In Division One of the Hastings & District Table Tennis League there were some gripping matches at the foot of the table. Tackleway B gained their first win, beating fellow strugglers Bexhill G 7-3 with three wins from Martin Richards and two from Gina Rogers while Bexhill’s Kevin McEwan also won twice.

Tackleway B are now two points adrift of nearest rivals Bexhill B, who lost 10-0 at Hollington Academy B (Rose Rainton, Tony Catt and Sam Collins). Bexhill G are two points clear of their B side, a position they share with Tackleway C after the latter’s 7-3 loss to Saints B, for whom John Wond and Ron Davenport were unbeaten.

Tackleway B and Bexhill B will contest bottom place this week in a postponed match.

Hollington Academy C’s Fraser Kent produced another breathtaking performance as his maximum secured a 5-5 draw for his two-man team against Saints A, including a straight games defeat of Dave Butler.

A clear cut 8-2 win at Monarchs A, in which Dave Mitchell was unbeaten and Chris Woods and Roger Smith won twice, strengthened Tigers A’s position at the top of Division 2, with most of their rivals dropping points.

Tackleway E’s prospects were damaged by a 6-4 loss at Bexhill H thanks to a Dave Chumbley maximum and two for brother Alan. Dave Wilson won two for Tackleway.

The Bexhill club’s chances also diminished when their D and E teams drew 5-5 with Tina Beaney unbeaten for the E side and Nick Coleman and John Bradbury taking two each for the D team.

Maximums from Paul Hyland and Mike Courtnage saw NALGO A to a 7-3 win over Hollington Academy D.

Division Three could not be closer after two key matches for Hollington E. The first of these brought their first defeat as they went down 7-3 to rivals Bexhill I who had three wins for Dan Starnes and two for Malcolm Hilton while Rob Clemence won two for the losers. Hollington bounced back to beat Tackleway F 6-4 with a maximum for Clemence and two from Neil Pankhurst. Kevin Eastman won two for Tackleway.