Superleague 2015
07/07/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs lost to Highgate 3-3 (points difference) & Aston House Stallions beatt Sweet EFA 4-2
L Brock & C.Rennie lost to J.Ho & M.Kovar 12-15
N.Shaw & A.Yusaf beat J.Marks & A.Bhattacharya 15-13
L.Brock & A.Yusaf lost to J.Marks & M.Kovar 13-15
C.Rennie & N.Shaw beat J.Ho & A.Bhattacharya 15-12
L.Brock & N.Shaw lost to J.Ho & J.Marks 8-15
C.Rennie & A.Yusaf beat M.Kovar & A.Bhattacharya 15-14
G.Hoskins & J.Shaw lost to J.Black & A.Lumbard 12-15
S.Chapman & H.Asquith beat P.Roper & N.Lilienthal 15-2
G.Hoskins & H.Asquith beat P.Roper & A.Lumbard 15-10
S.Chapman & J.Shaw beat J.Black & N.Lilienthal 15-2
G.Hoskins & S.Chapman lost to J.Black & P.Roper 12-15
J.Shaw & H.Asquith beat A.Lumbard & N.Lilienthal 15-0
The Rumble in the Jungle, the Thriller in Manila, The War on the Shore. When the dust has settled and historians look back on the great sporting match-ups of all time, the 2015 Westway Summer Superleague Final - The Affray at Westway maybe? - will be right up there with the best of them. Back in 2010 in the inaugural superleague season, the Studs drew 3-3 in the final and took the title on points difference by a margin of five. Five years later and the opposition were different, but once again the final was a 3-3 draw and once again the difference was just five points, with the Studs this time coming out on the wrong side of the equation. Five years, five points..."Fives, eh, bloody hell" as Sir Alex Ferguson would have said had he gone to Eton.
The assembled experts - as well as the Bhattacharya brothers - all felt pre-match that the teams looked well-matched and the margins were going to be tight. They weren't wrong. The first two rounds contained some epic Fives with Laurie Brock and the in form Nick Shaw rising to the occasion with terrific support from Carl Rennie and Alex Yusaf against a young and talented Highgate side led by Jonny Ho and Joe Marks, both of whom were showing classy touches that only a season playing for the North Oxford finishing school could have provided. With the score at 1-1, Carl and Nick edged the Studs ahead with a 15-12 win over Jonny and Abs Bhattacharya. Laurie and Alex were 9-13 down in the other court and in danger of giving Highgate a points cushion for the final round. Some inspired cutting, nerveless rally play and the run of the ball took the Studs pair back to 13-13 against Marks and Matt Kovar, achieving the first aim of levelling the points difference before the last games. Everyone playing and watching knew that if Laurie and Alex could continue the comeback and steal the win, the Studs would be in pole position. Suddenly, though, the run of the ball that had been going their way deserted them and two consecutive nicks off the back step gave Highgate the win, levelling the tie at 2-2 with both sides on 55 points.
In the final round, Carl and Alex produced an exceptional performance to win 15-14 against Abs and Matt, with Alex coming up with the shot of the night to save match point from so far out of court that he was practically the other side of the A40. The winning spell of the night, however, came from Kinnaird quarter-finalists Ho & Marks, who used the benefits of regularly playing together to sprint out to a 7-0 lead over Laurie and Nick. The game was tight again from thereon in, but in such a close match overall, that one short period of dominance was the difference and enough to give the Highgate boys the coveted plastic tat silverware. This was an heroic effort by the Studs team, who could not have given more to the cause, and who can all be proud of their performances during the tournament, remaining the only undefeated side and playing with style and flair throughout.
The Stallions team of Gareth Hoskins, Spencer Chapman, Justin Shaw and Harriet Asquith took on a cobbled together Sweet EFA team in a rather less intense third/fourth play-off. Between them, Gareth, Spencer and Justin had just about enough working body parts to make one fit Fives player, but thankfully Harry was on hand to win all three of her matches in magnificent style, almost single-handedly taking the Stallions into the bronze medal position.
And so ends another glorious Superleague campaign, with the Aston House teams completing every single fixture with a squad of just 11, winning the vast majority of matches and leading the way in terms of on court sportsmanship and post match sociability. The narrow defeat in the final takes nothing away from the general awesomeness of everyone involved and all should feel proud of their efforts. Thanks to Spencer for his inspirational captaincy and here's to 2016 and more success for the Studs and the Stallions!
23/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Sweet EFA 4-2 & Aston House Stallions lost to Highgate aka Lethal Bizzle 0-6
L Brock & N.Shaw beat H.Wiseman & J.Prior 15-2
C.Rennie & A.Yusaf beat A.Rennie & W.Gibbons 15-14
L.Brock & A.Yusaf beat A.Rennie & J.Prior 15-3
C.Rennie & N.Shaw lost to H.Wiseman & W.Gibbons 9-15
L.Brock & C.Rennie lost to H.Wiseman & A.Rennie 12-15
N.Shaw & A.Yusaf beat J.Prior & W.Gibbons 15-4
G.Hoskins & K.Hird lost to J.Ho & J.Hopkins 6-15
C.Cooley & H.Asquith lost to M.Kovar & J.Marks 0-15
G.Hoskins & H.Asquith lost to M.Kovar & J.Hopkins 4-15
C.Cooley & K.Hird lost to J.Ho & J.Marks 2-15
G.Hoskins & C.Cooley lost to J.Ho & M.Kovar 3-15
K.Hird & H.Asquith lost to J.Hopkins & J.Marks 1-15
History was made at Westway last night with both semi-finals this year featuring an Aston House team. The Studs powered through into the final with an emphatic 4-2 win over a strong Sweet EFA team while the second string Stallions fell at the final fence as they suffered the franchise's first defeat of the season at the hands of Highgate. The Studs were in fine fettle, mirroring the current efforts of the England cricket team against New Zealand: Laurie Brock in the Joe Root role, all boyish enthusiasm and perpetual motion backed up by a fierce competitive streak and a touch of class; Nick Shaw as Eoin Morgan, the experienced hand leading from the front; Alex Yusaf as Ben Stokes supplying the explosive power and superstar potential in the middle order and Carl Rennie as Jos Buttler, quiet, enigmatic but with a 360º range of shots. The first rotation was crucial - Laurie and Nick flew out of the blocks to destroy dangerman Howard Wiseman and Joey Prior and Carl won the first battle of the Rennies in a 15-14 nailbiter with Alex Yusaf over brother Andrew and Will Gibbons. With a 2-0 lead and a good points advantage, the Studs were able to consolidate over the next couple of rounds and with Yusaf going unbeaten over the course of the match, a 4-2 victory was sealed to put the Studs through to their first final in this competition since 2011. Life on the other side of the draw was rather tougher for the Stallions. With captain Chapman staying on the sidelines to remain eligible for the Studs in the final if required, it was left to the superstars of the women's game to team up with Gareth Hoskins to take on the might of Jonny Ho's Highgate side, conquerors of defending champions the Desperados in the quarter-finals last week. The Stallions performed creditably but were no match for their opponents and the dream of an all Aston House final will have to wait for another year.
17/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Westway Warriors 5-1
L.Brock & N.Shaw beat W.Betts & N.Caplin 15-3
C.Rennie & A.Yusaf lost to D.Patel & T.Thurnham 9-15
L.Brock & A.Yusaf beat D.Patel & N.Caplin 15-8
C.Rennie & N.Shaw beat W.Betts & T.Thurnham 15-13
L.Brock & C.Rennie beat W.Betts & D.Patel 15-11
N.Shaw & A.Yusaf beat N.Caplin & T.Thurnham 15-14
With the squad having to be divided into Studs and Stallions for the knockout stages and the Stallions with a free ride into the semis, captain Chapman took the bold call of putting several of the AH big guns into the Studs team for the second of the Aston House/Westway quarter-finals in a bid to get two teams into the last four. He was rewarded with a tigerish performance from the Studs team, who edged a tight encounter with Nick Shaw in particular holding his nerve to close out 15-13 and 15-14 wins in rounds two and three. The 15-3 first round win from Laurie and Nick had put the Studs in a strong position had a 3-3 draw come down to points difference but that became academic as the team powered home to take the tie 5-1 and put both teams into the last four. Availability and squad juggling are going to be crucial as the competition nears its climax. Can the Studs go all the way? Can the Stallions make it an all Aston House final? All will be revealed next week!
16/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Stallions beat Westway Winners 6-0
The first part of the Aston House v Westway Superleague quarter-final double header went the way of the Stallions, with the Westway Winners failing to live up to their name and crashing out without even being able to raise a side. Two games in two days was too much for the Westway team to cope with as they put all their eggs into one basket leaving the Stallions to move into the semis without even making it on court. Stallions Gareth, Charlotta and Harry took the opportunity to get some serious team training in along with guest Ralph Morgan, while keeping an eye on the other quarter-final taking place to see who they would be meeting next week. A win for the Highgate team against defending champions the Desperados means that the Stallions will have to take on Jonny Ho, Joe Marks and co in the last four as they aim to make it an all Aston House final.
10/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Stallions beat Westway Warriors 6-0
L.Brock & S.Chapman beat F.Rowe & B.Young 15-0
B.Kelly & C.Cooley beat D.Goddard & J.Caplin w/o
L.Brock & C.Cooley beat B.Young & J.Caplin 15-2
B.Kelly & S.Chapman beat F.Rowe & D.Goddard w/o
L.Brock & B.Kelly beat F.Rowe & J.Caplin 15-1
S.Chapman & C.Cooley beat B.Young & D.Goddard 15-6
A weakened Warriors line-up and a late arrival meant that the Stallions final group match was a bit of a damp squib. The four Stallions players managed to get some serious practice in amongst themselves in advance of the quarter-finals, and with both teams through top of the group, hopes are high of an all AHS final in a couple of weeks time.
09/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs drew with The Lionhearts 3-3
C.Rennie & K.Hird lost to W.Betts & P.Roper 2-15
N.Shaw & H.Asquith beat M.Davis & M.Scurr 15-12
C.Rennie & H.Asquith lost to P.Roper & M.Scurr 13-15
N.Shaw & K.Hird beat W.Betts & M.Davis 15-8
C.Rennie & N.Shaw beat W.Betts & M.Scurr 15-14
K.Hird & H.Asquith lost to P.Roper & M.Davis 7-15
The Studs maintained their unbeaten run to finish top of their group with a battling 3-3 draw against a strong Lionhearts line-up on Tuesday. Nick Shaw was the star of the show with three wins out of three, including a 15-14 final game thriller with Carl Rennie in the blue riband pairing against Will Betts & Mylo Scurr. Karen and Harry provided solid support, with Harry and Carl going close to causing an upset against Mylo and Phil Roper but the draw was enough to take the Studs through in top spot to next week's quarter-finals.
02/06/15 at Westway: Aston House Stallions beat WHOREFC 4-2
N.Shaw & J.Shaw lost to E.Hewens & N.Bunyan 8-15
G.Hoskins & K.Hird beat M.Skjott & R.Malik 15-5
N.Shaw & K.Hird beat N.Bunyan & R.Malik 15-9
G.Hoskins & J.Shaw beat E.Hewens & M.Skjott 15-2
N.Shaw & G.Hoskins beat E.Hewens & R.Malik 15-7
J.Shaw & K.Hird lost to N.Bunyan & M.Skjott 10-15
The Stallions continued this year's Aston House Superleague success story with a fine 4-2 win over old rivals WHOREFC at Westway last night. The opposition - as you would expect looking at the team sheet - were not short of belief in their own ability and were confident of a win; the Stallions adopted a more understated approach, sharing the first two games. Nick and Justin were rather slow out of the blocks and allowed Harrovian Ed Hewens to dominate their game and establish a winning lead before the Shaws could find their feet. In the other court, however, Gareth and Karen continued their fine recent run of form together, benefiting from their recent intensive training camp in Grillon to overwhelm Rez Malik and Mike Skjott 15-5. Karen's fine form continued in the second rotation as she and Nick - now starting to find his mojo - saw off Bunyan and Malik and Gareth and Justin consolidated the lead with a comprehensive 15-2 win over Hewens and an out of sorts Skjott. Nick and Gareth ensured the win in the final rotation, evoking memories of their glory days as a pair with some fine Fives to beat Hewens and Malik. Justin and Karen went down in the other court to the wily Bunyan and a reinvigorated Skjott, but with 4 points in the bag, this was a good night's work for the Stallions. Both sides are now looking good for a high seeding for the quarter-finals, leaving captain Chapman with some difficult selection problems to deal with in the next couple of weeks.
27/05/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Sweet EFA 5-1
L.Brock & N.Shaw beat W.Gibbons & J.Prior 15-8
C.Rennie & C.Cooley beat T.Fletcher & A.Lumbard 15-7
L.Brock & C.Cooley lost to W.Gibbons & J.Prior 14-15
C.Rennie & N.Shaw beat T.Fletcher & A.Lumbard 15-3
L.Brock & C.Rennie beat W.Gibbons & T.Fletcher 15-2
N.Shaw & C.Cooley beat J.Prior & A.Lumbard 15-6
The Studs scored a second 5-1 victory in two days for the Aston House franchise with a resounding win over Sweet EFA at Westway on Wednesday. The Studs boasted an impressively strong line-up, with Laurie Brock, Carl Rennie and Nick Shaw making a formidable top three; with national champion Charlotta Cooley providing high class support at 4, the EFA side were always going to have their work cut out. OIs Will Gibbons and Tom Fletcher teamed up with Joey Prior and Ashley Lumbard and there was a notable 15-14 win for Gibbons and Prior over Brock and Cooley, but otherwise the traffic was of the one way variety as the Studs showed why they are one of the favourites for this year's Superleague title.
26/05/15 at Westway: Aston House Stallions beat Citizen Kanes 5-1
G.Hoskins & S.Chapman beat R.Morgan & B.Dovgyy 15-5
A.Yusaf & H.Asquith beat A.Nice & M.Jacobs 15-5
G.Hoskins & H.Asquith beat R.Morgan & B.Dovgyy 15-12
A.Yusaf & S.Chapman beat A.Nice & M.Jacobs 15-5
G.Hoskins & A.Yusaf beat R.Morgan & A.Nice 15-4
S.Chapman & H.Asquith lost to B.Dovgyy & M.Jacobs 12-15
The Stallions got their first win of the Superleague season last night with a 5-1 victory over Ralph Morgan's Citizen Kanes. With heavyweight contenders the Lionhearts and Desperados knocking lumps out of each other in the adjacent courts, the Stallions cantered to victory with a controlled performance. Four of the six games went the way of the Aston House team comfortably, with the two close games shared between the sides; Gareth and Harry winning by a short head against Ralph and the unorthodox Bogdan Dovgyy and Spencer and Harry coming off second best in a photo finish in the last game of the night against Bogdan and Mark Jacobs. Star of the paddock for the Stallions was thoroughbred Alex Yusaf, cruising to victory in all three games and making a move up the golden gloves leaderboard with some fine shots into the hole.
19/05/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Westway Winners 5-1
G.Hoskins & K.Hird beat N.Caplin & C.Wheeler 15-3
C.Rennie & K.Hird lost to N.Caplin & T.Thurnham 8-15
Westway scratched the other four matches
The Studs fearsome reputation is obviously preceding them in this year's Superleague; following last week's pull out from the Desperados, this time round the Westway Whiners only showed up with three players. Two of the three possible combinations were played before Chris Wheeler was pulled out to fill an injury gap in the night's other match, featuring the Westway Warriors. The two games that were played saw the tried and trusted partnership of Gareth Hoskins and Karen Hird in perfect harmony as they cruised past Westway youngsters Noah Caplin and Chris Wheeler. The second game proved more troublesome, as Carl Rennie - in mid cut-reconstruction a la Tiger Woods and his golf swing and sporting a stylish pair of sailing gloves (what a great idea someone had there - they're bound to catch on) having forgotten his own Fives gloves - and Karen Hird were unable to match Noah and the impressive Tim Thurnham. Despite the missing player, several enjoyable friendly games were played among those present, including fourth Stud Justin Shaw and everyone would have gone home happy had the pub not been closed for a private party. A poor do, that. Next week sees both the Studs and the Stallions in action on successive nights, hopefully with a full complement in the opposition ranks this time.
13/05/15 at Westway: Aston House Stallions drew with Highgate aka Lethal Bizzle 3-3
B.Kelly & C.Cooley lost to J.Ho & M.Kovar 0-15
J.Shaw & H.Asquith beat J.Marks & N.Sorensen 15-5
B.Kelly & H.Asquith lost to J.Marks & M.Kovar 1-15
J.Shaw & C.Cooley beat J.Ho & N.Sorensen 15-9
B.Kelly & J.Shaw lost to J.Ho & J.Marks 2-15
C.Cooley & H.Asquith beat M.Kovar & N.Sorensen 15-7
The Stallions first run out of the season produced a fine battling draw against one of the ante-post favourites for the 2015 Superleague, new entrants the Highgate Hoorays. The Stallions line-up of Barnaby Kelly, Justin Shaw, Charlotta Cooley and Harry Asquith were all sleek of coat and in fine fettle as they took on Jonny Ho, Joe Marks, Matt Kovar and Nina Sorensen. There were some notable wins, with Justin and Charlotta taking down Jonny and Nina to 9 and Charlotta and Harry finishing in style with a 15-7 win over Nina and Matt, while Barnaby fought hard in the tricky top spot. In terms of the individual standings, the seven twentysomethings on show were blown away by senior pro Justin, who found the hole three times on the night to find himself racing to an early lead in the golden glove competition. Battle resumes on Tuesday with the Studs in action against Westway.
12/05/15 at Westway: Aston House Studs beat Dossi's Desperados 6-0
A disappointing start to the Superleague saw defending champions the Desperados unable to raise a side to take on a Studs team that was confident of causing an on-court upset and unhappy to stuck in the stables for another week at least.