During a busy, hectic, and stressful exam term, there is nothing better than competing in some mixed netball for your college. The standard and quality can be described as nothing other than ‘liquid’. Coming into the finals day, the teams through were Jesus 1s, Trinity 1s, Caius 1s and Magdalene 1s. The group stage was played at the end of Lent, before the quarter-finals took place at the start of term. The first semi-final consisted of Jesus v Caius – an intriguing contest at times, featuring some end-to-end action. However, Caius, the better team in large periods of the game, eventually prevailed to go through to the final, with a 18-15 win against a talented Jesus team. Whoever was going to face them in the final was certainly going to be up for a difficult challenge, with a Caius team consisting of a ferocious GA/GS combination and quality centre Olive Gibbo.

“A lack of cohesion from both sides was somewhat evident”

Having come through a stern test in the quarter-finals against a Divnet Scholars side featuring blues captain Nat McEvoy, Trinity faced Magdalene in the second semi-final of the day, which would be an intriguing encounter. Trinity, featuring a few of their own university-level players, won Division 1 in Michaelmas and were runners-up in Lent. They faced an unbeaten Magdalene team (bar one postponed forfeit in Lent), who had won back-to-back Division 2 and Division 1 titles in Michaelmas and Lent respectively, and had breezed through their group stage and quarter-final encounters. However, they were weakened. Stand-out player and Jays centre Sofia Oppon was sidelined with injury, and both Anaya Mullan and Martha Jameson were unavailable. Magdalene’s strength in depth was therefore going to be tested.

In a cagey and somewhat scrappy encounter, Magdalene and Trinity were even in the opening minutes of the game. In proper Cuppers fashion, a lack of cohesion from both sides was somewhat evident; it certainly took some time to shake-off the post-library revision cobwebs before anyone asserted themselves into the game. This spark was triggered by GS Eleanor Curtis’ ruthlessness in front of goal. This clinical performance from Magdalene’s sole university player led to the smaller college prevailing in an initially shaky, but a later comfortable 16-9 win.

“Caius’ calm and composed approach eventually overwhelmed Magdalene in midfield and defence”

Moving onto the final, nerves were high as both Caius and Magdalene had progressed into the final for the first time in many years. Moreover, both teams were depleted by injury and exams, so it was certainly all to play for. An end-to-end game from the start, Magdalene moved into a two-point lead after the first half. Good interplay between Raf Scarfiello, Finn Patchesa, and Eleanor Curtis pushed the unbeaten outfit into a close, but deserved edge at the interval. However, when bodies started to tire, a lack of awareness from Magdalene of the rules around travelling became evident in crucial moments. Caius’ calm and composed approach eventually overwhelmed Magdalene in midfield and defence. Olive Gibbon, Caius' centre, had the upper hand on her opposite number (myself) throughout the game, with their attack never seeming to miss a shot. As a result, Caius edged into the lead in the second half, turning over the ball at least twice off centre pass, and their defence putting significant pressure on Magdalene’s attack with fluid inter-play. Despite a late surge, Magdalene failed to catch Caius before the final buzzer, as the latter clinched a tight 22-21 victory to lift the mixed netball Cuppers trophy and hand Magdalene their first on-court loss of the season. In a tight encounter, the better team won on the day, with Caius’ formidable attack providing the cutting edge to what was otherwise an even match-up.

A special mention must go to Libby Sutcliffe and Anita Panov as league secretaries for the 2025/2026 season, for organising the tournament. Away from netball, there are still a few massive cuppers competitions to take place. This includes cricket and tennis set to take place in the second half of Easter term.