SOUTHAMPTON students finished runners-up in the two main categories at the Southern England University Pool Championships 2014.

The A side were beaten 6-4 from 4-3 up by Oxford in the team final and star player Micky Olding made the individual final.

A spokesman for the Southampton University Snooker & Pool Club said: “We made the others stand up and take notice of us.”

Allstars Sports Bar in Weston-super-Mare played host to 32 teams from 16 universities across the south for the world rules 8-ball event.

Southampton’s first team – Kurtis Haberstraw, Olding, Mike Andrews, Simon Alderton and Martin Cordeiro – lost only nine of their 45 frames en route to the final.

Olding, from Peterborough, dispatched reigning champion and number one seed Kyle Selman (Bath) in the last 16 of the singles but lost 5-2 in the final to England international Nik Charalambous (University of East Anglia).

The 23-year-old, one of 160 entries, pocketed £200 prize money.

“I was a little gutted we didn’t get the trophy,” he said. “But I was chuffed for the team as I felt we deserved to win with some great pool.

“We got people talking about Southampton and I’m aiming for both trophies next time around at the nationals.”

Club captain Haberstraw said: “He was absolutely fantastic. It was an amazing weekend for him.”

Poland international Weronika Nowicka, 24, progressed from a preliminary round all the way to the last-32 despite learning the rules only four days previously.

Alderton collected £50 for making the quarter-finals after seeing off England player Ed Poultney (Exeter) in the last-16.

The B team – Matt Burton, David Spring, Nowicka, Neville Harrison and Asheesh Gogna – went out in the last-eight of the Shield.