University of Exeter v Exeter Alumni

Golf
The University of Exeter Golf Team and the Exeter Alumni locked horns for the 3rd Annual Northcote Claret Jug match at the Royal Dawlish Warren Golf Club on the 2nd & 3rd April. With honours shared over the past two years one team was keen to nip ahead overall. The Alumni had brought back some tried and tested pairings for 2011 but had also flown in Ian Murray from Lausanne for the weekend and big hitter John Wakeley. On the students team ‘player of the year’ Laurie Potter was looking to lead from the front with ‘Handicap Order of Merit’ winner Nick Hector providing more Mr Consistent golf.

Day one consisted of three fourball matches. In the top match Ian Murray and John Gilbert played some sterling golf but just couldn’t get away from Nick Hector and Mary Ince. It ended in a half match that could have gone either way. The double Chris pairing for the students struggled in match two against the big hitting pair of Phil Kimberley and John Wakeley. The Alumni used their strokes wisely and posted a fine 3 & 2 win. University Team Captain for day one Laurie Potter was starting to get worried as the Alumni were playing excellent golf in game 3. New pairing of Rod Alexander and Roger Peek were combining well with some measured net birdies that took them to the last one up. A solid par on the 18th by the Alumni saw off Potter and Barnes to give the Alumni a strong advantage going into day 2.

Day two started with the Alumni full of confidence and talking about the night before, wine and nightclubs. The University on the other hand had drafted in replacements in the form of Captain Elect 2011-2012 James Wallace, unbeaten fresher Tom Watkins and rookie Tristan Lee playing of +1.

Once again the Alumni got off to a strong start with Wakeley using his strokes well against Lee and recording a fine win. Tristan Lee on his debut round at the Warren made an early impression though with some crisp ball striking. Match 2 was nip and tuck all the way to the 13th before Ian Murray pulled out his trusty 8-iron. One smooth swing later he was one up after a magnificent ‘hole in one’ that looked in all the way. It was his first ‘hole-in-one’ in 57 years of playing golf and couldn’t have come at a more pressurised part of the game. Buoyed with confidence he made another net birdie to beat James Wallace on the 17th.
Potter duly gave the students a much needed point to keep them in the match but the Alumni only required ½ a point to take the Claret Jug. James Wallace University Captain for day two had strategically placed League and Cup Double Winners and 3rd team players Hayter, Watkins and Hector out in the last three matches. The Alumni had also opted for course and distance specialists Alexander, Peek and Gilbert to fill their last three games. All matches were extremely close with birdies exchanged freely by all players. The University hung on in the end to win the final three matches on the 16th and 17th giving them three precious points. The overall match was tied and therefore the University retain the Northcote Claret Jug for 2011.
A thoroughly enjoyable weekend of golf and banter! The University Golf Team and Scholars would like to once again thank the Exeter Alumni for their continued support of the high performance golf programme at Exeter. This support is invaluable and underpins the golf team’s aim of being the top golf university in England in the next 3 years.
Next meeting -
Friday 9th September - University of Exeter Alumni Golf Day at Worplesdon GC, Surrey.

Hockey
On Saturday 2nd April  two alumni teams played against two current student sides in the Hockey Annual Alumni reunion.
 A wide selection of Exeter alumni, from previous 1st to 6th teams returned to Exeter from locations all over the country. The current men's 1st team played against a team of 1st team returners, the Exeter alumni team eventually won 10 - 9 in a competitive game.

The Exeter alumni hockey community have donated generously towards the club in previous years allowing the club to continue giving great benefits to its members.

- Tom Woods, a final-year Business student and the Men's Hockey Club's Alumni Secretary organised the weekend, he said "It's fantastic to see so many guys come back to Exeter for the Alumni Day. Involvement in the Hockey Club forms a major part of many student's time at Exeter and it was great to see so many alumni and current students come together to celebrate their time within the club. Plans are already being formulated for next year's event which we hope will be even bigger."
The reunion didn’t end with the result of the tournament, the winning team bought all the losing teams a pint and both students and alumni enjoyed an evening of socialising.

Many alumni are now playing top level league hockey at some of Britain's best clubs whilst other have gone to play international hockey.

The Hockey Club is one of the most successful sports clubs at Exeter and is highly renowned for its hockey programme and is one of the leading Universities in the country, it attracts a great number of talented athletes to the University every year. Its first teams men will compete in playoffs for premiere one, the highest level of English league hockey.