Evening all. So, the quarter-finals kicked off tonight, with two institutions that, six years ago, met each other twice, once in the prelims, and then again in the semis, and those two matches were among the best episodes of UC of the decade. Tonight's two teams hadn't hit similar heights thus far, but both had impressed in their own right on their way through...
Manchester defeated fellow quarter-finalists Jesus 185-145 in the first round in the first round, then more comfortably defeated Huddersfield 205-90 in the second. They were the same foursome as those prior times:
Jack Rogers, from Cheshire, studying Maths
Melissa Johnson, from South Africa, studying Economics
Captain: James Green, from the Wirral, studying Modernist Literature
Adam Booth, from Greenford in London, studying Physics
Trinity College Cambridge saw off fellow quarter-finalists Durham by 200-145 in their opening match of the series, before another comfortable win over Lady Margaret Hall of Oxford in the second. They were also the same quartet as then:
Nadia Hourihan, from Dublin, studying English
Lillian Crawford, from Bearsted in Kent, studying History
Captain: Joseph Webber, from Bury St Edmunds, studying Maths
Liam Hughes, from Cardiff, studying Maths
Off we set again then, and Mr Webber opened procedings with 'capital'; a full set of bonuses on scientists was a big statement of intent. Mr Rogers buzzed on the next starter, but no answer came, so minus five; Trinity couldn't capitalise, but Ms Crawford took the next, and a fairly straight forward bonus set on EU treaties was quickly dispatched. Mr Hughes was next in, but just one bonus on fungal diseases was taken this time. The first picture round, on flags of European sub national divisions, went to Trinity; nothing came from the bonuses, but they had opened up an early lead of 65-(-5).
Ms Johnson promptly took the Mancunians back into positive integers as she took the next starter; a full bonus set on Roman emperors was a sign that they weren't taking this lying down. Mr Hughes re-established Trinity's supremacy as he took the next starter however, with two bonuses on children's literature going with it. Mr Webber took his side into three figures when he took the next, but no further, no bonuses on astronomy following. A second starter in a row went to the Trinity captain however, and two bonuses on the work of architect Owen Jones followed.
The music starter saw Mr Hughes first to identify the late great David Bowie; the bonuses, on pop songs about artists, gave the Cambridge side two correct answers, increasing their lead to 145-20. And it was just getting bigger, Mr Webber identifying the basking shark as the subject of Damian Hurst's work for the next starter, and a full set of bonuses on literature prompted an exclamation of "You're on fire today, aren't you?!" from Paxo! Indeed they were, and Mr Hughes' answer of the Brandenburg Concertos threw more paraffin on them; two bonuses followed. Mr Green did the right thing and had an educated guess at the next starter, but was not correct; Ms Crawford had the right answer, and Trinity were now already at 200; one bonus followed. Mr Webber had the next, and a full bonus set on film adaptations took their lead past 200. A slip-up finally allowed Manchester a free shot, and Mr Green duly took it to finally get his side going again; no bonuses followed though.
The second picture round, on stills from films on which Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Muifune collaborated, went to Manchester; a full house of bonuses took the scores to 225-55. Mr Green took a third starter in a row for the Mancunians, a very quick buzz of 'aubergine', and two bonuses on shared UK and US place names followed.
The Manchester captain went for a fourth, but this time slipped up; Trinity failed to pick up, but Mr Hughes had the next, and a full bonus set on the Lollards was duly converted. A classic starter asked for the smallest number of border crossings one could theoretically make on a journey from Oslo to Hong Kong; Mr Booth knew it to be two (Norway into Russia and Russia into China), and a full bonus set on dinosaurs put them one starter away from three figures. That was as far as they could get though, Ms Crawford taking the next starter, and one bonus on sequences of prime ministers followed. Ms Hourihan took the next, and bonuses on fictional nannies gave them yet another full set, and one starter away from 300. Mr Hughes provided it; nothing came from the bonuses, but it mattered not. At the gong, Trinity won 300-95.
Another high quality match in spite of its one sidedness. Unlucky Manchester, who were outplayed on the buzzer, but did well enough when they did get in, which stands them in good stead for their eliminator; best of luck to them in that. Very well done Trinity though, a seriously impressive showing against a good team, they must now be taken very seriously if they weren't being already; best of luck to them in the qualifiers!
The stats: Mr Hughes was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with seven, while Mr Green was best for Manchester with three. On the bonuses, Manchester converted a solid 11 out of 15 (with two penalties), while Trinity managed 29 out of 48 (with one penalty).
Next week's match: don't know for sure yet, but my guess would be Wolfson vs Corpus Christi
Only Connect moved on to its penultimate play off tonight, with the Endeavours vs the Junipers. After a rather tricky, even by OC's standards, first two rounds, both sides aced their walls, and the latter won it on Missing Vowels, 22-15.
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