Senior League Week 15

Division 1

 

This week's action within the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues produced a trio of unexpected results which saw the top 2 sides defeated and the side in 3rd being held to a draw.

Current league leaders Lions C were narrowly edged out 6-4 by the side at the bottom of the table, Whistlers B. Joshua Stacey was pivotal to this surprise result and he contributed to 4 of his side's 6 wins. This was far from straight forward for the 21 year old though as he needed the full 5 sets to get the win during 3 of the encounters. His first win came against Paul Hainsworth and he was required to battle back from a 2-0 deficit to come through 11-8 in the decider. He combined with Martin Sarre to secure a crucial doubles win over Hainsworth and Phil Ogier, this time 11-9 in the decider and his final 5 set win came over Ogier in the last match of the evening. This time he led 2-0 and it was the Lions player that forced it to a decider, Stacey taking it 11-7. His other win came over Andre De Carteret in straight games. Sarre and Joseph Bourgaize each beat De Carteret in singles action to seal the win, however neither were able to add to their tally and each lost comfortably to Ogier and Hainsworth.

 

Lions A missed out on the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders as they too fell to a surprise 6-4 defeat, at the hands of Lions B. Both sides were missing their top players, however it was the B side's reserve Matthew Stubbington that contributed 1 victory more than the A side's reserve Liam Robilliard. Stubbington earned an impressive 4 set win over the in-form Ben Foss and followed up with a matching 4 set win over Dan Collenette. He did lose out to Robilliard 12-10 in the decider though, in what was to be Robilliard's only singles win of the night. Luke Bichard impressed with wins over Collenette and Robilliard in 4 and elder brother Ryan also did well to beat Robilliard in straight games. The final rubber clinched by the B side came in the doubles where the Bichard brothers defeated Foss and Collenette in 5.

 

3rd placed side Whistlers A were therefore the main winners on the night due to their 5-5 draw against Whistlers C, however they will rue the chance to have closed the gap further on the leading Lions sides. Garry Dodd continues to hold onto his 100% singles record and he romped to straight game singles wins over Matthew Casey and Albert Unden. The same could not be said for his match with Lawrence Stacey as the younger player opened up a 2-1 lead with some impressive shots. Dodd was determined not to lose his unbeaten status and having comfortably taken the 4th, battled through the decider 11-9. Stacey's form was evident to see in his other matches as he beat Mark Pipet and Ryan Gilson without dropping an end. He also teamed with Casey during a quality 4 game doubles win over Dodd and Pipet. It was Casey that managed to seal the point for the underdogs due his 2 singles wins which commenced with a straight game win over Gilson. His second win was the key victory as it came against Pipet in the final match of the night. The junior had led 2-1 before Pipet turned it around by taking the 4th 11-8 and opening up a commanding 6-0 lead in the decider. Casey did incredibly well to battle back from this large deficit in the decider and won 11 of the next 14 points to nick it 11-9 and obtain an unlikely point for his side.

 

Division 2

 

Lions D remain top of the Division by 2 points after they secured a convincing 8-2 win over Lions F. Jamie Ferbrache shone for the leaders due to his wins over Jez Powell in 4 games and reserves Peter Powell and Steve Ozanne in straight games. Andy Gill and Ian Le Page both beat Peter and Ozanne, however each were defeated by Jez, Gill losing out over the full 5 sets and Le Page in straight games.

 

Lions E failed to make the most of their game in hand this week and lost their match against Whistlers F 6-4 on Monday evening. In a real team effort from the Whistlers side, each of their players contributed to 2 singles wins. Sam Clark beat Carl Le Tissier in 5 and reserve Terrry Trustum in 4, Paula Le Ber overcame Trustum and Mike Lucas in 4 and Andy Lihou beat Lucas in 4 and Le Tissier in 5.

 

They did return to winning ways in their fixture on Thursday evening to keep the gap at just 2 points when they beat Lions H 7-3. Carl Le Tissier beat Rob Vile and reserve Peter Powell and son Glenn beat Powell in 5. Le Tissier and reserve Nye Matthew edged past Vile and Powell over 5 sets in the doubles and a further 3 wins were obtained via walkover due to the H side only fielding 2 players. Matthew came close to extending the margin of victory, but lost to both Vile and Powell in 5, having led 2-0 in each.

 

Division 3

 

Whistlers G moved into a 4 point lead at the top after they recorded a 7-3 win over Whistlers I. Ellis Tomlin and Tom Hagerich were unbeaten for the leaders and each beat Miles Bishop-White, James Crocker and Matthew Board. The duo claimed the doubles over Board and Bishop-White in 5 sets, having trailed 2-0.

 

Division 4

 

Whistlers K dealt a big blow in the title race after they edged past rivals Lions J 6-4 this week, opening up a sizable 3 point lead in the process. Shane Cotter was the best performer for the leaders due to his singles wins over Derek Cave, Janine Mallett and Amy Stone. Joe Le Page beat Stone and Mallett and it was Andy Le Page that picked up the decisive 6th rubber when he beat Stone in 4 games.
Author: via Guernsey Table Tennis Association
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