First win for Southampton University

A UNIVERSITY team coached by a Cuestars tournament director has enhanced its reputation as one of the strongest in the country by winning the Midlands Cup for the first time.

Skipper Kurtis Haberstraw said he was “proud of the guys for what we achieved” during the two-day event at the Atack Snooker Club, Nuneaton.

The University of Southampton (Haberstraw, Mike Andrews, Micky Olding, Simon Alderton and Martin Cordeiro) smashed through the group stages, beating Imperial College London 9-1 and Coventry 8-2.

Haberstraw comfortably won a one frame tie-break in the quarter-finals after his team staged a massive comeback from 3-0 down to draw 5-5 with Nottingham.

And they eased past York 6-2 in the last-four.

“That gave us a lot of confidence going into the final against Kent which was very tight,” said Haberstraw.

After a 6-4 victory, 22-year-old from Swansea declared: “What a start to the year!”

And he added: “It feels amazing to captain such a great group of lads. They played better than I could have asked for.

“The team made me raise my level because I didn’t want to let them down.”

Haberstraw, who is studying aeronautical engineering, also praised the “fantastic” support of squad member and Poland international Weronika Nowicka.

The students are now preparing for a trip to Leeds in March for the British Universities & Colleges Sport Snooker Championships, which they won in 2013.

World Snooker coach Tim Dunkley has been working with the squad since 2009.

Picture by Weronika Nowicka: University of Southampton, from left: Mike Andrews, Micky Olding, Kurtis Haberstraw (capt), Simon Alderton, Martin Cordeiro.

Report by Tim Dunkley.