The Hastings & District Table Tennis League started with a bang as the fixtures paired defending champions Bexhill A with runners-up Hollington Academy A. After Bexhill stormed into a 5-2 lead, Hollington fought back to claim a 5-5 draw. Lewis Mayhew notched an outstanding maximum for Bexhill including a rare defeat for Paul Barry, who won 2 for Hollington. At 3-5 down, Hollington’s Andy Furnival had a crucial win over Martin Kellaway.
Saints A edged out Tigers A 6-4 with 3 wins from James Winchester and two from Dave Butler. Tony Catt won two on his Hastings debut for Tigers, including an impressive win over Butler.
Unbeaten Roy Funnell was the key to Tackleway A’s 6-4 win over Hollington Academy C in which 6 matches went the distance with 3 decided at deuce in the final set. Will Goodstone led Hollington’s resistance with 2 wins.
Bexhill C hammered Bexhill B 9-1 with maximums from Graham Gillett and Pete Robinson and 2 wins for John Wilson.
In Division 2, Bexhill D started with an 8-2 win at old rivals Tigers B in which 5 matches went the distance. For Bexhill, Brian Beaney was unbeaten, while John Bradbury and Trevor Towner won 2 each, as did Chris Woods for Tigers. Bradbury ensured 4 points for Bexhill when he came from 6-10 down in the 5th to beat Rama Patel.
Kevin Barry returned to action for Hollington Academy D and his maximum set up a 6-4 defeat of Tackleway F. Ryan Heselden won two for Hollington as did Tackleway’s Danny Kildea.
Tackleway D beat Hollington A 7-3 with 3 wins for Owen Hatter and two from Alan Blackman while Sean Godfrey won 2 for Hollington.
In Division 3 Tigers C scraped past Tigers D 6-4 with a maximum from Michael Foster and 2 wins for Chris Floyd. For the D side, Andy Holmes won 2, including a tight 5-set win over Floyd.
Neil Pankhurst and Geoff Hillier were unbeaten in Saints E’s 7-3 win at Hollington B while Harvey Webb, Ricky Knight and Malcolm Glover took Bexhill F to a 10-0 whitewash of Hollington C.
