Whistlers C remain at the head of the table in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues by 4 points as their title rivals missed the opportunity to close the gap.
The league leaders had no match this week, due to having played the fixture for this week many weeks prior in a re-arranged game.
Their closest title rivals all failed to capitalise on the chance to close the gap, with Lions C failing to close the gap to just 2 points due to their 6-4 loss to a Whistlers A side that has moved up to 4th in the table, level on points with Lions C and Lions A in joint second. Lawrence Stacey was a key part of the win for his Whistlers side as he defeated Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Matthew Stubbington in singles action, dropping just the single end to Stubbington in the process. Junior Ben Sharp enjoyed his strongest night of the season as he played some excellent table tennis to battle past both Robilliard and Stubbington over 5 sets. His win over Robilliard came first and saw him fight back from 2-1 down to win the final 2 ends 11-8, 11-7, whilst he edged through against Stubbington 12-10 in the decisive 5th end. The 6th rubber for the victors was another 5 setter and it was left-hander Ryan Gilson who came back from 2-1 down to beat Robilliard. The Lions players won the remaining 3 singles matches, whilst Butler and Robilliard combined to win the doubles against Stacey and Sharp in 4 sets.
Lions A benefitted from the slip from their fellow Lions side and moved level on points into third place, behind just by virtue of a slightly weaker games ratio. They too however failed to capitalise entirely on the gap to the league leaders as they were held to a 5-5 draw by 6th placed side Lions B. Phil Ogier starred for the victors as he enjoyed a perfect evening of singles action. This included a superb 5 set win over Division 1 averages leader, meaning he is the only player to have beaten Foss in league action all season. Foss looked set to put the prior season defeat behind him when comfortably winning the first 2 ends for the loss of just 8 points, however Ogier raised his level and negotiated some lengthy rallies with excellent retrievals to win the following 3 ends by the close scores of 11-8, 11-8, 11-9. His other singles wins came against Jamie Ferbrache and reserve Jonah Ingrouille in straight set and 4 sets respectively. Jez Powell and reserve Nye Matthew claimed the remaining rubbers for the A side over Ingrouille, each in straight sets. Jamie Ferbrache had a strong evening for the B side which saw a 4 set win over Matthew and a 5 set win over Powell and he also teamed with Foss to win the doubles match against Ogier and Powell in 5 sets.
Lions E moved back off the bottom of the table and were replaced there by Lions D after earning a hard fought 6-4 win against them. Ryan Bichard was in good form as he beat Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and Charlotte Casey for the loss of just single ends to Hainsworth and Gill in the process. Sam Clark added a nice straight sets win over Gill and also held his nerve in the final match of the night to overcome Charlotte Casey in 4 sets. Steve Ozanne picked up the decisive 6th rubber when he beat Casey in straight sets. For the defeated Lions side, Hainsworth beat Ozanne and Clark in straight sets, Gill beat Ozanne in straight sets and Gill combined with Casey to earn a nice 5 set doubles win against Bichard and Ozanne, despite trailing 2-1.
Lions F continued with their perfect start to the season with a 10th consecutive victory. The win was however hard fought and they managed to edge through 6-4 against Ravenscroft Panthers A, their 5th 6-4 win of the season. The win sees them 7 points clear at the top. Nye Matthew and Caden Brouard once more were in good form as each was unbeaten in singles action. They each beat Ben Foote, Richard Edwards and Marli Barker, however Matthew had to fight back from 2-1 down during his encounter with Foote before winning over the distance. Each of the Panthers players earned wins over Connor Powell, however these were all close matches. The doubles was won by Barker and Edwards over Brouard and Powell in straight sets.
Lions G earned themselves an excellent surprise 6-4 win over Whistlers D and leapfrogged them into second spot in the table in the process. Andy Ferbrache beat Shelby Timms in 5 sets and Tim Le Page in 4 sets, whilst reserve Luke Le Tissier defeated the same 2 players in straight sets. Joe Ingrouille matched this feat to gain the win as he beat Le Page in 4 sets and Timms in straight sets. Despite the defeat, Kay Chivers had an unbeaten evening for her Whistlers side. She beat Le Tissier and Ingrouille in straight sets and battled back from 2-1 down to Ferbrache, taking the final 2 ends 13-11, 11-8. She also teamed with Le Page to win the doubles against Ferbrache and Ingrouille in 4 sets.
Ravenscroft Panthers C moved back to the top of the table after they beat St Pauls B 8-2. Averages leader Becks O'Keefe returned and defeated Derek Carter, Rob Vile and Brian Le Cras in singles action. She did however need to fight back from 2-0 during her encounter with Vile to win over the full 5 set distance. Juliette Yeaman mirrored O'Keefe with 3 strong singles wins, whilst the duo combined to win a close doubles match against Vile and Carter in 5 sets. Vikki Stacey added a further win over Le Cras in 4 sets to extend the margin of victory.
Ravenscroft Panthers D slipped off the top of the table and 1 point behind due to a surprise 5-5 draw with bottom placed side Whistlers F. Matthew Board did the majority of the damage for the side at the foot of the table as he beat Pierre Jehan in straight sets, Mark Windsor in 4 sets and Mick Ingrouille in straight sets. Reserve Ian Fitchet also made his mark and made a big difference in the encounter as he overcame both Windsor and Ingrouille in 5 sets and both from the position of trailing 2-1.
Lions O and Lions L are locked together at the top of the table as each side has won 7 of the 8 matches played so far this season.
