Finals Night Hat-Trick for Phil Riley
The annual Kendal & District Table Tennis League Tournament was played out to a conclusion at the traditional Finals Night which was held at Natland & Oxenholme Table Tennis Club on Tuesday, March 19th. The tournament finale was dominated by Crook’s Phil Riley who won 3 of the 7 finals, including the Division 1 Singles, the Veterans Singles and the Handicap Singles. In the final of the Division 1 Singles, Riley faced Peter Baxendale of Burton who has beaten him on Sunday in the round robin section of the tournament. No such problems in the final with Riley running out a comfortable 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 winner. Match of the night was the final of the Junior Singles which featured Natland’s Devun Whitehead and Archie Catnach. A thrilling encounter with some great table tennis saw Catnach recover from 2 games down only to lose in the fifth and final game, the final score being 11-5, 11-7, 11-13, 11-13, 11-7 in favour of Whitehead. The Natland duo then combined to defeat another Natland pair, Sam Medhurst and Bence Bacsi, 13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10 in another closely contested battle.
Meanwhile, the League competition is entering its final stages. A crushing 30-5 victory over Dallam A saw IBIS leap to the top of Division 1 for the first time this season. With 2 matches to play, IBIS are 5 points ahead of nearest challengers Natland A but with a match in hand the title would appear to be theirs. In Division 2, Crook B are only 2 points behind Natland D with a game in hand. They have the title in their hands and the two Natland teams, C & D will have to fight it out for second place.
