Dublin University Squash Rackets Club (DUSRC) has claimed the 2014 intervarsity title, after defeating its traditional rival, UCD, in a close final. Trinity’s triumph capped off a stellar year for the club, which also defeated UCD in a tight Colours match in November. This is all in spite of squash’s uncertain future in Trinity, due to growing concerns that College could be without courts from September 2014 following the demolition of Luce Hall.
The Squash Intervarsities were held at UCC in late February. Seven universities entered the competition, with over 130 players participating in the event. Trinity brought down a record number of twenty-seven members to compete in the Men’s A, B, C, D, and Ladies B divisions.
The Men’s A team faced long-standing rivals UCD, who narrowly beat Trinity in last year’s intervarsities. James Kong, Trinity’s third seed, came into the tournament on the back of good form in the Leinster League. In a game characterised by long rallies, James played shots of an excellent length, while also hitting some great attacking drop shots. Kong ultimately lost 0-3, and Trinity began the tournament from behind.
Club Captain, Robert Ta, played UCD captain John Gordon, whom he had convincingly beaten in the Colours tournament a few months earlier. Ta wore down his opponent to take the match 3-0, and tie the series at 1-1.
Sean O’Sullivan, one of the club’s most improved players, was fast and agile around the court, but was beaten 0-3, putting UCD into a strong position to win the tournament.
Trinity’s top player, Theo Anderson took on former DUSRC captain Karlis Zauers. Anderson exhibited real composure during his games with lobs seeming to forever float above his opponent’s head, with the ball landing perfectly in the back corners of the court. His experience proved too much for his UCD opponent, and following victory it was left to stalwart Tony Simpson to decide the outcome.
Simpson, an ex-captain, had lost to his opponent in last year’s intervarsities, making the team particularly anxious about this fixture. However, Tony had played phenomenal squash this season, having improved to such an extent that he has been regularly representing the Division 1 team in the Leinster League. Starting well, Tony took the first game 11-7. The next game proved much closer, as Tony was down 10-8 before coming back to win 12-10. His opponent, determined not to be whitewashed, made a strong push in the third game. He was up once again and in the final points, Tony managed to squeeze a few rallies in his favour to tie the scores 11-11. In the next couple of points, Tony dominated the “T” and put his shots away to win 13-11. His win ensured Trinity were crowned Intervarsity champions.
Trinity’s B team was unfortunately no match for UCC’s first team who went on to take the Division B title. However, they did manage to beat UCD to claim third place in the division. The Men’s C played some tough matches this year and placed third while Queen’s University, Belfast took the Division C title. The Men’s D comprised of mostly beginners and their enthusiasm and spirit made their games very exciting. They managed to finish in third place in their division.
The ladies team had a fantastic performance by finishing runners-up this year in the B division. Considering that most of the ladies were rookies, much credit is due to the club’s dedicated and committed coach, Elvy Da Costa, who pushed the members to become better players. As one of the most highly qualified coaches in Ireland and with international experience, Da Costa is undeniably the inspiration behind this season’s success.
Despite having had such a successful year, DUSRC finds itself in a very uncertain position. There are increasing concerns that the proposed demolition of Luce Hall, to be replaced by a Business Centre, will result in the absence of squash courts in the main campus of college. This sadly puts the future of the club in jeopardy, despite a proud history that reaches as far back as 1936 and a tradition of elite squash players, including Jonah Barrington, widely regarded as the greatest squash player ever; former provost F.S.L. Lyons, who was Irish captain; and John Luce, distinguished classicist and chairman of DUCAC for 20 years, who captained the club as a student.
Undoubtedly, the loss of squash courts in campus would be detrimental to the college community as a whole, as many people enjoy exhilarating games of squash each day. The failure to build new courts will also threaten the club’s long-running outreach project where volunteers introduce local national school pupils to the sport. One can only hope that 2014 does not mark the end of such an established aspect of college life, but that squash will continue to feature within Trinity for many years to come.
Photo: Elena Tangtra
