President: Alex Rhodes
Varsity Experience: Two years
Plays in: Men’s 1sts
League: Midlands 2B
BUCS position: 5th
Key players: Andy Oram and Lauren Armstrong
Match Prediction: 3-1 to Lincoln
Varsity prediction: Very close
Best part of Varsity: The enormity of the event and “of course, the night out.”
Rhodes believes that strength in depth will play in their favour during their Varsity matches this year. Last year saw the 2nds win and the 1sts lose but the president who has two Varsities under his belt has said that despite their top seeds not changing dramatically, their new lower seeds may prove to be the difference and win the extra points.
He said: “Our biggest strength is probably how good our players are who are not in the first team for the men. They are all at a similar level to each other, thus improving each other and showing a strength in depth.
“As we have more teams entered this year there is a lot more of a chance for our newer players to play.”
However, he knows that Hull who sit third in the Northern 3B division will bring a strong challenge. They are predominantly an unknown entity due to some of their teams making a Varsity debut.
He said: “We are expecting a very strong first team from Hull, but the rest is very unknown as we have not played any of their other teams in previous events or Varsity.”
Lincoln have two very seasoned players in their ranks and Rhodes is hoping that their experience can swing in their advantage. Andy Oram plays for the men’s 1sts and Lauren Armstrong plays for the women’s 1sts who sit 6th in the Midlands 2B division.
They have a lot of playing time under their belt having played to a high level since they were young. However, it’s not just these players that could help Lincoln win as Rhodes is expecting the fans’ participation to spur the team on.
He said: “It’s so much better playing at home than away as you have more spectators and the players are better after having a good night’s sleep and not needing to wake up at 6am to arrive at 9am.”