After a long hiatus for the club in many respects (not only being omitted from last year’s series but a frustratingly inactive year for them), KCL Table Tennis get to put on the biggest match of their season at least. Taking place in a very incongruous location (just outside The Den, home of Millwall), it promises to be a fun afternoon of sport, and one of those sports which are easy to indulge in during a festival of sport.
After being shockingly omitted from the 2021 series, Tennis makes its just return to the Varsity series after a year hiatus, returning at a time where global interest in tennis in rising fast. A total of 8 members across the KCL teams will be involved and will take part in 5 matches: a Men’s Singles, a Women’s Singles, a Men’s Doubles, a Women’s Doubles and a Mixed Doubles. With a glorious bird’s eye/back court view over proceedings at Lee Valley, making it feel like your right behind a television camera of it, it’s certainly the place to be on Friday, with GKT Hockey taking place right after in the same complex. The Strandies will be up against a reliably strong Gower side in this event, but they always play with heart and a shock could be on the cards.
Over the course of this season, the men’s 1s have a 5th successive season in the BUCS South Prem (an absolutely astonishing achievement- given that it really is the southern prem with Bristol 1s, Oxford 1s and Swansea 1s all involved in the league) with a comfortable 10 points & mid table finish this time out. For their Varsity match, they’re clearly hyped up enough for it- releasing player-by-player profiles on their Instagram. And indeed, in a traditionally strong events for King’s, the 1s are heavy favourites this time round, hoping to add another victory to their litany of Varsity titles as a club.
The 1s side recently reached their first BUCS Cup final in over a decade, and were ahead against Imperial 1s for much of the match before succumbing to a cruel 3-1 defeat. But alas, it isn’t Imperial in Varsity, and not even UCL for GKT, but a RUMS side who they’ve certainly got the beating of. They’ve showed their mettle in crucial, tense matches too over the course of the season, getting to the BUCS Cup final after a victory on penalties. After losing the last non-Covid Varsity match to RUMS 6-3 in 2020, they’ll look to put that right in front of a full crowd cheering them on.
One of the odder Varsity events, your taste for discovering a niche sport could be right here (literally, as it’s on the 8th floor of Bush House North wing). Usually supporting a very casual atmosphere, it’s the perfect event to stroll down after your classes on Friday afternoon have finished.
Images credited to KCLSU.
