University Challenge 2013-14: Round 1: Match 2: St John's vs Reading

Here we went again. After a slow and steady start to the series, things picked up somewhat this week with a much better match overall. A higher scoring affair as well.

St John's College Cambridge last entered three years ago, where their team narrowly lost their first match, but survived to the repechage and won through to the second round, where they narrowly lost one of the best UCs of the decade so far to fellow Cambridge college Peterhouse. A long list of alumni includes Paul Dirac and Hugh Dennis. This year's team were:
Jarret Huang, from Singapore, studying Law
Casey Swerner, from London, studying Neuroscience and Philosophy
Captain: Anna Stansbury, from Buckinghamshire, studying Economics
Robin Younghusband, from Hitchin, studying Classics

All four member introduced themselves by only their forename.

Reading University became a uni in 1926; it last appeared on the UC scene back in 2006-07, where they too lost their first match, but survived to the repechage and into the second round, where they lost to eventual runners-up Manchester, providing a much documented comedy moment along the way! This year's foursome were:
Michael Dunleavy, from Wakefield, studying Biomedical Sciences
Christopher White, from Watford, studying History
Captain: Peter Burgess, from West Yorkshire, studying Solar Power Monitoring
Luke Tudge, from West Yorkshire, studying Psychology

Off we set then, and it was Reading who got off to the better start, getting the first three starters, and two bonuses from each set. St John's got off the mark with the first picture round, on cities called San Jose, and swept the board on the bonuses. Reading led by 60-25, and this already looked like a better match than last week.

The next starter had the answer 'U2', and Mr White quickly got it before any reference to the pop group could emerge! Reading, at this stage, were maintaining a steady lead, but St John's weren't allowing them to pull away fully. The music starter was 'the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba' by Handel, which I very quickly got, but the teams took their time before Mr White provided the answer. The music bonuses, on music from the Olympic Opening Ceremony, saw Reading increase their lead to 100-45.

St John's then managed a brief spell of momentum, with Miss Stansbury getting two consecutive starters, and closing in on the leaders. One of their sets of bonuses was on dates where the day and month have the same number, which was only easy if you knew the dates beforehand! The second picture round, on major political figures in Europe, saw Reading's lead increase back up to 135-70.

Going into the final phase of play, there was still a chance St John's could close the gap, but Reading maintained their superior buzzing abilities, and soon, their victory was pretty firmly assured. But St John's did at least managed to reach three figures, which they definitely deserved to do. At the gong, Reading won by 180-120.

A good match well played by both sides. It's doubtful that St John's have done enough to reach the repechage, which is a shame, as they were a decent enough team; but so were Reading, and they deserve their victory. The two captains were the best buzzers for their teams, with Miss Stansbury getting five starters for St John's, and Mr Burgess doing likewise for Reading. The Cambridge side managed 10 bonuses out of 21, while Reading finished with 14 out of 33. There were no incorrect interruptions all night.

Next week's match: Trinity College Cambridge vs Christ Church Oxford (good luck opaltiger!)
(Incidentally, the review will be a bit later than usual next week)

Didn't see much of Only Connect tonight, but the first semi-final was another reasonably close affair between two good teams. Hopefully, I'll be able to watch it back and post a full review by Friday.