There continues to be little to nothing to separate the leading sides across all 4 Divisions of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues.
A pulsating week of action in the top flight saw a trio of closely contested fixtures which was headlined by a top of the table tussle between defending champions Lions A and Whistlers A.
There has been nothing to separate these sides so far this season and this theme was followed in this fixture where a hard fought 5-5 draw was the outcome. On the balance the Whistlers side will probably feel more fortunate to come away unbeaten from the match as they crucially edged 2 of the 3 matches that went the full 5 set distance on the night. Ben Foss however was the star player for the Lions side as he defeated Josh Stacey, Dawn Morgan and Ryan Gilson in singles action, dropping just the single end to Morgan in the process. He was also on hand to combine with Ryan Bichard to claim a 5 set victory over Stacey and Morgan in the important doubles rubber, which they had trailed 2-0 in. Bichard got the 5th rubber for his side when he defeated Gilson in 4 sets. He came mightily close to securing the full 2 points but saw his 2-0 advantage against Morgan fall away as she came back strongly to take the remaining ends 12-10, 11-7, 11-7. Steve Ozanne was the other player to come close to picking up the 6th rubber for the Lions side but he was outsted 11-8 in the deciding 5th end by Gilson in the match opener. The other wins for the Whistlers side saw Stacey defeat Bichard in 4 sets and Ozanne in straight sets, whilst Morgan added a further straight sets singles win over Ozanne.
3rd placed side Lions B came out as narrow 6-4 winners in their clash against 4th placed side Whistlers B. Phil Ogier returned strongly for his side with an evening of dominant performances. This included an excellent straight sets win over averages leader Lawrence Stacey on top of straight sets singles wins over Ben Sharp and Paula Le Ber. Liam Robilliard played some strong table tennis to defeat Sharp and Le Ber in straight sets and he teamed with Ogier to come out on top in the crucial doubles rubber. They battled through 13-11 in the deciding end against Stacey and Sharp, after the Whistlers pair had battled back well from 2-0 down. Stacey defeated Robilliard and Sam Clark in 4 sets, whilst Sharp and Le Ber beat Clark in 5 and 4 sets respectively.
The final encounter of the week saw 5th placed side Lions C edge past bottom placed side Whistlers C 6-4. Captain Paul Hainsworth led his side strongly with an unbeaten evening. It was however far from straight forward as he needed to firstly battle back from 8-6 down in the 5th end of his encounter with Matthew Casey to win 5 consecutive points and clinch it 11-8. His other wins came against reserve Mark Pipet and Joseph Bourgaize in straight sets. The doubles was won by Hainsworth and Andy Gill against Casey and Bourgaize in 4 sets, whilst Gill added a further 4 set singles win against Bourgaize to put the Lions side on the brink. The result all came down to the final match of the night which was being contested at around 23:00. Charlotte Casey played some superb table tennis to seal it for her side due to an impressive 5 sets win over Pipet, particularly in the decisive 5th set where she played some excellent attacking shots on her way to the 11-7 outcome. Matthew had performed well for his side with a straight sets win over sister Charlotte and a battling 5 set win against Gill from 2-0 down, whilst Pipet and Bourgaize had earned strong straight sets singles wins over Gill and Charlotte respectively.
Whistlers D and Lions D remain level at the top after each recorded wins this week. Whistlers D had a potentially tough clash with 4th placed side St Pauls A but came through strongly 7-3. Kay Chivers defeated Tim Le Page, Trevor Bourgaize and Maurice James, dropping just single ends to Bourgaize and James in the process. She had good support from Keith Opie who edged past James in 5 sets and also dispatched Bourgaize in 4 sets. The duo won the doubles against Le Page and Bourgaize in straight sets whilst Erin Vaudin added an excellent 5 set win over Bourgaize to extend the margin of victory.
Lions D were more comfortable 8-2 winners in their clash against Lions F. Chloe Le Tissier played some good table tennis en route to singles wins against Caden Brouard, Jayden Tucknott and reserve Terry Trustum. Reserve Andre De Carteret and Shelby Timms each beat Tucknott and Trustum in singles action to secure the win. Timms and De Carteret further extended the margin of victory due to their straight sets doubles win against Brouard and Tucknott. Brouard saved some face for his side due to his wins over De Carteret and Timms in straight and 4 sets respectively.
Ravenscroft Panthers B still remain a single point clear of their D side at the top.
This week however they secured the win by way of forfeit from their intended clash with Whistlers F.
The D side on the other hand had a tough clash with 3rd placed side Ravenscroft Panthers C and pinched it 6-4. GTTA development officer Becks O'Keefe is one of just 2 players across all 4 Divisions yet to lose a singles match and she continued this dominance with wins over Peter Vivian, Mark Windsor and Brandon Ferbrache. Reserve Andy Lihou performed well with 5 set wins over Windsor and Vivian, with the former coming from the position of a 2-0 deficit. The doubles as so often is the case proved to be decisive in the outcome of the match and O'Keefe teamed strongly with Tia Timms during their straight sets win against Ferbrache and Windsor.
Lions K remain a single point clear from Lions J at the top after their second 10-0 whitewash of the season, Whistlers H the victims on this occasion. Jenny Powell, Cameron Powell and Helen Barker each beat Sabato Folmi and reserve Alex Whitten in singles action, whilst Barker and Cameron won the doubles in straight sets against Folmi and Whitten. The Lions side received the other 3 rubbers via walkover due to the absence of a third player for the Whistlers side.
