Premier Division
Week 25
The clash between the Hockley ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams was a close affair that ended with Andrew Cunningham and Dave Colwill securing a draw for the ‘A’s with a 4-set victory in the doubles. In the singles there was a good win for Dave over Matt Stringer and a hat-trick from Andrew. For the ‘B’s, there were 2 wins each for Dan Patynski and Sanjay Saptarshi and a single win for Matt.
Charles Sweeny’s fine unbeaten performance for Selbourne proved to be of no avail as his team went down 6/4 to league leaders, Northlands Park ‘A’. His teammates, Martin West and Kim Shead were out of luck in the singles, although Kim was only beaten in the 5th set by both Bruce Kettle and John Monk, before he and Charles joined forces to win the final doubles 11-13, 13-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8 over John and Norbert Fullerton.
Week 27
A strong Basildon ‘A’ side showed no mercy in a 10/0 romp against Hockley ‘B’ with the loss of only 3 sets along the way. Liam Squirrell was the POM, with Ian Wall and Daniel Bronziet also unbeaten although Daniel was taken to a 5th set before overcoming the resistance of Dennis Squirrell.
The top two in the league met this week and it was second placed Maylands Green who took the honours with a convincing 9/1 win over Northlands Park ‘A’. Another unbeaten performance here by Emil Erkekov, plus a hat-trick from Chris Penrose and a double from Bradley Osborne did the damage. Gurj Bhambra prevented the whitewash with a close, 5 set win over Bradley in the final singles.
Finally, this week, Selbourne were unable to field a team for their match with Hockley ‘A’ and had to concede the points.
Week 28
The week began with another big win for Maylands Green, this time a 9/1 win over Hockley ‘A’. Emil Erkekov and Chris Penrose were again unbeaten, with Hockley’s only point coming from a 5-set win for Sanjay Saptarshi over Daniel Piggott. No joy here for either Tim Pang or Joerg Poeschus.
Hockley ‘B’ were hampered by only being able to put out two players for their home match with Northlands Park ‘B’ and paid the price. Their duo of Dennis Squirrell and Stuart Adshead were unable to prevent Neal Barker, Richard Jackman and Dave Bassett registering a 10/0 win although Stuart can consider himself somewhat unfortunate losing out narrowly in the final set to both Neal and Dave.
With Northlands ‘A’ not in action this week, Basildon ‘A’ moved to the top of the table following a 9/1 win over Selbourne. Skipper Ian Wall and Dan Zeffie turned in unbeaten performances for Basildon with Charles Sweeny scoring Selbourne’s only point with a win over Daniel Bronziet.
Division 1
Week 24
No scheduled matches this week but Grays entertained Stanford ‘B’ in a rearranged fixture and had a fine 8/1 win. Stanford’s only success came in the singles when Rob Salvage got the better of Max Southby at 11-6 in the final end. Elsewhere in the singles there were 2 wins for Mike Trendell to earn the POM honours and a win each for Max and Dmitry Kisil although both had to go the distance to get the better of Chris Crooks and Rob respectively. The three doubles matches all went the way of the home side with the loss of only two sets.
Week 25
It was a tough night for Hadleigh Forum when they took on a strong COYS side and were beaten 8/1. Paul Sims was in good form for COYS, winning both his singles matches in straight sets. John Tendler was also unbeaten, but Gus Heath was beaten by Peter Lucraft for the second time this season. Not surprisingly, COYS won all the doubles, but Gus and John had to recover from two sets down before overcoming Peter and Tony Ayliffe at 13-11 in the fifth set.
The all Stanford affair between the ‘B’ and ‘A’ teams went to form with Stanford ‘A’ the 7/2 winners. Pete Weatherall and Pat White both won their two singles matches but, when paired in the doubles, lost out to John Handscombe and Steve King. Stanford ‘B’s other point came from Steve King with a straight sets win over Dave Hancox.
Week 26
Les Hoey continued his good form with an unbeaten performance for Basildon ‘B’ in a 7/2 win over Grays. Lin Roff was also unbeaten in her singles but was on the losing side when she paired with Robert Kemp against Max Southby and Dmitry Kisil, who won in 4 sets. The other Stanford point came when Dmitry got the better of Robert in a close match, 11-9 the final set.
Week 27
Another week, and another big win for Basildon ‘B’, this time an 8/1 success over Stanford ‘A’. The scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story though as 5 of the 9 games went the full distance and all 5 went the way of Basildon. Robert Kemp and Les Hoey both won their two singles, with Stanford’s only point coming from Pete Weatherall with a straight set win over Lin Roff.
The match between Basildon ‘D’ and Hadleigh Forum was an altogether closer affair with the Lee Chapel outfit edging it 5/4. Richard Gill was the player of the match with two wins. Szymon Jarka was also unbeaten, and he and Richard also won their doubles together. Graham Farmer and Satwant Gill both recorded a singles win and, although unsuccessful in his singles, Tony Mace won both his doubles for Hadleigh Forum.
COYS showed no mercy when they took on bottom of the table Stanford ‘B’ and the 9/0 scoreline was not unexpected. The Coys trio of Gus Heath, John Tendler and POM Ian Cranstone proving to be far too strong for their opponents. The only close game of the night was the first doubles that saw Ian and Gus just get the better of Rob Salvage and Chris Crooks with a nail-biting 11-9, 3-11, 12-14, 12-10, 11-9 win. Thereafter, it was all plain sailing for COYS who completed the win with the loss of only 2 sets.
Grays hosted an understrength Basildon ‘C’ team who had two players stepping up from Division 2. The result was a 7/2 win for the home side. Again, the first doubles proved to be the closest game of the match with Mike Trendell and Dmitry Kisil eventually beating Rob Burton and Jenne Seibolt 13-11 in the deciding set. Rob won both his singles in straight sets but these were the only points on the night for Basildon. Dmitry Kisil was the POM here, winning both of his singles and doubles.
Week 28
The clash between the top two in this division saw the leaders, Basildon ‘B’ record a 7/2 victory over second placed COYS. Les Hoey and Garry Hartgrove both won their two singles matches, although Garry had to dig deep, coming from two sets down before overcoming the stubborn resistance of John Tendler, winning the final 3 sets 12-10, 12-10, 11-7. The COYS points came from Paul Sims and Ian Cranstone who both had fifth set wins over Robert Kemp. Basildon taking all three doubles to complete the win.
Stanford ‘A’ were 8/1 winners over Basildon ‘C’ who had to call up a player from Division 2 to complete their number. Colin Clements won the only point for Basildon with a win over Pete Weatherall. Ian Sangster took the POM honours winning both his singles and doubles as did Derrick Pearson. The closest game of the night was the final doubles when Colin and Sarah Ball got off to a great start winning the opening 2 sets only for Derrick and Pete to recover and win the game 11-8 in the final set.
Stanford 'B' hosted Basildon 'D' and it was the away side who emerged with a 5/4 win courtesy of a narrow win for Bob Skews and Tina Hutchinson over John Handscombe and Mark Downey in the final doubles, the final score being 13-11, 7-11, 11-13, 11-6, 8-11. Bob deservedly took the POM winning both his singles and his other doubles with Ash Sivanandam. Stanford took four of the six singles with two wins for Mark and one each for John and Steve King.
Division 2
Week25
League leaders Canvey were convincing 8/1 winners over Stanford ‘C’. Vaughan Chambers won the only point for Stanford, but he had to work hard before getting the better of Jo Hills at 11-9 in the final end. Otherwise, it was plain sailing for Canvey who won the remaining games with the loss of only one set. Andrew Murray was the player of the match.
Stanford 'D' got off to a good start in their home match against Basildon 'E' when Mark Farley and Randy Santiago got the better of Andy Roff and Ross Letham, winning 11-8 in the final set. Thereafter, things went the way of the away team with two singles wins each for Bill Smith and Andy Roff. Stanford's only other point came with a win for Mark Farley over Ross. A 7/2 win here for Basildon.
Basildon 'G' were only able to field two players for their match against Basildon 'F' but Lee Marson and Debbie O'Neill did their best to overcome this handicap, only losing 5/4. Lee won both his singles, and he and Debbie won their doubles together. For her part, Debbie had a good win over Michael Keeble and pushed Robert Wong all the way before losing in the final set.
Week 27
For the second week running, Vaughan Chambers was the only point winner for Stanford 'C' in their 8/1 defeat against Wickford Community 'A', who kept up their pursuit of Canvey at the top of the table. Robert Platt and Kevin Wollen were unbeaten in the singles for Wickford, Stephen Chooi added another singles win and Wickford won all the doubles.
There was an important win for Wickford Community 'B' over Stanford 'D', with both teams at the wrong end of the table. Steve Goldstone was the player of the match for Wickford with two singles and two doubles wins. His teammates Keith Bushell and Mike Smith gave him support in a 7/2 win, with Stanford skipper Mark Farley winning both the points for his side.
The all Basildon clash between their 'E' and 'F' sides saw Basildon 'E' take the honours with a 6/3 win. A good team performance here from the 'E' team with Ross Letham taking the POM thanks to his two singles wins and a narrow doubles win when he teamed up with Richard Riebold. Richard and Jenne Seibolt each won a singles and their doubles together. Steve Lennox was the best player of the night for Basildon 'F', winning both his singles and his doubles with Sarah Ball.
Lee Marson continued his good form, winning both his singles in straight sets for Basildon 'G' against top of the table Canvey. Jeremy Giffin added another point but that was the extent of it as Canvey left with a 6/3 win. Lee McGonagle, Joe Hills and Kevin Walsingham each won a singles for Canvey who won all three doubles.
Week 28
Canvey just got the better of Basildon 'E', winning 5/4 in a match that contained some very close games. With the match tied at 4/4, player of the match Dan Kellard, and Lee McGonagle faced Richard Riebold and Jenne Seibolt in the final doubles. Richard and Jenne started well, winning the first set 11-8, but the Canvey pair fought back well to win the next 3 sets 11-9, 11-9, 15-13. Dan and Lee were also unbeaten in their singles but it was a blank night for Jo Hills. Ross Letham and Jenne did their best for Basildon, winning a singles each and their doubles together, but it was Canvey's night, just!
Wickford Community 'A' made up a little ground at the top of the table with a 6/3 success over Basildon 'G', for whom Lee Marson produced another player of the match display, that included a fine, straight sets win over the experienced Dave Calleja. Jeremy Giffin chipped in with another point for Basildon, but the all round team performance by Wickford ensured the win.
Steve Lennox did his best, and won both his singles for Basildon 'F' as his side took on Wickford Community 'B'. However, they only fielded two players for this match and went down 7/2 as a consequence. The Wickford trio of Keith Bushell, Steve Goldstone and Mike Smith securing an important win for their team.
