Division 1
Lions B extended their lead at the top of the 1st Division despite being held to a 5-5 draw by Whistlers B. Alice Loveridge was in excellent form for the Whistlers outfit and she was responsible for spearheading their challenge in taking a point off the leaders. She beat Olly Langlois and Ryan Bichard in 4 games before emphatically coming through in straight games over the current Island Men’s Singles Champion Joshua Butler. Dawn Morgan and Chloe Le Tissier added important wins over Bichard to secure the draw. Le Tissier won in 4, whereas Morgan needed to overturn a 2-1 deficit before winning in 5. Langlois and Butler secured wins in the remaining matches as each beat Morgan and Le Tissier in singles action in addition to their tight 4 game doubles win over the pairing of Loveridge and Morgan.
2nd placed side slipped a point further back due to their 6-4 defeat against Whistlers C. Twins Joshua and Lawrence Stacey excelled in the encounter as each picked up gritty singles wins over Phil Ogier and Jez Powell in 5 games in addition to recording a win over reserve Ian Le Page. The Lions side picked up all other matches with Ogier, Powell and Le Page all overcoming the Whistlers reserve Ryan Gilson. Ogier and Powell comfortably defeated the Stacey twins in the doubles fixture in straight games.
Whistlers A are now only 2 points behind the 2nd placed Lions side after they edged out Lions 6-4 this week. Garry Dodd still holds the only 100% record in the top flight and he came through each singles encounter against Liam Robilliard, Paul Hainsworth and Andre De Carteret without loss. Mark Pipet added straight game wins over Hainsworth and De Carteret and also combined well with Dodd during a straight game doubles win over Robilliard and Hainsworth. Each of the Lions players defeated reserve Ian Fitchet and Robilliard also added a 4 game win over Pipet.
Lions F narrowly ended the Division 2 Qualifier in top spot, edging Lions E on games difference. The F side were 8-2 winners over Whistlers F in their last Division 2 Qualifier fixture. Jamie Ferbrache starred for the victorious side due to his singles wins over Joseph Bourgaize in 5, reserve Dale Webb in 4 and Daisy Kershaw in straight games. He also combined with Luke Bichard to earn a 4 game doubles win over Bourgaize and Kershaw. Bichard and Dan Collenette both picked up wins over Kershaw and Webb, however they were unable to get the better of an inspired Bourgaize, who squeezed past Bichard in 5 and dispatched Collenette in 4.
Lions E finished strongly and prevented 3rd finishing Lions D from topping the table due to their tight 6-4 win. Luke Le Tissier did the damage with impressive singles wins over Martin Sarre, Andy Gill and Ian Le Page for the loss of just a single end to Le Page. He teamed with father Carl to win a crucial doubles match against Sarre and Gill in 5 games, having trailed 2-1. Carl beat Le Page in 4 games and Tim Le Page battled past namesake Ian in 5 games. Le Page was unable to compete in his other matches and the D side earned them via walkover.
Whistlers G earned the vital point that they required to make the Division 2 cut during their draw against Ravenscroft Panthers B, preventing the Panthers side from achieving it in the process. Junior Matthew Casey has performed well so far this season and he was instrumental in ensuring that he will continue to get high quality matches for the remainder of the season. He picked up singles wins over Steve Martin, Shaun Mosley and reserve Billy Ogier on top of his crucial doubles win alongside Andy Lihou over Mosley and Ogier, the pair overturning a 2-0 deficit to win in 5. The drama did not stop there for Lihou as he went into the final match of the night against Mosley knowing that defeat would send his side to the 3rd Division. Mosley looked set to steal the show when leading 2-1, however Lihou worked hard and battled through in 5 games.
Division 4
Lions I made yet another extension to their lead and top the table by a commanding 8 points. A 9-1 win was obtained over Whistlers J this week in a fixture where Andy Ferbrache and Sue Ferbrache were unbeaten. Each beat Corey Brouard, Alex Dekker and Matthew Board in singles action. Andy teamed up with niece Sophie to win the doubles Brouard and Dekker in 4 games. Sophie picked up wins over Dekker and Board, however she was edged out in 5 by Brouard, who fought back strongly from 2-1 down to win.
Division 5
Lions L remain top after tight 6-4 win over Lions M. Graham Mallett led the way with singles wins over Jenny Powell, Jan Priest and Jonah Ingrouille. Derek Cave provided good support with straight game wins over Powell and Ingrouille and it was Janine Mallett that earned the important 6th rubber courtesy of a straight game win over Ingrouille.
