Cambridge and Oxford capture Seabright Cup in first battle on home turf

Cambridge and Oxford have enjoyed their first victory for six years in a transatlantic student tennis competition, played out against opponents from Harvard and Yale.

The British team emerged triumphant from the first ever battle for the Seabright Cup to be fought out at Wimbledon. The event is a new women's version of the much older Prentice Cup, which has been contested biennially since 1921.

But the Americans continued to dominate the men's event, winning the Prentice Cup for the third time in a row. Cambridge and Oxford have not won the cup on their home turf since 1970.

Now in its 85th year, the Prentice Cup is the oldest international, inter-collegiate amateur tennis competition in the world. In 2004, the Seabright Cup was introduced as a one-off match, but this year was the first time a full women's tour had taken place alongside the men's.

The event's organisers are alumni and ex-players from the four universities involved. Tony Billington, Chairman of the British Committee, believes that this opportunity for ongoing involvement has been the main reason for the Prentice Cup's longevity.

"There are quite a lot of intercollegiate activities of various sorts, but so far as I know this is the only one that's played out on an ongoing basis," he said. "It is a remarkable tour and I think the enthusiasm of the alumni is what keeps it going."

The venue for the competition alternates between the All-England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, and the Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club in New Jersey. The tourists spend six weeks building up to the main event by travelling around the host nation playing various local teams.

The Cambridge/Oxford victory in the Seabright event was especially remarkable because as a rule the touring side has been the more successful as the lengthy build-up allows the team to gel. In the event, the British women won comfortably, by eight matches to four.

Harvard/Yale won the men's event by 15 matches to six. But Mr Billington said there had been some good individual performances, in particular by Jon Tassell, the Cambridge/Oxford number one, who defeated his opposite number, Brandon Wai.