AVONVETTS REPORT
JANUARY 2018
After the first three matches the team had two points from a vital win over Dorset. Four matches were played this time to conclude the season’s matches at Draycott TTC near Derby. The team was Martin Gunn, Dave Reeves, Gary Baldwin and Michele Reeves.
AVON6 WARWICKSHIRE 4
Dave was first up against Adrian Pilgrim, the Warks No.1. At 2-0 and 8-4 up Dave had played superbly and was in control before mistakes crept in and Adrian produced a comeback to win the third and fourth games. The deciding set was tense and at 9-9 Dave won both points by attacking to give the team a positive start. Gary then backed up that win with an exceptional display against Ryan Stockham – his clever return of serve and counter attacking proved too much and he won 3-1. A defeat for Martin against Mark Jackson halted the good start, but he went straight back on for a mixed doubles with Michele and upped his game to make the match score 3-1. Dave then lost out in the fifth to Ryan before Michele played some inspired points to defeat Dawn Sagoo for the loss of only nine points! At 4-2 things looked good, but a men’s doubles loss, and defeat for Gary in the fifth to Mark Jackson levelled the match at 4-4. Martin and Adrian then produced a top quality match with Martin narrowly taking it 11-8 in the fifth. Dave and Michele completed the match win with a 3-0 victory in the final mixed doubles.
AVON3 LEICESTERSHIRE 7
The close games continued as Martin took on Dave Gannon. Neither player could gain the initiative in a top class game, and at 9-9 in the fifth, Dave won both points with clever serves and attacks. The disappointment didn’t last long as Gary continued his excellent form with a four set win over Reza Kiani. The next four matches all went the way of Leicestershire to make the match score 5-1. The team needed to stop the bad run and Martin and Gary combined well to defeat Chris Rogers and Reza, then Dave beat Reza 3-1 to make the score 5-3. Martin took on Chris Rogers in game nine and produced some outstanding shots to outplay his highly ranked opponent at times. Unfortunately luck went against Martin as Chris had a crucial net and edge at the end of the fourth game to take the win when a fifth end looked certain. A mixed doubles defeat meant the final score was a 7-3 loss.
At the end of the first day Dorset had one point, and Northumberland none. So with four points the team were in a great position to stay up.
AVON 5 KENT 5
The team knew a draw would seal survival and it seemed the pressure of the situation impacted on performance as Dave lost out to Phil Cox, Gary to Diccon Gray and Martin to Andy Norwood, all in four ends, to put the team 3-0 down. A mini comeback followed as Martin and Miche won a tight mixed doubles and Dave somehow scraped through against Diccon 11-9 in the fifth in another nervy and tactical battle. Miche then continued her excellent form with a 3-0 win over Heidi Smith to level the match. A men’s doubles loss followed by a fifth set defeat for Gary to Andy in a high quality game left the team 5-3 down. Martin then played another class match against Phil Cox finally coming through 11-9 in the fifth. This left Dave and Michele to take on Phil and Heidi knowing a win would secure a draw and ensure survival. When the first set was lost 14-12 it looked like a tense game would follow. But they played well and dominated the next three games winning 3-1 and drawing the match.
AVON7 NORTHUMBERLAND 3
Martin got the final match off to a winning start, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Eddie Smith with some powerful hitting. Gary then outplayed Martin Schapira winning all three games comfortably, before Dave lost in three close sets to Andy Wilkinson. A mixed doubles win for Martin and Miche was followed by a close defeat for Gary against Eddie. Miche then completed another 3-0 singles win, this time over Christine Burke. A loss in the men’s doubles left the match score at 4-3. The next three games proved why the team deserved to stay in the top division. Dave had a good attack v defence battle against Martin winning 3-0, with the first two games being 18-16 and 12-10. Martin then played some of his best points of the weekend against Andy. The first three games all went to deuce, with Martin winning two of them. The fourth game saw Martin pull away to claim a memorable 3-1 over the highly ranked Andy. The last match of the weekend saw Dave and Miche complete a 3-0 mixed doubles win for a 7-3 scoreline.
Nottinghamshire won all seven matches and are deservedly crowned Champions - congratulations to them. Northumberland and Dorset were relegated. Avon finished fifth out of eight teams, exceeding all expectations and proving a match for all opposition. Next season will be an even tougher task, but for now the team can reflect on a fantastic result.
