Whitgift and London Academy lead Jack Petchey winners

Whitgift School and London Academy were double victors at the Jack Petchey London Schools Table Tennis Team Finals.

Whitgift took home the Under-19 boys’ and Under-11 boys’ titles, while London Academy ruled the Under-16 age group, taking both the boys’ and girls’ events.

University College School (UCS) won a thrilling Under-13 boys’ gold, Sacred Heart took the corresponding girls’ title, and the roll of honour was completed by Barnes Primary, who won the Under-11 girls’ tournament.

Scores of youngsters representing 36 teams showed off their skills at the University of East London’s SportsDock.

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Click here for full team results

The most thrilling final was the Under-13 boys, with countback needed to separate UCS from Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart led 1-0 and 2-1, only to see UCS level on both occasions. UCS then won the fifth and sixth matches to stand on the brink of overall victory. However, Sacred Heart took the seventh and eighth matches to level up a 4-4, meaning it came down to sets won – and UCS took the verdict by a 15-13 margin.

Sacred Heart had reached the final by defeating Tiffin School, while UCS came through against London Academy. Tiffin won the third-place play-off.

The winning U16 boys’ team from London Academy

The other category to feature both group and knockout stages was the Under-16 boys, where London Academy came through to defeat Ernest Bevin College in the final, by a 5-2 margin with the eighth match not played. Sacred Heart took third place, overcoming Whitgift in the play-off.

The winning London Academy girls’ team

The rest of the categories were round-robin and London Academy’s girls ensured an under-16 double for their school, though it was a tight competition.

In the event, their 6-2 victory over Burlington Danes Academy was the key, enabling them to finish above their opponents, and also Morpeth School, after the other two matches in the group finished at 4-4.

Whitgift’s Under-19 boys

Whitgift enjoyed two dominant wins in the Under-19 boys, overcoming Ernest Bevin 7-1 and Morpeth 8-0. Ernest Bevin took second by virtue of a 6-2 victory over Morpeth.

The winning Whitgift Under-11s

Whitgift also enjoyed a 100% record in the five-strong Under-11 boys’ event, defeating Sir Thomas Abney Primary 5-3, Coldfall Primary 6-2 and Fircroft Primary and Fox Primary both 7-1.

Coldfall won their other three matches to claim second place, ahead of Sir Thomas Abney in third.

In the younger girls’ competitions, Sacred Heart and Barnes won the Under-13 and Under-11 respectively.

Sacred Heart’s U13 girls

Sacred Heart dropped only four individual matches, beating London Academy and Morpeth 8-0 and Richmond Park Academy and Burlington Danes 6-2. Second went to Richmond Park, with Burlington Danes in third.

The Barnes Primary squad

There were four schools in the Under-11s and Barnes took top spot thanks to 6-2 victories over Sir Thomas Abney and Fox Primary, and a 4-4 draw with Greenleaf Primary.

Greenleaf were unbeaten also, but another draw, with Fox Primary, meant they had to settle for second place, with Fox in third.

Official winning squads

U19 boys (Whitgift): James Smith, George Hazell, Reiss Vydelingum, Jason Kwok

U16 boys (London Academy): Valerio Bucci, Yacine Boubekeur, Mihnea Dascalu, Daniel Oluwamayowa

U16 girls (London Academy): Patricia Ianau, Natalia Ianau, Iulia Micu, Furuz Abdullah

U13 boys (UCS): Toby Crawcour, Jacob Zakaim, Oskar Gershfield, Tommy Lyons

U13 girls (Sacred Heart): Halle Toulon, Saneeka Resone-Jhagri, Ava Largie-Juckes, Oluwabunmi Onakomaya

U11 boys (Whitgift): Ollie Maric-Murray, Jacky Lee, David Aboagye, Shantosh Thevarasa, Alfie Owen

U11 girls (Barnes Primary): Annie Williams, Anna Hall, Josie Hill, Clementine Fraser, Lara Jones

Author: via Table Tennis England
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