Evening all. In a week when I've purchased the first two UC quiz books of the Paxo era, and been looking back on the eras they came from. As I told Chris Ducklin's excellent Quizzy Mondays podcast, the starters were generally a lot shorter in those days, and a return to that might be beneficial given how long and drawn out the starters often are nowadays. A return to the red set of the early noughties might not be a bad idea also. Anyway, on with tonight.
Leicester University was founded in 1957, and won the first ever series of UC just six years later. Alumni include politicians Norman Lamb and Natalie Bennett and funny man Bob Mortimer. It has sporadically sent teams to the revived series, the last such side, three series ago, were unlucky to lose in the second round. This year's foursome were:
Graham Aldred, from West Yorkshire, studying Toponymic Archaeology
Stan French, from Norwich, studying Chemistry
Captain: Pip Brown, from Devon, studying Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
Jamie Byrne, from Bristol, studying Physics
Fitzwilliam College Cambridge also won UC not long after its foundation, seven years after it became a proper college in 1966. Alumni include politicians Andy Burnham and Vince Cable and historian David Starkey. It last appeared on UC in 1999-2000; their unused reserve later appeared on the Professionals series on the 'Lawyers' team. This year's quartet were:
Theo Tindall, from Bristol, studying Russian and Arabic
Theo Howe, from Oxfordshire, studying Japanese Studies
Captain: Hugh Oxlade, from South Woodford in London, studying History
Jack Maloney, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, studying Medicine
Off we set again then, and Mr Tindall got the ball rolling for the night with the word 'guru'; bonuses on Internet companies provided them with two correct answers to start off with. Mr French wasted no time getting Leicester off the mark, but they managed just the one bonus from their first set on Asia. They took the lead with the next starter though, with two bonuses accompanying. A penalty then handed Fitzwilliam the advantage back, however, which they took, along with two bonuses on famous husband and wife pairs. The first picture round, a classic UC round on culinary terms spelt using chemical symbols, went to Fitzwilliam, who wiped the plate clean with the bonuses, giving them a lead of 65-30.
Mr Tindall's excellent early buzzer work continued as he took the next starter, but smelling salts in Victorian literature proved a fruitless bonus set. 20th century industry proved more to their liking, as they took a swift full set. A debatable penalty then set them back five however, though Leicester failed to pick up; Mr Aldred took the next starter though, and bonuses on the Peterloo massacre gave them two correct answers.
The music round, on classical pieces whose titles refer to another composer, went to Leicester, who took just the one bonus, which reduced their arrears to 95-65. A starter on Charlie Chaplin's Great Dictator gave Leicester a third in a row (I might have got it were I not yet to read a book about him I took out from the library earlier!); two bonuses on bacteria put them just ten behind, before another Fitzwilliam penalty (no debate this time) cut the gap to just five. It then went up again as Mr Maloney took the next starter; bonuses on banana cultivation didn't appear very fruitful (pun intended) at first, but they took two.
The second picture round, on England cricketers with noted success in the Ashes, went to Fitzwilliam, who took just the one bonus, which stood their lead at 125-85. After a quiet spell, Mr Tindall spoke up again with the next starter; bonuses on Elizabeth I, appropriate given what's on after UC at the moment, gave them ten points and surely enough points to come back win or lose.
Back came Leicester though, with Miss Brown doing the honours; ten bonus points deservedly took them into triple figures and back within sight. What looked like a guess from Mr Maloney gave Fitzwilliam possession back though, and two bonuses on humanism followed. And when Mr Oxlade took the next starter, that was game over. Another starter and bonus set might have been enough for Leicester to get to the play-offs, but Mr Howe would rather ensure all four Fitzwilliam players had a starter to their name. The gong cut the bonuses off; Fitzwilliam won 200-105.
A pretty decent enjoyable match well played by both sides. Unlucky Leicester, who gave a good account of themselves and are unlucky to, I would imagine, go out at this stage, but thanks for playing and well done on a good effort. Well done Fitzwilliam though on a solid first outing against good opposition, and best of luck in the second round!
The stats: Mr Tindall was the best buzzer of the night with six under his belt, while Messrs Aldred and French and Miss Brown all took two each for Leicester. On the bonuses, Leicester converted an OK 10 out of 18 (with one penalty), while Fitzwilliam managed an also pretty decent 20 out of 32 (with two penalties); could be dark horses for the second round should they get a favourable draw.
Next week's match: Imperial vs Strathclyde
Only Connect carries on on Friday, with my review on Sunday, by which point what exactly is going on with the tournament structure will be a bit clearer.
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