Things remain to be hotly contested in the top-flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues as the top 3 sides are all level on points.
Whistlers C are the new official leaders for the first time due to them having a superior games ratio than their rivals. With leading player Alice Edwards in full flight, they ran out rampant 10-0 winners over a bottom placed Lions D side missing Paul Hainsworth. Edwards, Dawn Morgan and Mark Pipet all defeated Andy Gill, Charlotte Casey and reserve James Crocker in singles action. Pipet needed 4 sets against both Gill and Casey, whilst Morgan needed 4 sets to overcome Gill. The doubles was won by Edwards and Morgan over Gill and Casey in 4 sets.
Lions C are next in the table and are in the best form of all sides in the Division. This is due to their 3rd consecutive victory, which was a narrow 6-4 win over Lions E in a fixture which saw 4 players absent. Joshua Butler was the sole regular player from the victorious side and he played a big part in the win due to his straight sets wins over Ryan Bichard and reserve Jonah Ingrouille and 4 set win over reserve Brian Ferbrache. It was the reserves from the C side that fared better on the night and in particular Caden Brouard, who crucially beat Ferbrache in straight sets and Ingrouille in 4 sets. The doubles proved to be another key encounter and it was the reserves of Brouard and Connor Powell that beat Ferbrache and Ingrouille in straight sets to secure the win. Bichard won twice for his side over Brouard and Powell in straight sets, whilst Ingrouille and Ferbrache beat Powell in 4 and 5 sets respectively.
The final side level on points at the top is Whistlers B, who are actually the only team remaining in the Division yet to be defeated. They earned a tight 6-4 win over the then league leaders Lions A this week. Josh Stacey proved to the key man as he was unbeaten across the 4 matches he competed in. His form saw straight sets singles wins over Phil Ogier, Jez Powell and Peter Bretel, the former ending Ogier's unbeaten singles start to the season. He also teamed with Matt Casey to beat Ogier and Powell impressively in straight sets in the doubles game. Casey earned himself a straight sets win over Bretel, whilst Joseph Bourgaize picked up the final 6th rubber for the Whistlers side due to his 4 set win over Bretel. Ogier and Powell each beat Casey and Bourgaize for the defeated Lions side.
The remaining Division 1 clash saw 5th placed side Whistlers A edge past 4th placed side Lions B 6-4. Despite the defeat, it was Ben Foss that was the star of the show as he beat recent Senior Group champion Lawrence Stacey, Ryan Gilson and Ben Sharp in singles action without dropping a set. Jamie Ferbrache added a win over Gilson in straight sets, however the Whistlers players won all remaining singles matches against Ferbrache and Chloe Le Tissier, whilst Stacey and Gilson beat Foss and Ferbrache in straight sets in the doubles match.
Lions F maintained their 100% winning start to the season after beating 5th placed side St Pauls A 8-2. Nye Matthew and Caden Brouard have each made super starts to the season as each had lost just 1 singles match from the 12 played prior to this fixture. They each continued this form here as each was unbeaten thanks to wins over Maurice James, Chas Elliott and Trevor Bourgaize. Connor Powell added a strong straight sets win over Elliott and also teamed with Brouard to beat James and Bourgaize in 5 sets in the doubles match. Bourgaize and James restored some pride due to their wins over Powell in straight and 4 sets respectively.
Ravenscroft Panthers D have a single point advantage at the top after they beat Whistlers G 7-3. Pierre Jehan, Mick Ingrouille and Mark Windsor all defeated Alex Whitten and Mick Solway in singles action to make sure of the win. Ingrouille and Windsor also combined to win the doubles against Shane Cotter and Solway in straight sets. Despite the defeat for his side, Cotter was in prime form and beat all of the Panthers players in singles action.
