On the opening day of the season in the Men’s National League, the University of East London’s Men’s 1st team failed to get off to a winning start as they were defeated by Bath University 1-5.
It was a difficult day for UEL at the Lee Valley Tennis and Hockey Centre in Stratford, as Bath, one of university tennis’ powerhouses, showed their quality throughout, rarely getting put under pressure across the six matches played.
The East London team are new to the league dubbed the “Super Six”, due to it being the highest level of BUCS tennis, and came into the match as underdogs with a much-changed side from the team that gained promotion from the second tier prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2019/20 season. This is because three of the four members of that team have now graduated from university and are no longer eligible for BUCS matches.
As a result, Paolo Col, Steven Zahui and Emmanuel Oni are all now in the first team having been part of the second team that won the league title in the fourth tier in 2019/20. It’s a huge step up for them; they’re now up against some players that have world ranking points, as highlighted in an interview with the team’s director, Richard Buscombe. However, they are embracing the challenge and attitudes amongst the team remain positive despite the defeat.
Results
Paolo Col lost 4-6 6-2 4-6
Arum Akom won 7-6(2) 6-4
Steven Zahui lost 1-6 2-6
Emmanuel Oni lost 1-6 1-6
Col/Akom lost 2-6 1-6
Zahui/Oni lost 2-6 0-6
You can watch highlights of the match here:
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