones, none of them were quite able to hit top form and the points were duly shared.

07/07/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Four4Fives 6-0

J.Shaw & J.Hindle beat P.Cohen & J.Caplin 15-10

S.Chapman & E.Thompson beat F.Rowe & J.Wootliff 15-0

S.Chapman & J.Hindle beat P.Cohen & J.Wootliff 15-7

J.Shaw & E.Thompson beat F.Rowe & J.Caplin 15-1

J.Shaw & S.Chapman beat P.Cohen & F.Rowe 15-3

J.Hindle & E.Thompson beat J.Caplin & J.Wootliff 15-1

The Aston House Studs strengthened their case for an end of season play off spot at Westway last night with a resounding 6-0 victory over Superleague whipping boys Four4Fives. Not even the presence of Peter Cohen in the opposition ranks managed to rattle the Studs despite Gareth Hoskins resting due to Chief Stud Chapman's squad rotation policy and Laurie Brock pulling out with an ankle injury. Jeremy Hindle, inspired by his new Stud vest and his watching family, played through the pain of his own sore ankle whilst Justin Shaw responded to the honour of playing at Number One with a typically astute and high quality performance. With skipper Spencer playing as solidly as ever and Ewan Thompson coming in to make a successful Stud debut, the 6-0 whitewash was duly achieved to put the Studs right back in the mix at the top of the table with two matches to go.

21/06/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs drew with Katona 3-3

L.Brock & J.Shaw lost to P.White & B.Dennis 9-15

G.Hoskins & S.Chapman beat L.Stradwick & K.White 15-8

L.Brock & S.Chapman lost to L.Stradwick & B.Dennis 10-15

G.Hoskins & J.Shaw lost to P.White & K.White 14-15

L.Brock & G.Hoskins beat P.White & L.Stradwick 15-7

S.Chapman & J.Shaw beat B.Dennis & K.White 15-9

The Aston House Studs produced a battling performance at Westway last night against top of the table Katona to come back from 3-1 down to claim a 3-3 draw with two wins in the last round of matches and strengthen our claims for an end of season play-off spot. With the Studs resplendent in their new team kit, the spoils were shared in the first round of matches with Gareth Hoskins and Spencer Chapman putting in a solid performance to defeat Luke Stradwick and Kerry White, whilst Laurie Brock - promoted to top spot after his fine display aginst WHOREFC - and Justin Shaw got off to a good start against the strong pairing of Peter White and Billy Dennis before fading at the end. The second round went the way of Katona, as Laurie and Spencer went down to the regular pairing of Stradwick and Dennis. Gareth and Justin in the other court were involved in a very close battle with never more than a point or two separating the pairs. Despite getting to 14 first, they were unable to return their two foot down cuts and the Whites picked up the two points they needed to clinch the game 15-14 in the next hand. With a 3-1 lead, Katona were confident of hammering home their advantage in the final round and sending the Studs back up the M40 with their tails between their legs. However, they had reckoned without the Studs' legendary (well they are rapidly becoming legendary) resilience and loyalty to the shirt. Playing together for the first time, Gareth and Laurie produced a stunning performance to shock Peter White and Luke Stradwick, with Gareth finding a rhythm that made his cutting nigh-on unreturnable, whilst Laurie produced feats of Fives contortionism to retrieve shot after shot from under the front wall; the highly-rated Olavians had no answer to the onslaught and were blown away 15-7. Spencer and Justin were involved in a much tighter battle in the next door court, but took inspiration from Gareth and Laurie's win and made a mockery of the hot energy-sapping conditions to dig in and then move away to defeat their younger opponents 15-9 and clinch the draw, which moves the Studs up to an impressive second place in the league. Next up for the Stud treatment are Four4Fives in a couple of weeks time.

14/06/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat WHOREFC 6-0

G.Hoskins & J.Hindle beat N.Bunyan & H.Turnbull 15-10

L.Brock & S.Chapman beat H.Tobias & W.Skjott 15-2

G.Hoskins & S.Chapman beat H.Tobias & H.Turnbull 15-8

L.Brock & J.Hindle beat N.Bunyan & W.Skjott 15-3

G.Hoskins & L.Brock beat N.Bunyan & H.Tobias 15-2

S.Chapman & J.Hindle beat H.Turnbull & W.Skjott 15-1

The Aston House Studs made a strong move up the Superleague table with a 6-0 demolition of WHOREFC (Windsor, Henley and Oxford Rugby and Eton Fives Crew in case you were wondering) last night at Westway. With WHOREFC's star player Seb Cooley not back from Switzerland in time to play, a strong Studs line-up put in a series of top performances to claim maximum points, despite the disappointment of the Stud t-shirts not quite being ready yet. Apparently Jeremy's request for a personalised vest is causing delays in production - maybe it needs to be suitably accessorised to match the delightful hairband he was sporting last night? Chief Stud himself Spencer Chapman turned out for his first game of the campaign and we were also delighted to welcome on court our newest Stud, Cambridge University superstar and reigning EFA Universities and Under 25 champion Laurie Brock. The vagaries of the draw and the controversial team ordering of the WHOREFC players, with North Oxford turncoat Hugo Tobias - putting the HO into WHOREFC - ranked above Old Salopian Harry Turnbull, meant that Laurie was able to cruise through his three matches without breaking sweat, unlike Gareth Hoskins who had to work hard to grind out two victories in his first two matches before teaming up with Laurie in the final match to deliver the coup de grace. The contrast in effort required was entirley due to the draw and nothing to do with their respective ages and abilities, obviously. The six point haul puts the Studs in strong contention for an end of season play off place and with skipper Spencer wrestling with selection issues and trying to keep all of the highly strung egos in the squad happy, the rest of the Superleague campaign promises to be an exciting rollercoaster ride, with the next match a tough top-of-the-table clash with the formidable Team Katona.

24/05/10 at Westway: Aston House Studs drew with One Love 3-3

G.Hoskins & I.Mitchell beat A.Cybulski & A.Meredith 15-6

J.Hindle & E.Scoones lost to A.Bhattacharya & R.Patel 9-15

G.Hoskins & E.Scoones lost to A.Bhattacharya & A.Meredith 13-15

J.Hindle & I.Mitchell beat A.Cybulski & R.Patel 15-4

G.Hoskins & J.Hindle lost to A.Cybulski & A.Bhattacharya 8-15

I.Mitchell & E.Scoones beat A.Meredith & R.Patel 15-14

History was made at Westway last night with the first ever appearance of Fives-franchise extraordinaire and North Oxford spin-off team The Aston House Studs. The first AHS match in the Westway Summer Superleague turned out to be both summery, with temperatures still in the high 20s at kick off time and also super, as the mix and match shoot-out format produced some exciting and close matches, ending in a 3-3 draw. With team captain and Mr AHS himself Spencer Chapman away in Italy, the Studs marked their competition debut by bringing as many spectators as players - thanks to Mandie Clemmett, Michael Millership and the Hindles and the first task was mastering the format, with each member of the team ranked A,B,C or D and the match sequence being A&C vs A&C, B&D vs B&D, A&D vs B&C, B&C vs A&D, A&B vs A&B and C&D vs C&D, with all matches one game up to 15. Top Stud of the night was undoubtedly Ian Mitchell, inspired perhaps by having his performance subject to close scrutiny by Mandie, who won his first two games easily with Gareth Hoskins and Jeremy Hindle before partering Emily Scoones to a nail-biting 15-14 win in the final game, a just reward for Ian's fine play and for Emily's increasing confidence as the evening went on. Earlier, Gareth and Emily had gone mightily close to winning their match against Abi Bhattacharya and Alun Meredith, getting off to a flying start before gradually being reeled in to finally go down 15-13 and whilst Ian and Emily were performing their 15-14 heroics, Gareth was struggling with a leg injury sustained early on in the final game; despite Jeremy's best efforts they were unable to clinch overall victory.