So, off we went again. A third Oxbridge match, and the previous two have both been memorable for one reason or another. Also, tonight we begin to see teams enter the repechage; Durham would be safe tonight provided the losers scored less than 170.
Pembroke College is the third oldest in Cambridge, founded in 1347. It has developed a reputation for doing well in UC in recent teams, reaching the quarter-finals before going out to our old friends King's College Cambridge last year, and coming second to Manchester the year before. So, tonight's team had a lot to live up to; they were:
Mark Nelson, from Oklahoma City, studying Nuclear Engineering
Lizzie Colwill, from Woking, studying Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic
Captain: Harry McNeill Adams, from London, studying History
Matthew Anketell, from Sevenoaks, studying Natural Sciences
Somerville College Oxford was founded by the eponymous Mary Somerville in 1879, and was a women-only college until 1994; Paxo seemed pretty unimpressed by their decision to let men in! The college won UC in 2001-02, but have not appeared very often since, their last appearance being a Round 1 loss to St Andrews four years ago. Playing for the college were:
Hasneen Karbalai, from Calgary in Canada, studying Medicine
Zac Vermeer, from Sydney, studying Law
Captain: Michael Davies, from Blackburn, studying PPE
Chris Beer, from Blyborough in Lincolnshire, studying English Literature
Off we set. It was Pembroke who got off to the faster start, getting the first two starters. The second two went to Somerville, who's better showing on the bonuses meant they soon took the lead. The first picture round, on Celtic rugby team emblems, saw Somerville's lead rise to 60-35.
Pembroke fought back straight away, but Somerville seemed to be quicker on the buzzer overall. They also seemed to be getting most bonuses as well, which is a good sign. On one bonus, Zac Vermeer loudly and confidently gave Michael Davies an answer, only for it to be wrong, much to Paxo's amusement! Mr Vermeeer's answer was right on the next one! Mr Vermeer also seemed to be getting a good number of starters as well, but his colleagues weren't being left out.
The music round, on film soundtracks, allowed Somerville to pull further ahead, to 140-50. One question, on the only national flag to feature human figures, I knew the answer to, the exact same question having come up on QI XL last night! (It's Belize, BTW) Harry McNeill Adams knew it too, getting his side back into the match, and a full set of bonuses went their way too. But two incorrect interruptions in close proximity pegged them back again, and allowed Somerville to pull away further.
The second picture round, on artists whose lifespan ran over two centuries (as in born one, died another), went to Pembroke, but they still trailed by 195-80. Not much chance of a great recovery to victory, but they could still make the repechage if they got a move on.
And they did too, building up a head of steam on the buzzer, and pulling into three figures. Somerville seemed to go quiet as Pembroke pulled closer to the required score for the repechage. Zac Vermeer woke them up again, and the bonuses on sequels to novels added to their already impressive score.
Pembroke needed just one more starter and a full set to reach the repechage; the starter came, but just one bonus went with it. One more starter would do it, but Somerville didn't give them the chance, as they took the remaining starters. At the gong, Somerville won 255-145.
A good showing from Somerville, showing they could be a strong team later on in the contest. But very unlucky for Pembroke, also a decent side, as Paxo rightly said, to just fall five short of the repechage. Three penalties was what did it for them; Harry McNeill Adams was lead buzzer with four starters, and 14 correct bonuses out of 27 is a respectable tally. Zac Vermeer's five starters were the Oxford side's best, and the side managed an impressive 25 correct bonuses out of 38.
Safely through to the repechage: Durham (170)
Next week's match: Cardiff vs Exeter
Only Connect returned tonight as well; didn't see much of it, but a high scoring start to the series nonetheless. I will not be fully reviewing it on here this time, incidentally.
Pembroke scored 185 and Somerville 250, putting them in joint second place with SOAS - they look like a very good bet for the quarter finals, I think, particularly given their strong conversion rate. But we shall see!
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ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is the same Mark Nelson http://www.naqt.com/stats/individual-performance.jsp?team_member_id=152339
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly sure I recognise half of the Somerville, Oxford team from the Varsity quiz match I watched in June (Karbalai in particular, and I think Beer was there as well). So perhaps no wonder, given that the the other two also turned in strong performances, that they ended up winning. We've certainly seen some very strong teams this year and if the draw is kind then the quarter-final stages could be full of some very high-quality matches indeed.
ReplyDeleteI'd say Zach Vermeer is the best player at Oxford right now; he was busy for the Varsity match, but he was at the BSQC.
DeleteWow. When you predicted that the repechage places would be very closely fought over in this series, Jack, you certainly had it right. After Balliol’s near-miss a few weeks ago, Christ Church certainly began to look vulnerable, and so did Loughborough and my quartet. I was on the edge of my seat as Pembroke, a strong team who will be missed in the later stages, neared that 150 barrier and so narrowly failed to break through it. (I’m hoping that Christ Church survive to the repechage, because I’ve got a tenuous connection to one member of that team!)
ReplyDeleteSomerville definitely show much promise, for getting all the way to 255 against another good team – possibly more promise than York or Liverpool, who may have scored more than 255 in their respective matches, but did so against much weaker teams than Pembroke. I hope they do go far, partly because it would be fitting if the late, great Mrs Thatcher’s alma mater were to excel in the year in which we said goodbye to the Iron Lady.
I love looking out for starters to the tune of “add quantity A to quantity B and then do this with quantity C”, after I faced one down in my UC audition earlier this year, so this game gets extra brownie points from me for featuring one! Mr Davies’ answer “one” was impressively quick, furthering the old joke that the answer to any numerical question on UC is either one or zero!
By the way, Pembroke went out in the quarter-finals last year, not the semis.
Thanks for pointing that out; fixed now.
DeleteAgree about the closeness of the repechage standings. I really hope we don't get two losing teams score more than 155 in the remaining matches, as then it'd be a very difficult decision to make between your lot and Loughborough as to who survives.