University Challenge: Round 1: Match 8: Imperial vs Jesus

Well, after the extraordinary drama of last week’s show, it was always going to be hard for tonight’s teams to follow on from it. Naturally, it would be almost impossible to match the tension of Manchester’s last quarter-second win last week (which divided opinion on Twitter). But, could we still have a respectable match to follow it up?

Imperial College London was formerly part of the University of London, but became independent in 2007, and it only teaches science based subjects. It won the series title in 1995-96, and again in 2000-01. They last sent a team two years ago, where they lost in the first round to the University of the Arts London. Playing for them tonight were:

Pietro Aronica, from Brescia in Italy, studying Biochemistry

Dominic Cottrell, from London, studying Medicine

Captain: Martin Evans, from Oxfordshire, studying Pharmacology

Henry Guille, from Cranbrook in Kent, studying Material Science

Jesus College Cambridge was founded in 1496, well before the opposition, and alumni include Thomas Cramner, Laurence Sterne (the Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy), and the poet Coleridge. The college last entered in 2007-08, where they lost to Exeter in the first round, and were unlucky to miss out on a repechage place by just five points. Playing for them tonight were:

Alistair Bolger, from Newcastle, studying Medicine

Thomas Wood, from Northamptonshire, studying Russian and French

Captain: Alex Kite, from Cambridge, studying Maths

Nina Fetherston, from Chester, studying Spanish and Russian

Imperial got off the to the quicker start, getting the first four starters (one of which on the back of a penalty for the opposition). Jesus College got off the mark with the first picture round, and enjoyed a brief spell of momentum, getting a couple of starters in the next quarter. They had bought along some rather noisy supporters; I’m not a big fan of teams, particularly Oxbridge ones, whose supporters make a lot of noise; as Lord Sugar of Clapton once said: “this is not a football match”.

There were groans in the audience, as Mr Wood of Jesus College guessed ‘Henry VI: Part 3’ for a Shakespeare question, when the answer was ‘Henry VI: Part 2’. Unlucky miss.

With the music round, as soon as Paxo announced ‘we will hear part of the overture to an opera’, I immediately thought of Wagner’s Tannhauser. And, amazingly, that’s what we heard! These music rounds must be getting easier and more predictable! I also got one of the bonuses, on classical pieces most often played at the Proms (very topical).

It appeared to me that there were a lot of science based starters tonight. I thought this was a bit unfair, given Imperial is a science based institution. Jesus College did try to buzz their way back into the match, but a lot of their buzzes didn’t work out, allowing Imperial to run up the lead. The Cambridge side did manage a couple of starters in the closing minutes, bringing their score up to respectability. At the gong, Imperial won by 225-80.

A good performance from Imperial, who could go far this year with a favourable draw. Pietro Aronica was lead buzzer, with six starters; the side answered an impressive 21 bonuses out of 39, with two penalties. Alistair Bolger got a respectable five starters for Jesus College, who managed 7 bonuses out of 18, with three penalties. As Paxo rightly stated to them at the end, they were unlucky on some of their buzzes. Still, good to see a team not fold completely; that is never nice to see.

Next week’s match: St Andrews vs Bangor (look out for LAM and Online Writings reader ‘Welshguy’ on one of the teams!)

As for tonight’s Only Connect, it was another instance of a team of seasoned quiz show competitors, including former Mastermind semi-finalist Brian Pendreigh, being given a closer-than-might-have-been-expected contest. Still, it was another good close one. We’re getting some good matches this series. Hopefully, there are more to come.