Trinity Term Sporting Success

Trinity Term presented an exciting and eventful season for sport at Keble, with College clubs displaying their dedication and skill in various sporting disciplines. We take a closer look at some of the achievements from each.

Women’s Football
(Hertford and Keble)

This term, Hertble were undefeated league winners, Cuppers and futsal semi-finalists, ending the season with a goal difference of 47. Hertble have successfully kept up their record from last year, where they won 13-1 in Cuppers.

The Captain’s players of the match were Tillie Lees (2022 Engineering Science) and Megan Cottee (Hertford 2021), while the Players’ player of the match was Poppy Dunn (2022 Biomedical Science).

New captains Martina Mengoni (2022 Economics & Management) and Rose Wikeley (Hertford 2022) will be leading the team and continuing the Hertble legacy in the new season.

Men's Football

Keble Men's First Team Football showcased their prowess on the field, finishing second in the first division and earning promotion to the premier division. Additionally, they reached the semi-finals of the Cuppers tournament, demonstrating their skill and teamwork. With an impressive record of 10 wins and 3 draws in 16 games, the team's success was well-deserved. Goal results were 49 scored and 21 conceded. Standout performances from key players include Finlay Hayes (2022 English Language and Literature) (top scorer: 11 goals), Samuel Clegg (2021 PPE) (Top assister: 7 assists), and Noah Fletcher (2022 Economics and Management) (player of the season). With 29 players playing for the first team this year, Keble Men's Football can look forward to an exciting future season.

Badminton

Keble Badminton Club came in at 2nd in Cuppers. They had a fantastic year, fostering a vibrant atmosphere for casual play. Alongside mixed JCR and MCR training sessions, Keble also entered a Men’s and a Mixed badminton team into the inter-college leagues. The Men’s league continued to be a success, with most matches being very close and some wins and some losses. In the newly-joined Mixed league, the format was men and women playing doubles together and Keble successfully had a team every week and won a number of games. When it came to Cuppers, Keble won 4-2 against Hilda’s and Wadham in the quarter-final, advanced against St John’s due to points difference in the semis, and in the final fell short by 4-2 against St Edmund Hall and St Peter’s. Looking forward, Keble Badminton Club is going strong. The Cuppers team looks strong for next year – with many University players staying for further years of study and participation.

Rowing

Keble entered five crews into Summer Eights 2023. The M1 put in a strong performance, rowing over to finish third on the river. They chased down a strong Christ Church crew, quickly closing down to a canvas on Wednesday before a dramatic crab stopped them getting the bump. The M2 had an unfortunate week. Despite being a strong crew, they raced a number of first boats and, hampered by injury and a broken rudder, ended with spoons at 12th in Division Three. The M3 raced hard all week, getting bumped by Oriel M3 on Friday, but bumped them back on Saturday. They finished where they started, ninth in Division Five. The W1 also rowed over, battling it out with Magdalen behind and Oriel ahead. They narrowly missed bumping and getting bumped, finishing Eighth on the river. Finally, the W2 had another fantastic campaign, finishing seventh in Division Five, winning their second set of blades for the year! It was a fantastic week’s racing which saw great Keble spirit from the athletes and a large number of supporters.

Men's Rugby

Keble Rugby experienced a successful season, emphasising their determination to re-establish themselves among Oxford's top rugby colleges.

Coming into Trinity unbeaten in the top division of the league from Hilary, last year’s finalists St John’s/St Anne’s (‘The Saints’) awaited Keble in the Cuppers quarter-final. Although bragging a strong squad of 23, a pinpoint cross-field kick from Saints’ fly-half saw them score the only try of the match, resulting in Keble succumbing to a tight 10-3 defeat. A tough loss, but a commendable effort by everyone involved. Keble was fortunate to have had a full squad out when other colleges were struggling to get more than 10 players out. As exams approached for the more experienced members of the squad, the younger players had a shot at 7s Cuppers. Sadly, a tough 14-10 loss to St Catz in the group stage (who went on to win the whole competition), meant we were entered into the plate, but the competition was a great experience builder for next season.

Netball

In the Women’s Cuppers tournament, the team dominated the group stage, securing impressive victories including an 8-3 win against Exeter, 10-2 win against Magdalen and 11-1 win against Hertford, then 10-3 win against New College. While they faced disappointment in the semi-final, losing to the eventual winners, Christ Church, their progress highlighted the team's determination and skill. In Mixed Cuppers, Keble won the group stage, won against Oriel in the quarter-finals, but lost the semi-finals. The netball club also participated in the weekly league and Sunday training that grew team spirit and camaraderie.

Basketball

The Keble Basketball team had a productive season, featuring a competitive performance in the mixed league and gaining a fair few wins, making the quarter-finals on the Cuppers tournament. The inclusion of Luke Heirene (2021 BioMedical Science) in the Blues team added to their accomplishments and brought pride to the College. Keble Basketball displayed notable growth and promising potential for the future.

Varsity

Contemporary Dance

Competing on the Oxford University Contemporary Dance (OUCD) team, Keble College students Darcey McDonald (2020 Jurisprudence), Ameleah Nanud (2022 History), and Halley Rose Meslin (2022 MPhil Nature, Society and Environmental Governance) helped the team secure its first ever victory for Oxford at the 2023 Dance Varsity competition against Cambridge held in February. The Half Blue dance team competed in seven categories (Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Solo/Duo/Trio, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Wildcard), taking home four wins in Tap, Solo/Duo/Trio, Contemporary and Ballet, to land the overall championship. The historic win was nominated for Sports Moment of the Year by Oxford University Sport. Veteran OUCD member McDonald helped lead the team to victory in her role as Competitions & Events Officer, as well as choreographer for Contemporary.

Badminton

Keble's Nathan Schofield (2022 Sustainable Approaches to Biomedical Science EPSRC CDT) has achieved a full blue for the Men's blues team who came second in the BUCS Southern Premiership and won mixed varsity with the blues teams (17-1). Nathan Schofield (M1) and Benjamin Li (M2) (2021 Engineering Science) were both part of the 5 teams who played main varsity winning overall 45-30.

Rugby

Keble students Alex Wilkinson (2022 Economics and Management) and Tolu Duckworth (2019 Medicine) played for the Women’s Blues at Twickenham, and eight men played in Rugby League Varsity, including Angus Lochrane (2019 Modern Languages), Guy Greenbaum (2020 Chemistry) and James Milford (2020 History) who achieved Blues. More information about the Women’s Blues match is available on the Keble website.