A few crucial results were obtained in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored leagues this week, which has left defending champions Lions A in pole position to retain their title.
Defending champions Lions A had a strong week which saw them win twice, including a brought forward fixture against fellow title rivals Lions B. As a result of a draw between Lions B and their other title rivals, Whistlers A, they hold a 2 point lead, with just 2 matches left to play by each.
The most important win was in the fixture against Lions B and it saw them emerge as comfortable 7-3 winners. Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Matthew Stubbington all defeated Jamie Ferbrache and Nye Matthew in singles action to ensure the win was obtained. Butler and Robilliard also combined well to earn a straight sets win over Ben Foss and Ferbrache in the doubles match. For the defeated Lions side, Foss was in excellent form and won all singles matches without dropping a set.
The scheduled match for the week saw another 7-3 win obtained, this time over 6th placed side Lions D. In this fixture it was Stubbington that led the way due to his unbeaten evening of singles action. He started the evening with an excellent 4 set win over the high-flying Ryan Bichard and followed up with a matching 4 set win over Sam Clark and a tight 5 set win over Steve Ozanne in the final game of the night. Butler and Robilliard each beat Clark and Ozanne to conclude the result. Bichard impressed by bouncing back from his initial defeat to strongly defeat both Butler and Robilliard in straight sets. He also combined well with Ozanne in the doubles match against Butler and Stubbington, where they fought back from 2-0 down to edge through in 5 sets.
Whistlers A remain second, but they dropped points for the 4th time in the last 7 matches, after being held by 3rd placed side and fellow title rivals Lions B. As in the match with the league leaders, Foss was once again pivotal for his side and he was unbeaten in the fixture. He experienced another high quality evening in which he won all of his singles matches without dropping a set. This saw the Division 1 averages leader defeat Joshua Stacey, Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize with ease. He also teamed with Ferbrache to win the important doubles match against Stacey and Casey in 4 sets. Ferbrache was the player to pick up the other win for the Lions side as he comfortably beat Bourgaize in straight sets. For the Whistlers side, Stacey and Casey each beat Ferbrache and Nye Matthew in singles action. Bourgaize did his bit in his opening match, as he fought back after losing the opening set to defeat Matthew in 4 sets.
The remaining top flight match saw bottom placed side Lions E pick up points for just the 4th time this season. A match containing 2 reserves saw the E side earn a 5-5 draw against a 4th placed Lions C side, who in the end salvaged the draw by winning the final 2 matches of the night. Phil Ogier was in good form for the C side as he beat Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and reserve Ellis Tomlin for the loss of just 1 end to Gill in the process. It was however second Division reserve Jonah Ingrouille that got the side over the line, thanks to 2 excellent victories over players ranked above him. His first came against Tomlin in 5 sets, but he saved his best for last, with a terrific 4 set win over Gill in the final match of the night, to earn the point for the C side. For the E side, Hainsworth beat Charlotte Casey and Ingrouille in straight sets, whilst Gill and Tomlin also beat Casey in singles action. The doubles was won by Hainsworth and Gill over Ogier and Casey in straight sets.
Whistlers E can win the title next week and only need a single point to do so. This is because of the commanding 6 point lead they hold, with just 3 fixtures remaining. They have had a solid few weeks to lead them up to this position, with an 8-2 win obtained against Ravenscroft Panthers B and a strong 9-1 win over Lions G. The team of Craig Dunning, Tim Le Page and Oskar Cleal have each played their part in these 2 fixtures. Against the Panthers side, Dunning was unbeaten against Marli Barker, Juliette Yeaman and junior reserve Albie Lihou. Le Page and Cleal each beat Yeaman and Lihou, but neither could beat Barker, who had a strong evening.
A notable result during the past few weeks saw 4th placed Lions G earn an excellent 5-5 draw with second placed side Lions F. In this fixture, brothers Andy and Brian Ferbrache were the individuals to force this result. Andy defeated Caden Brouard in 5 sets and James Crocker in 4 sets, whilst Brian played strong table tennis during straight sets wins over Tomlin and Crocker. The brothers teamed up well in the doubles where they fought back from a 2-0 deficit to edge out Brouard and Crocker over the full 5 set distance.
The battle for the Division 3 crown continues to roar on, with just a single point separating league leaders Ravenscroft Panthers C and Lions J, ahead of their crucial clash in a few weeks time.
The Panthers side has won their last 3 fixtures, however they survived a scare against 8th placed side St Pauls B and snuck through 6-4. This was largely due to the unbeaten evening of singles action for St Pauls reserve Trevor Bourgaize, who won all matches against Shaun Mosley, Barnaby Groves and Steve Martin in 5 sets. Another 5 set win was obtained by Rob Vile over Mosley and the St Pauls player came very close to pinching a point for his side, narrowly losing to Groves in 5 sets, despite having led 2-1. The doubles proved to be key and Mosely and Martin comfortably won this over Vile and Brian Le Cras in straight sets.
Lions J on the other side have been in supreme form, which has seen them earn 10-0 whitewashes in 2 of the last 3 fixtures. The sole fixture which did not conclude this way was against Lions K, where a 7-3 win was achieved. Aiden Ozanne was unbeaten due to singles wins over Henri Whitehorne, Mike Brehaut and reserve Olivia Giilbert. Father Andy beat Gilbert and Brehaut, whilst reserve Derek Cave beat Gilbert. The doubles was won by Aiden and Andy over Whitehorne and Brehaut in straight sets.
In an almost mirror situation to the 3rd, the 2 sides vying for the title have just a single point between them, with the crunch clash still to come.
Lions O lead the way and they and have whitewashed Bribar B as well as earned a comfortable 9-1 winners over Whistlers H within the last 3 weeks. The team of Lionel Jones, Frank Coppolo and Katy Collenette were denied the whitewash by the Whistlers side when youngster Sian Craig beat Collenette in 5 sets.
