The women’s varsity squad showcased their dedication and tenacity, remaining undefeated in the face of a formidable Oxford women’s team.
2024 marked the third Oxford vs Cambridge Women’s Powerlifting Varsity Match. After two years undefeated, sometimes by the most miniscule of margins, the new women’s team were keen to continue the legacy of those set before us. To heighten the stakes, Oxford presented the strongest women’s side we have seen thus far, including the likes of Novice Captain Gwen Marsden and Women’s Captain Rhonda Tse, both fresh off their international debut at the World University Powerlifting Cup in October. As a last consideration, Cambridge Women’s Squad was for sure in what we would call “a rebuild year” with many of our strongest faces, including previous president Samin Moghimiasil, and previous Women’s Captain Amy Williams having finished up their time in Cambridge. Pre-match projections by the CUPLC Captains had Oxford 15gl ahead on a good day, making the prospect of a third consecutive win seem an impossible task!
Cambridge presented their heaviest roster thus far, meaning that compared with the majority lightweight OUPLC women, only two CUPLC lifters were in Flight A. CUPLC had their first ever U47kg lifters in novices Luise Pickenhan and Allaya Rasul. Despite a rocky prep due to injury, the nerves of kicking off the day and a (minor) head injury whilst checking her rack height, Luise went out to a successful 3/3 squat, handling the weights with ease and poise. Allaya also went 3/3 on squat, setting the first ever U47kg CUPLC squat record with 90kg, within spitting distance of the double bodyweight milestone! Oxford responded with extreme competence and execution, with all but two lifters going 3/3. We also witnessed Gwen Marsden squat a humongous 112.5kg at only 42.6kg bodyweight, with her and newcomer Catherine Momjian squatting heaviest in Flight A. Oxford had put themselves on the map, and now it was up to Cambridge to respond.
Flight B included several more of the Cambridge Varsity debuts, including Isabel Shaw-Smith, Aneesha Manocha, Liz Stevenson, and Emma Onah. They joined veterans Anna Clay, Ada Adamczyk, Lauren Domfe, and Women’s Captain Rachel Knight. Rounding out this flight were the two remaining Oxford lifters, newcomers Rachel Walsh and Alisa Brown. In another consistent round, only 2 attempts were missed out of 30. Anna (54.9) brought us a new CUPLC Squat record for the U57kg class, with a whopping 140kg. We also saw some of the heaviest ever squats in a varsity match, with a crazy 152.5kg for Emma (71.2 - U76kg CUPLC record), a massive 165kg for Ada (95.65) and a jaw-dropping 182.5kg for Lauren (86.8 - a new 84+ kg record). All three of these women had experienced setbacks with injury and illness throughout their Varsity preps, so it was incredible to see everything come together on the day. After squats, Cambridge had a comfortable 35gl point lead, but it was still all to play for, with the Cambridge lifters needing to keep their heads if they were to secure victory.
Coming into the bench, the competition was heating up. Flight A saw a trickier time for the Oxford lifters, with unfortunately only 3 of their 8 lifters securing a third attempt. Women’s bench press is the place where this is most likely to happen, as the minimum 2.5kg jump can make the difference between a bench moving like a dream, and it being absolutely stapled to your chest! The girls responded well to the challenge, with many of the girls leaving the platform with a smile on their faces regardless! Our Cambridge lifters also continued the club’s good day, with Allaya hitting a new PB and 3/3 lifts, and Luise (43.95) setting the CUPLC U47kg bench record with 50kg, a huge feat at such a light bodyweight. To finish the flight, we also got to see a phenomenal feat again from OUPLC’s Gwen, who benched an unofficial junior world record with 75kg.
Flight B again left Cambridge to respond, with another consistent showing in which CUPLC hit 22/24 bench attempts. Oxford lifters Rachel and Alisa performed very well, despite an error made by officials with Alisa’s initial third attempt meaning she was given the chance to take a 4th attempt as per IPF rules, which she smoked! We saw some super proficient benching, with 5 of 7 CUPLC lifters hitting a “red plate” (75+kg) by their third attempts - a huge milestone for many women. Three lifters, Liz (80.0) (in her first IPF competition no less!), Emma (71.2), and Lauren (86.8) hit 77.5kg with absolute ease, Women’s Captain Rachel pressed 82.5kg (68.0), and absolute beast Ada (95.65) rounded out the flight with an insane 95kg to smash the 84+ record. Will she hit 100kg in her captaincy year next Varsity? You’ll have to tune in to find out! As the bench concluded, Cambridge conserved their lead, with only the hurdle of the deadlift to overcome! However, the team knew it was, as they say, “not over ‘til the bar hits the floor”.
In Flight A of deadlifts, Oxford put up an absolutely incredible fight, with all but one lifter hitting their final deadlifts of the day. Some highlights in this include Gwen’s (42.6) 142.5kg lift, a mahoosive 3.3x her bodyweight, and newcomers Beth Eames (59.25) 152.5kg and Laura Haas’ (56.75) 155kg pulls rounding out flight A. Our smallest (but potentially mightiest) squad members put in another cracking performance, with the grind of the day from Luise to secure her 3/3 on deadlift and a sensational 2.5x bodyweight pull, and Allaya (46.05) setting the CUPLC -47kg deadlift record with 132.5kg for a 2.9x bodyweight finish. At the conclusion of flight A, Cambridge were 16gl in the lead providing that Flight B made their openers, so all that was left was to wait with baited breath.
Flight B finished the day the way it started, with incredibly consistent lifting from both teams resulting in only 2 missed attempts out of 30. OUPLCs two final lifters were a complete credit to their team, finishing the day with 145kg for Rachel (68.3) and a phenomenally ground out 150kg for Alisa (61.75) after getting the crowd hyped up for the last few pulls. After securing their openers, the rest of deadlifts were very much a victory lap for the CUPLC girls, with Isabel, our olympic lifter and hook grip queen, securing well over double bodyweight 137.5kg (57.0) to end her first BP appearance. Our other two newcomers, crossfitter Aneesha and shooter and field athlete Liz both finished strong, with 147.5kg (73.65) and 155kg (80.0) respectively leading to smiles and celebrations on the platform. To follow, Anna (54.9) secured a new U57kg record with an absolute sumo clinic, grinding out 162.5kg with unparalleled patience off the floor. Ada hit an incredible 170kg, narrowly missing her third attempt after nursing a back injury for much of the prep. Emma (71.2) established herself in CUPLC history with a 177.5kg pull, becoming one of only 4 women to ever total over 400kg in the club (407.5kg). Penultimately, Women’s Captain Rachel (68.0) pulled 187.5kg to increase the U69kg deadlift and total records. Finally, and in front of a crowd absolutely roaring for her success, Lauren completed her final pull for CUPLC, becoming the first woman in varsity history to deadlift 200kg.
The win was, thankfully, secured. In the end, the women’s team had 645.7gl, making them the strongest women’s team in the three years of separate competitions. We achieved a margin of 31.31gl, also the largest margin by which we have ever been victorious. This was a historic women’s varsity for many reasons, but included some notable performances. Gwen of OUPLC was best lifter with over 100gl, which has never been achieved in a varsity by any man or woman. On the Cambridge side, records were smashed all round, and we also had four women total over the 400kg mark, something that had only been done before by Lauren in 2023.
I would like to acknowledge the phenomenal hard work of each of the women on the squad, who responded to challenges in their preps with courage and tenacity, and brought a varsity performance we can all be proud of. I would also like to thank the women of OUPLC who brought an unbelievable performance, and were as always worthy competitors. My thanks go to our sponsors, Mirafit and SBD, and White Lights Media who ran our livestream with unparalleled professionalism. We also appreciate all the helpers, officials, and spectators who took the time to help with the event and cheer us on. Finally, I would like to extend my congratulations to the men’s team, captained by Brandon Teh, on their momentous win over OUPLC, and my personal thanks to Brandon for supporting me and the women’s team in achieving this victory.
