There were victories for the 2 x leading sides in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues this week.
Whistlers B have led the Division for the past 5 weeks and they just about held their nerve to edge past a stubborn 5th placed Lions C side this week. The outcome was 6-4 in the leaders favour and it was Lawrence Stacey who once more proved to be key, following an unbeaten evening of singles and doubles action. He overcame Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and Corey Brouard in singles action without dropping a set, but it was his contribution in the pivotal doubles clash which was the most important. Alongside Matthew Casey, he led the way to an extremely tight 5 set victory over the Lions pair, who were defeated for just the second occasion all season. Stacey and Casey had trailed 2-1, but dug deep to win the final ends 12-10, 11-9. The first end had also been crucial and the Whistlers pair had saved game points before taking it 13-11. Casey was the player to see off the challenge of the Lions outfit due to his singles wins over Gill and Brouard. Like the doubles, he needed to reverse a 2-1 deficit to get the better of Gill, whilst his win over Brouard was a lot more comfortable and came in straight sets. Hainsworth overcame Casey and Ryan Gilson in straight sets, whilst Gill and Brouard added wins over Gilson.
Lions B are now in clear 2nd position in the table after they squeezed past Lions A 6-4 this week. Phil Ogier and Dan Collenette were each in good form on the night as they both defeated Ryan Bichard, Jamie Ferbrache and reserve Jez Powell in singles action to make sure of the win. Each of the defeated A side players overcame Andre De Carteret in singles action, whilst the doubles was won by Bichard and Ferbrache over Collenette and De Carteret in 4 sets.
Whistlers C moved into 4th position following their 6-4 win over the side at the foot of the table, Whistlers A. Josh Stacey was clinical on the night and earned wins over Ellis Tomlin, Sam Clark and reserve Ian Fitchet without loss. He also combined strongly with Charlotte Casey where they picked up a 4 set doubles win over Tomlin and Clark. Mark Pipet sealed the victory due to his wins over Clark in 4 sets and Fitchet in straight sets.
Division 2
The hotly anticipated top of the table clash between Whistlers D and Lions D did not disappoint. The Whistlers side have led the Division since the 3rd week of the season, however the 6-4 defeat incurred this week now sees the Lions side leading the way by a single point. Tim Le Page, Steve Ozanne and Carl Le Tissier all contributed equally on the night, with each player defeating Keith Opie and Ben Sharp in singles action. Le Tissier needed the full 5 sets to win both of his matches, the most important coming against Sharp when he came back from 2-1 down and edged the decider 13-11. Ozanne also needed 5 sets to defeat Opie and this came in the final match of the night, but he ran out a comfortable 11-5 winner in that deciding set. Kay Chivers did all she could for the Whistlers side due to her trio of singles wins, losing just the single set to Le Tissier in the process. She also teamed up strongly with Opie to defeat Le Page and Ozanne in straight sets in the doubles rubber.
Division 3
St Pauls B are in the strongest position across all Divisions as they hold a sizable 5 point advantage over their nearest rivals, Ravenscroft Panthers D. This week they were comfortable 8-2 victors against Whistlers H. Craig Dunning won all of his singles matches over Stuart Sarre, Darren Sarre and reserve Jayden Tucknott and remains on 100%. He also won the doubles alongside Derek Carter against the Sarre brothers, although the Panthers pair needed to come back from 2-1 down to win over the full distance. Carter and Brian Le Cras made sure of the win due to their victories against Darren and Tucknott, with Stuart overcoming both to prevent the whitewash.
Division 4
