Snooker is a new addition to the Roses calendar in 2013, and York hope to turn in a dominant performance in the cue sports.
Pool, the English variety, is a far more established part of Roses competition. It will be one of the flagship events of Saturday evening, in D-Bar, where men’s 1sts and women’s 1sts will compete for 4 points apiece.
York have already proven themselves to be one of the strongest pool teams in the country. At the BUCS championships, held earlier this year in Great Yarmouth, the team reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Nottingham, the eventual winners.
Yet at that same competition Lancaster 1sts were the other losing semi-finalists, and so the showdown in Derwent is certain to be a cracker. “It should be a competitive game between two high quality teams at the sharp end of university pool,” pool and snooker club president Matt Brown told Vision.
Last year’s spoils in pool went to Lancaster; York have never recorded a victory across the Pennines, but their home record is much stronger, a fact which will hopefully be reflected by the results.
For much of the squad, it is one final chance to impress whilst at York. “With most of this years team being final years,” Brown said, “the onus will be on everyone to go out on a high and put in a strong performance against our rivals.”
When the pool matches get underway on Saturday evening, York could already be well on their way to a cue-sports whitewash. The snooker event will be held off-campus at Fulford Conservative Club on Saturday afternoon. Confidence is high in the camp after reaching the BUCS quarter-finals in March.
“York are high on confidence for completing a pool and snooker double against Lancaster this year,” Brown told Vision. With a crowd expected to cheer them on, the atmosphere is certain to be outstanding. With a strong team, don’t bet against them pocketing a sweep of the points.