SPORTS YEARBOOK 2011 (Including the 2009-2010 Review

the Light Blues - victories in 3 of
the 4 contests secured big points
for the away team.
Emma Perkins followed her
surprise victory in last year’s high
jump with a triplet of successes in
the long, high and triple jump,
gaining a staggering 15 points on
her way to winning the Susan
Dennler Trophy for the best
performance in the Womens’
Match. Naomi Taschimowicz’s
match record in the Women’s
Blues mile was a clear statement
that her class is by no means
limited to the cross-country field.
Amanda Scott’s victory in the
5000m completed the set of
Cambridge victories in the
endurance events. Other women’s
successes came as Kate Laidlow
backed up last year’s victory in the
400m with a 100m and 200m
double.This bettered her second
places for the Cambridge team in
these events in 2009, and was
indeed a performance worthy of
the women’s Captain.
Both Cambridge second teams
performed outstandingly to claim
their victories and these wins
reflect the quality in the club as a
whole.The challenges of resisting
complacency on the back of such
a resounding victory, and of
recruiting new blood to plug the
gaps left by departing graduates
will undoubtedly be significant.
But the foundations have been
laid for a very positive future for
the Light Blues and the club
should be extremely proud of
their successes in 2010.
Other Performances
In addition to a dominant display
at the Varsity match, CUAC
athletes have excelled in other
competitions throughout the year.
20 Sports Yearbook 2011
In November’s Freshers’Varsity
match, this year held in Oxford, the
men’s team began a highly
successful season with a
comprehensive win of 100-79.
Individually, Ed Moyse earned a
triple win (400m Hurdles, Long
Jump,Triple Jump) with Mark
Dyble (100m, 200m), Felix Schaaf
(Discus, Shot Putt) and Mickael
Decressac (Javelin, Hammer
Throw) achieving double wins.
Decressac gained a championship
best in the Javelin of 60.22m,
earning him the Freshmen’s Medal,
awarded to the best performance
at the Freshmen’s Match.The
women were narrowly defeated
but still displayed some promising
performances, with Laura Duke
achieving a triple win (Hammer
Throw, Shot Putt, Long Jump) and
an impressive victory for Kate
Laidlow in the 200m, winning by a
margin of two seconds.
CUAC carried this good form into
the indoor season with the men
dominating the Varsity Field
Events and Relays as they had
done the previous year, winning
by 12 events to 2, with Ben
Richardson bettering his own
championship best performance
in the 60m hurdles.The women
were beaten by 8 events to 6,
despite some superb
performances.The 4x400m team
narrowly missed the
championship best, and the Pole
Vault team of Laura Duke, Sarah
Williams, Suzanne Tobin and
Theresa Hall achieved a
championship best, with 7.60m.
Another highlight of the indoor
season was a bronze medal at the
England Athletics U20 indoor
championships for Rory Graham-
Watson in the 800m.
2009 marked the year of the
Achilles Transatlantic Tour, when
CUAC combine with OUAC to
represent the Achilles club in the
oldest international athletics
fixture in the world. Competing
against a combined Harvard-Yale
team, the Men’s Team achieved a
historic victory, winning by 10
events to 9.This was the first time
the Achilles team had won since
1993. Individual wins were
achieved by Ben Richardson
(110m Hurdles), Louis Persent
(400m), Ian Simson (Triple Jump),
Mickael Decressac (Javelin) and
the men’s 4x100m team. Ben Ellis
achieved a double win in the
100m and 200m, as well as being a
member of the sprint relay team,
which earned him an award for
most valuable performer. Entering
as the underdogs, the women
performed above expectation,
losing by 12 events to 7, in a result
much closer than anticipated.
Laura Duke achieved an individual
win in the Hammer Throw, and
Florence Cavalli achieved the
Blues standard in the pole vault
despite an injury.The teams then
journeyed onwards to compete at
the prestigious Franklin Field,
Philadelphia. Here they faced
much tougher competition, in the
form of a combined Penn-Cornell
team.With many of the winning
athletes from the previous match
unavailable or injured, they were
unable to repeat their
performance of the previous week.
The individual winners were Ben
Richardson (110m Hurdles), Paolo
Natali (5000m), Laura Duke
(Hammer).The men’s 4x400m was
a highlight of the day and fantastic
end to the tour as anchor runner
Louis Persent took the baton in
last place, despite solid runs from
the rest of the team, and slowly
closed the gap down the back
straight earning the win in the
final strides, having made up 30m
on the last leg. In 2010 Penn and
Cornell will travel to Great Britain
and continue this historic series.