Obituary - George Gale - Chelmsford League Life-Member

The Chelmsford League Committee are saddened to report the death of George Gale who became a Life Member of the League in 1977 and who won the Mens Doubles title in the Chelmsford Championships in 1969 paired with his Rosebery team-mate Steve Conquest. George was a member of the successful Rosebery team who won the Division one title seven times in the 1960s and 1970s.  George also played for the Moulsham Lodge, Crompton and Old Chelmsfordians Clubs. He was Vice Chairman of the League for two years between 1974-6 and the Assistant Match Secretaey between 1971 to 1974 as well as Senior Match Secretary for one year - 1973-4.  His wife Jean sadly passed away in 2016 and in later years George kept his passion for Sport alive by visiting the Old Chelmsfordians Club regularly and watching their Football teams. His son Fraser played in the Chelmsford League for Rainsford School in the 1980s.  

On a personal note George was a photographer by profession and he worked for the Mirror Group and another League Life Member - Ian Whiteside recalls with fondness that George occasionally undertook leading sporting assignments. One of these was the unforgettable 1973 FA Cup Final between Leeds United and Sunderland and Ian - a keen Sunderland supporter was the beneficiary of George’s fine action shots from that game - photographs he still has. Mark Sweeting - one of the League’s leading players in the 1970s recalls that George also used his photographic skills for the benefit of League players and many players employed George as their Wedding photographer.

The two top teams were both in action in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League this week. Leaders Maldon A were held to a draw by Chelmsford A. Newcomer Mateusz Zagajewski was again the best player on view and he beat all three Maldon players to retain his 100 % Singles record. It was
relatively plain sailing against Trevor Lloyd (11-8, 11-5, 11-8) and Colin Stallwood (11-8, 11-2, 11-8) although he needed four ends to beat John Poysden (11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6). Trevor Lloyd impressed greatly with a quick-fire 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 win over Eddy Ogbebor. Second-placed Liberal A scored a fine 8-2 win over Danbury A. Paul Davison was undefeated and he received excellent support from Steve Pennell and Adam Buxton who both won twice. Adam Buxton excelled by beating Reece Seddon 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8. Reece has recently
followed up his superb win in the Mens Doubles Final at the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships with an arguably even better success in the Mens Singles Final at the Burnham League Championships. Gary Young was on top form as he led Danbury A to a 7-3 win over OCs A. The stand-out performance here
came from OCs reserve Peter Windley who scored two excellent wins over Gavin Price and Glenn Johnson. Windley also took a game off Gary Young before succumbing 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 6-11.

Peter Windley was also on top form for his usual side - OCs B in division two. He took his three singles against Chelmsford B as OCs shaded the match 6-4. Windley defeated Alastair Piper (15-13, 11-5, 11-4), Mick Richardson (11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 14-12) and Julie Johnson (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7). He looks ready for a crack at the first division next year.

Hatfield Peverel G - the long time leaders in division three could well end up out of the honours. They had to face the new leaders - Danbury G with only two players and it was Danbury who ran out 6-4 winners. Sam Lowman  was the star of the show and he showed his class with a 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 victory over Dave
Fiddeman and a 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 11-7 success against Neil Freeman. Chelmsford C who have moved into second place scored a fine 8-2 win over Maldon B. Rob Shrimpton led the way with a hat-trick and this included a very hard-fought 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10 victory over Ciaran Whelan. Maldon’s Jan Fuller just
missed out in two nail-biting five enders. She lost 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 4-11, 10-12 to Rob Shrimpton and by an equally tantalising 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 7-11, 9-11 to Paul Nicol. Team-work saw Danbury E beat Maldon B 7-3. David Gatheral, Tim Pulham and Ken Sheard all won twice to negate the two wins that Ev Lucas picked
up for Maldon. David Gatheral had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Tom Elder 9-11, 9-11, 11- 8, 11-15, 12-10.  OCs D had an undefeated Dave Porter to thank for their 7-3 win over Chelmsford D whilst Herbie Smith led Danbury E to a 7-3 victory over OCs E. Herbie needed  five ends to get the better of Nat Ravlic 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 8-11, 12-10.

Hatfield Peverel D scored their fourteenth win of the Season in division four by beating Maldon D 7-3. Trevor Collin led the way with a hat-trick and Dave Carter won twice. Carter’s double included a fine 4-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 win over Roger Hance. Second-placed Chelmsford E also won 7-3. Karl Baldwin, Richard Baxter and Richard Upson all won twice although they all lost to the fast-improving Connor Payne. Payne defeated Richard Baxter 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 in the best game  of the night. 7-3 was again the scoreline when
Elmtree Excalibur C beat Danbury J. Dave Goody led the way with a hat-trick of wins and team-mate Rob Kneale also came very close to winning his three singles. He only missed out to Steve Siggs 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 10-12. And you’ve probably guessed the score when Danbury  K beat Danbury L. Yes - 7-3. Not sure that I’ve ever witnessed all four scorecards in the same division producing the same scoreline before. Eamon Hall was the Danbury K match-winner. He had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Norman Hayes 11-4, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-9.

Division five leaders Hatfield Peverel  ran out comfortable 10-0 winners over Galleywood B. Ian Hockley, Brian Steward and Andy Fox all stayed undefeated. OCs G beat Chelmsford H 8-2. Stuart Wintle (three wins), Steve Pratt (two wins) and Mike Moorcroft (two wins) all played their part whilst Ben Jackson won twice for the losers. Anglia Ruskin have climbed into fourth place by beating Chelmsford G 7-3. Pewist Osman retained his 100 % Singles record (34 wins out of 34) and Fadel Aszzari picked up two wins.

OCs J - fourth placed in the CLICK League did well to beat the leaders Galleywod C 3-2. Adam Chalk won twice for the Old Chelmsfordians side beating Lewis Wilson  11-8, 11-9, 11-9 and Aidan Nouguchi 11-9, 11-7, 11-9. Chelmsford J (Harry Buckle and Jamie Denman) ran out 5-0 winners over Black Notley B.

Division four leaders Hatfield Peverel - heavy favourites to win the Division four Knock Out Cup as well as the League were very hard pushed to beat Danbury A 5-3. The usually impregnable Dave Carter lost to both Dave Goody and Dave Powell and it was a very relieved Trevor Collin who finally sealed the Hatfield Peverel victory by beating Rob Kneale in five ends (12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5). Felsted RBL did well to beat Maldon 5-1. Ian Butler, Matt Laws and Ashley Butler all played a part in that success. OCs A were also 5-1 winners. Their
victims were Danbury B and Dave Newman sealed their success with a 10-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-2 victory over Eamon Hall. Writtle are also through to the Semi-Final. Dave Moles, Neil Thompson and Allan Offord beat Danbury C 5-1. Alan Offord played his part by beating Norman Hayes 10-12, 11-9, 9-11, 13-11, 11-7.
 
Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 19 March 2017

Thrilling Division two Knock Out Cup success for Writtle Excalibur A

Writtle Excalibur A have battled their way through to the Division two Knock Out Cup Final in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League after beating Galleywood A 5-4 in a thrilling Semi-Final. Galleywood led 4-2 and must have thought they were home and dry but Writtle weren’t finished. Ryan Pitt made the score 3-4 by beating Bryn Thomas 11-6, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6 and then in a really hotly contested battle of the no. ones Lee McHugh pipped James Hicks 11-7, 13-15, 12-14, 11-7, 12-10. All to play for in the deciding doubles and Lee McHugh and Richard Storey came through in four ends against Gary Brignall and Bryn Thomas 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9. Writtle Excalibur will play Chelmsford in the Final. Chelmsford beat Hatfield Peverel A 5-1 in their Semi-Final. The big game here was the second one and Julie Johnson excelled by beating Gary Ward 5-11,
19-17, 12-10, 10-12, 14-12. An outstanding win for Julie and her team-mates Alistair Piper and Mike Johnston were clearly inspired by it. Chelmsford ran out 5-1 winners with Julie defeating John Gagg in impressive style 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 to seal the victory.     

Hatfield Peverel A will  play Danbury A in the Division three Knock Out Cup Final. Hatfield Peverel (Neil Freeman, Dave Fiddeman and Gareth Davies) beat OCs A 5-2. Tom Barker beat Gareth Davies 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 15-13 to keep the tie alive but Dave Fiddeman settled matters with a decisive 11-3, 11-4, 11-7 victory over Mick Hayes. Danbury A’s match against Maldon B was much closer and Danbury sealed it 5-4 with a final doubles win for David Gatherall and Ken Sheard against Colin Napper and Jan Fuller 11-6, 11-9, 11-2. Maldon’s Ciaran Whelan was the top player on the night beating Tim Pulham 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 and David Gatheral 11-9, 11-6, 11-6.
     
The Division five Knock Out Cup Final will be fought out by Writtle Excalibur B and OCs B. Writtle Excalibur B beat Buttsbury 5-1 but the final scoreline fails to show just how close the actual games were.  Buttsbury’s Nathan Fry scored an outstanding 5-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 win over Ian Hockley whilst Buttsbury came very close to picking up another game on four separate occasions. Andy Fox beat Toby Kelly 11-8, 11-13, 3-11, 11-4, 11-8 whilst David Meah had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Tom Picton 9-11, 5-11, 11-3, 11-4, 12-10. Hockley and Fox were also stretched to the maximum in the Doubles before they triumphed 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11 and David Meah finally sealed the Writtle victory with a 10-12, 11-9, 13-11, 7-11, 11-7 win over Nathan Fry. One of the hardest fought 5-1 matches on record. OCs B (Tanishq Kotwal, David
Bishop and James Mitty) ran out 5-1 winners over Writtle Excalibur A. The big talking point here was the great performance from newcomer James Mitty who was called up late after just making one appearance in the CLICK League. His comparative lack of experience didn’t count against him and he beat Keith Pallett 5-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9.  

Buttsbury B won a thrilling Junior Knock Out Cup Semi Final 5-4 against OCs A and they will play Buttsbury A in the Final. One of the crucial games here was a vital 11-7, 5-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5 win for Toby Kelly over Lawrence Bartlett. With Tanishq Kotwal winning both of his singles it all came down to the deciding Doubles and James Hughes and Toby Kelly prevailed. They beat Lawrence Bartlett and Harry Rogers 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 to book their place in the Final.

Division one leaders Maldon A played Danbury B twice in a couple of days and they added 18 points to their tally. Alex Abbott, Trevor Lloyd and John Poysden won the first match 10-0 and Colin Stallwood (the recent Mens Singles Runner-Up to Rik James in the Colchester Closed Championships) replaced Poysden for the
second encounter which Maldon won 8-2. David Richardson excelled here and he scored an outstanding 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 11-6 win over Alex Abbott. Richardson’s encounter with Stallwood was also a really close one with Stallwood eventually coming out on top 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9.

Rawreth B have taken charge in division two and they raced to an 8-2 win over Writtle Excalibur A. Kim Shead and Paul Churn were both undefeated with Churn fighting back from 2-0 down to get the better of Lee McHugh 9-11, 7-11, 11-8,13-11, 11-7. Galleywood A ran out 7-3 winners over Writtle Excalibur B. All
three Excalibur players won twice and the big story here was the superb form of Lin Roff. She beat Gary Brignall 8-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 and then most impressively James Hicks 9-11, 13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 13-11. However she wasn’t able to complete her hat-trick and she lost 8-11, 6-11, 6-11 to Bryn Thomas. Danbury D stay third after beating Hatfield Peverel A 7-3 and Writtle Excalibur B 6-4. Chris Buer led the way with a hat-trick of wins against Hatfield Peverel and this include a widely fluctuating victory over Gary Ward - Hatfield Peverel’s best player - 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-2.  Chris Buer was also the best player on view in the match against the Writtle team with a second hat-trick. Tim Cramphorn beat Lin Roff 4-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 15-13 in the closest match of the night. Liberal B beat OCs C 7-3. Andy Huckson was unbeaten for Liberal whilst OCs’ Peter Windley secured a fine 14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 17-15 victory over Adrian Pitt.

Anglia Ruslin University shared the points against OCs G in division five. Their leading player Pewist Osman led the way and retained his 100 % singles record.   

In the CLICK League there were wins for Buttsbury A, Galleywood C and Buttsbury C. Butts bury A (James Green and Harry Hutt) defeated Buttsbury B 5-0. James Green was hard pushed to beat Chris Stephens and he finally edged home 4-11, 14-12, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10. Galleywood C (Rio Teplizki and Lewis Wilson) were 4-1
winners over Chelmsford J. Calum Day was on target for the losers and he beat Lewis Wilson 11-7, 10-12, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4. Buttsbury C (Toby Kelley and Daniel Slaney) ran out 4-1 winners over BNCA B. Daniel Slaney picked up the loser’s success with a 9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10 victory over Nicholas Grice.   

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 12 March 2017

Division three is set for the tightest of finishes

Division three of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League looks set for a “grand-stand” finish. Danbury G lead the way with 118 points from 18 matches - ahead of long-time leaders Hatfield Peverel B (108 points from 17 matches). Chelmsford C (105 points from 16 matches) and Maldon  C (103 points from 16 matches) follow next and are both still very much in contention. Chelmsford C (Mark Allaway, Rob Shrimpton and Paul Nicol) ran out 8-2 winners over Danbury F. Dave Marsh beat Mark Allaway 11-8, 11-16, 12-10 for Danbury’s sole singles win. Hatfield Peverel B won 6-4 against Chelmsford D thanks largely to a Dave Fiddeman hat-trick. Fiddeman had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Jarek Pietraszuk 19-17, 4-11, 11-4, 10-12, 15-13. Quite a battle !. Maldon B led by Brian Riedling’s trio of wins beat OCs E 8-2. Riedling’s closest encounter was against Sue Hickman and he finally eased home 11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 3-11, 16-14. Maldon C were 6-4 winners over OCs E. Ciaran Whelan won his three singles and Colin Napper won twice.

Third-placed Chelmsford A have been something of a surprise package in the first division this year. In newcomer Mateusz Zagajewski (100 % from 15 singles) they have a player who can clearly match the best and further newcomers Eddy Ogbebor and Wale Bada have also  enjoyed considerable success. Regular player Ryan Gooday is still improving rapidly and if they “push on” they could well be in the mix next year. They beat second-placed Liberal 6-4. Mateusz Zagajewski was undefeated and he beat Paul Davison 11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 11-
9 whilst Davison was also involved in a cliff-hanger against Eddy Ogbebor. Paul Davison shaded  this one 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 14-12.

Danbury C ran out 6-4 winners over a two-player OCs B in division two. Neil Want dominated proceedings beating Ashley Skeggs (10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 11-8) and Trevor Carter (11-7, 12-10, 11-7).

Third-placed Chelmsford E closed to within a point of second-placed Danbury J with a thumping 9-1 win over Felsted in division four. Richard Upson and Karl Baldwin were both undefeated. Ashley Butler impressed for the losers by beating Richard Baxter 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5. Maldon D led by a full-house from Shirley Carroll did well to beat Felsted 6-4. Clive Forster set the tone for the evening by defeating Nick Butler 9-11, 15-17, 11-7, 11-8, 12-10 in the first game of the night. Leaders Hatfield Peverel C are almost home and dry.
They beat second-placed Danbury J 6-4. Trevor Collin was unbeaten for the Champions-elect and Bob Garson won twice. Garson finally succumbed to Dave Powell 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 9-11 in the closest game of the evening. Elsewhere OCs F (Farooq Ahmed, Dave Newman and Adrian North) were narrow 6-4 winners over Danbury K and Chelmsford F shared the points with Danbury J. Connor Payne was unbeaten for Chelmsford F.

OCs H have dropped to third in division five although they have two matches in hand on second-placed Hatfield Peverel D. Tanishq Kotwal led OCs to a 6-4 win over Highwood. The match between Galleywood B and Anglia Ruskin University finished tied at 5-5. Ron Salton and Nathan Blore both won twice for Galleywood
whilst Taku Nerutanga and Mahmoud Abdelmagid both picked up two wins for the University team. Chelmsford G led by maximum returns for Steven Chambers and Martyn Hiskey ran out 7-3 winners against Chelmsford H whilst Highwood beat OCs G 6-4 although none of their players were able to get the better of Stuart Wintle. Anne Lockhart came closest just missing out by a tantalising 16-14 in the deciding end.

Buttsbury teams dominated this week’s CLICK results. Buttsbury A (Nathan Fry and Matthew Elliott) ran out 5-0 winners over Buttsbury B. Buttsbury B (with Nathan Fry in their line-up this time) in turn beat Chelmsford J 3-2 whilst Buttsbury B (Harry Hutt and Matthew Ellitott) beat Buttsbury C 4-1. Jason Yeh was on target for the losers with a 14-12, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6 win over Harry Hutt. Buttsbury A (this time represented by James Green and Harry Hutt) ran out 3-2 winners over Chelmsford J. James Green prevailed by the closest of margins
against Ray Booty after suffering a major third game set-back : 8-11, 11-6, 1-11, 11-7, 17-15. OCs J (Fraser Heard and Jame Mitty) made no mistake against Black Notley B winning 5-0. Fraser Heard gave them an all important winning start by beating Elliot Game 11-5, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 in the opening encounter.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 5 March 2017

Kim Shead on top form as Rawreth pull clear in division two

Rawreth B have stretched their lead at the top of the second division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis league to an impressive 19 points with two more victories. Their leading player Kim Shead (93 %) was undefeated as they beat Hatfield Peverel A 8-2 and he completed his hat-trick of wins by getting the better of Gary Ward 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 in a hard-fought last game of the evening.  Shead didn’t play against Galleywood A but Gus Heath, Simon Jacobs and Dick Wyman all won twice as Rawreth won 6-4. Gus Heath made his mark with  a fine 4-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 win over M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships Division two Singles Champion James Hicks. OCs B who are second slipped back further by losing 6-4 to third-placed Danbury D. Tim Cramphorn was on top form for Danbury beating Trevor Carter (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-6), Ashley Skeggs (6-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9) and Kevin Worthington (11-5, 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-1). Chelmsford B beat Writtle Excalibur B 6-4 with Julie Johnson producing her very best form. She scored a fine hat-trick of wins - racing to 3-0 successes against Phil Shippen and Phil Smith and repelling a determined challenge from Lin Roff over five ends (10-12, 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-5).   OCs C combined excellently as a team to beat Danbury C 7-3. Frank Hodge, Peter Windley and Ashton Parker all won twice. Peter Windley beat Glen Laing 11-1, 11-13, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 in a widely fluctuating five-ender. Liberal B led by an Adrian Pitt hat-trick ran out 8-2 winners over Writtle Excalibur B. Phil Smith beat Andy Huckson 11-13, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 11-9 in a hard-fought final game of the evening. 

Leaders Maldon A are the League’s outstanding first division side this year. No doubt about that !. They are in a rich vein of form at present  and they brushed aside Liberal A 8-2. Alex Abbott and Colin Stallwood were both undefeated.  Stallwood scored two excellent battling five end wins. He beat both Paul Davison (5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6) and Simon Webber (2-11, 4-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-3). Liberal A are second but they slipped further behind by losing 6-4 to OCs A. Paul Davison scored  a fine hat-trick of wins for the Liberal side downing the challenges of Daniel Berry (11-4, 17-19, 11-8, 3-11, 11-7), Brandon Crouchman (13-11, 11-5, 11-5) and Scott Dowsett (5-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-9).
  
Danbury G top the table in division three with 108 points although they have played a game more than Maldon C (103 points) and long-time leaders Hatfield Peverel B (102 points). It was Danbury G who came out on top 7-3 in the week’s big game against Maldon C. The free-flowing Sam Lowman - the M&G Investments
Chelmsford Championships Division three Singles Winner was the outstanding player and he perhaps “shaped” the way the night went by beating Ciaran Whelan - Maldon‘s top player 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9 in the opening game of the night. Hatfield Peverel B have not been at their best in recent weeks and an outstanding performance (an “enhanced“ effort possibly !) by the evergreen Peter Hance saw them lose 6-4 to Danbury H. Peter Hance defeated Dan Patynski (11-2, 13-11, 10-12, 11-2), Neil Freeman (11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 4-11, 11-4 ) and Gareth Davies (11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7). Danbury E (Tim Pulham, Ken Sheard and Gordon Gatheral) turned in a strong performance to beat OCs A 9-1. Nat Ravlic got OCs off to a winning start by beating Ken Sheard 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 13-11 in a tense opening encounter but the Danbury side produced a fine display to take the other nine games. Danbury F did well to beat Chelmsford D 6-4 - very good going as it was Chelmsford’s Keith Martin who won his three singles. Chelmsford C who are in fourth place with 97 points (but with a game in hand on the two sides immediately above them) did their outside chances of promotion a
power of good by beating Maldon B 8-2. Paul Nicol and Victor Chan both won their three singles.  

In division four the runaway leaders Hatfield Peverel C stay top after beating Writtle Excalibur C 6-4. Dave Carter was their match-winner with a hat-trick of wins. The shock here was the defeat for Trevor Collin who succumbed to Alan Offord (7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-14, 10-12). Danbury K (Kevin Willis, Dave Hancox and Eamon Hall) defeated Chelmsford E 6-4 although they all lost to Richard Baxter whilst the match between Danbury L and OCs F finished tied at 5-5. Five games were decided in the fifth end and John Watts edged out Norman Hayes 9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 12-10 in the closest finish of the night.
 
In division five newcomers Anglia Ruskin University showed just how much they have improved this Season by beating the leaders Writtle Excalibur E 6-4. Their top player - Pewist Osman (100 % to date) had a major say in the outcome of this match by winning his three singles although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Andy Fox (3-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4). He dealt better with Ian Hockley storming home (11-2, 11-3, 11-9). Writtle Excalibur E also struggled against a two player Writtle Excalibur D side and will be pleased to have emerged as 6-4 winners. Brian Steward “steadied the ship” with very hard fought five end wins over Keith Fitzjohn and Melanie Bonnett. Chelmsford H ran out 6-4 winners over Galleywood B. Jacqui Smith led the way with a very well executed hat-trick of wins. OCs H who are third with 89 points but with three games in hand on second-placed Hatfield Peverel D did well to hold the Hatfield Peverel side to a draw. Their leading player -  Tanishq Kotwal - who has a record of 97 % (just one defeat to Pewist Osman) led the way with a hat-trick but he had to work hard to see off Dan Patynski - finally triumphing 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-8. Martin Goddard led the way with three wins as Highwood beat Chelmsford G 7-3 and he was supported by Francis Whitbread who won twice. Steve Chambers picked up two wins for the losers.

Galleywood C (Lewis Wilson and Rio Teplizki) - the CLICK League leaders retained their ascendancy by  beating Black Notley B 5-0 although they missed out 3-2 to Buttsbury C. M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships Under 14 Singles Champion Toby Kelly proved to be their “undoing”. He beat Rio Teplizki 
(11-8, 14-12, 11-5) and Aidan Noguchi (11-7, 11-5, 13-11) before combining with Zach Antoniou to win the doubles in five ends (11-7, 15-13, 4-11, 8-11, 11-5).      

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 26 February 2017

Colin Stallwood on top form for Maldon A

Maldon A have pulled even further clear in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. With 11 wins out of 15 matches they are this year’s outstanding team. They faced a two player Bocking side and took full advantage by winning 7-3. 2016 Clacton Mens Singles Champion Colin Stallwood stole the show by beating David Cole 11-7, 19-17, 11-8 and Gary Cattermole 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 14-12.  David Cole had impressed by beating Alex Abbott 11-7, 11-9, 11-8. The match between Danbury B and Chelmsford A was a good one. Six games were decided in the fifth end and it finally finished as a 5-5 draw. Ian Whiteside scored two  wins for Danbury which included a fine 9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 success over impressive newcomer - all action attacker Eddie Ogbebor - better known in the Romford League.  Dave Richardson had to pull out all the
stops to get the better of Ryan Gooday 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8.

Liberal B produced a fine all-round team performance to beat Chelmsford B 7-3 in division two.  Paul Lombardi, Adrian Pitt and James Mullane all won twice. Standout results here included a 11-6, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10 win for Paul Lombardi over Alistair Piper and a 11-6, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7 success for James Mullane
against Julie Johnson. 2017 M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships Division two Singles winner James Hicks has been the model of consistency for Galleywood A this year with a record of 85 %. He led the way in their 6-4 win over Danbury C. His trickiest encounter was against the fast improving Danbury reserve David
Gatheral - who not only won twice but pushed Hicks all the way before losing 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11. Danbury D are still well placed in third position. However they met their match against an inspired OCs C who beat them 7-3. Even more surprisingly OCs only field two players - a truly outstanding display by Peter Windley and Ashton Parker. This really was a case of “ripping up the form book” with Ashton Parker - who has a record of 24 % scoring his first treble of the Season. He beat Steve Buer (11-7, 11-8, 11-1), Tim Cramphorn (6-11, 12-10, 11-2, 9-11, 11-7) and Chris Buer (11-7, 11-8, 11-7). A fantastic evening’s work !. The match between Liberal B and Writtle A finished as a 5-5 draw. None of the Liberal players were able to beat the impressive Matthew Brown but Adrian Pitt and Andy Huckson both won twice to ensure that parity was retained. Matthew Brown dominated the show beating Andy Huckson (8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8), Adrian Pitt (13-11, 11-5, 13-11) and James Mullane (11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-3).

With Hatfield Peverel B not playing this week Danbury G are the new leaders in division three. Sam Lowman (three wins), George Ashley (two wins) and Dan Anderson (two wins) were 8-2 winners over Danbury F. George Ashley beat Herbie Smith 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9 in the closest game of the evening. OCs D
ran out convincing 9-1 winners over Danbury H. Mick Hayes, Tom Barker and David Porter all played their part and all Danbury had to show for their efforts was a five game win for Scott Perry against David Porter. Chelmsford D beat Maldon B 6-4. Keith Martin led the way with a fine hat-trick of wins over Ev Lucas (10-
12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3), Brian Riedling (8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9) and Dawn Baldry (11-8, 11-6, 12-10).

Danbury J consolidated second place in division four by beating Felsted RBL 7-3. Rob Kneale led the way with a hat-trick and this included a clinical 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 victory over Ian Butler - Felsted’s best player. Maldon D with an undefeated Roger Hance on top form beat Danbury K  7-3 whilst the match between Writtle Excalibur C and Chelmsford F finished tied at 5-5. Writtle’s Alan Offord and Dave Moles and Chelmsford’s John Barrett and Connor Payne all won twice. John Barrett beat Neil Thompson 8-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 in the
closest game of the night. Felsted RBL‘s match with Writtle Excalibur C was also a 5-5 draw. Neil Thompson won his three singles for the Writtle side. Chelmsford E stay third. Richard Baxter and Karl Baldwin were both undefeated as they saw off Danbury L 6-4.

Leaders Writtle Excalibur E (Ian Hockley, Brian Steward and Colin Griffiths) were convincing 10-0 winners over Chelmsford H in division five. Hatfield Peverel D stay second and Keith Cullen and Alistair Brown were both undefeated as they beat OCs G 9-1. OCs G also won 9-1. Their victims were Chelmsford H. David Bishop  and Stuart Wintle were both undefeated. In a week of very clear-cut results in this division Writtle Excalibur D beat Galleywood B 9-1. Melanie Bonnett and Nicola Pippen were both unbeaten. Nicola fought back strongly from
2-0 down to get the better of Nathan Blore 4-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7.     
 
In the CLICK League Black Notley B did well to beat the higher placed Buttsbury A 3-2. Harry Hutt won twice for Buttsbury beating Nicholas Grice (9-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9) and Rowan Champney (10-12, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9) - two very hard fought wins. He has a fine record of 88 % and looks more than ready to step up to the main League. Buttsbury C (Zach Antoniou and Toby Kelly) ran out 5-0 winners over Chelmsford J. Zach Antoniou had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Harry Buckle 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 19 February 2017

Maldon A surge clear in division one

Maldon A are looking the team most likely to land the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League first division title this Season. They are maintaining a high level of consistency which their rivals just can’t match week  in week out. Alex Abbott and Trevor Lloyd were both undefeated in their 9-1 win over OCs A. Scott Dowsett was on target for the losers with a marathon 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 5-11, 16-14 success over Colin Stallwood. Not only did Maldon notch up a convincing win but their two closest challengers also slipped up. Third-placed Rawreth A were beaten 7-3 by Chelmsford A for whom the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships Veterans Singles and Mens Doubles  Champion Wale Bada was undefeated.  Chelmsford won both five setters. Wale Bada beat Charles Sweeny 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 whilst Ryan Gooday defeated Simon Neale 9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 12-10. Second-positioned Liberal A lost 6-4 to OCs A. Brandon Crouchman won his three singles for the Old Chelmsfordians side. Danbury B climbed into fifth place by beating Liberal A 7-3. Team work was the
order of the day here with Eric Green, Steve Whiteley and Dave Richardson all winning twice. 

Leaders Rawreth B have stamped their authority on division two. Kim Shead and Paul Churn were both
undefeated as they raced home 9-1 against Liberal B. Combination bat ace Kim Shead with a record of 93 % had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Robin Armstrong11-13, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6. Rawreth B were equally dominant against Writtle Excalibur B and this time Simon Jacob joined Kim Shead in remaining undefeated. OCs B are looking good for second. Kevin Worthington and Trevor Carter were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Hatfield Peverel A. Carter clinched his hat-trick with a top notch 811, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 victory over Gary Ward. Danbury D stay third. Chris Buer was unbeaten in their 7-3 success against Galleywood A.  Writtle Excalibur A ran out 8-2 winners over Danbury C. Matthew Brown (three wins), Lee McHugh (two wins) and Ryan Pitt (two wins) all played a part in that victory. The match between Lee McHugh and Glenn Laing couldn’t have been much closer. McHugh eventually edged home 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 16-14.

The big match in division three saw second-placed Maldon C romp home 7-3 against the leaders Hatfield Peverel B. The hard-hitting Ciaran Whelan was their “king-pin” beating Neil Freeman (6-11, 11-3, 11-5, 12-10), Gareth Davies (11-3, 11-3, 11-8) and Dave Fiddeman 11-3, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1. Hatfield Peverel B in turn returned to winning ways against OCs D. Neil Freeman and Dave Fiddeman were both unbeaten. Maldon C closed the gap even more by beating Danbury H 9-1. Ciaran Whelan and Colin Napper were both unbeaten. Danbury H’s Peter Hance suffered two nail-biting losses missing out 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 10-12 to Colin Napper and 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 1-11, 10-12 to Ciaran Whelan. Chelmsford C were convincing 9-1 winners against OCs E.  Mark Allaway and Robert Shrimpton were both undefeated. Nat Ravlic was on target for the losers and he beat
Victor Chan by a last gasp 4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11 margin. Danbury H had an undefeated Mo Hardy to thank as they beat Danbury F 7-3 whilst M&G Investments Chelmsford Ladies Champion Dawn Baldry won  her three singles to lead Maldon B to a 7-3 win over Danbury G. This included an excellent 11-8, 5-11, 15-13, 11-2 win over Sam Lowman - the Division Three Champion at the Chelmsford Championships weekend.

Hatfield Peverel C scored their eleventh win of the Season in division four and they lead  Danbury J by a massive margin of 18 points. Dave Carter and Trevor Collin were both undefeated in their 8-2 win over Chelmsford F. Second placed Danbury J fell further behind by losing 6-4 to Danbury K. Dave Hancox led the
way with a hat-trick of wins. Danbury L were also 6-4 winners. Roger Tiffin, Norman Hayes and  Mick Robinson each won twice to counter the three wins achieved by Roger Hance. The pick of the action here was the epic battle between Mick Robinson and Shirley Carroll with Robinson  scraping home 11-8, 16-14, 8-11, 9-11, 17-15. Richard Baxter was unbeaten as Chelmsford E beat OCs D 8-2. Richard Upson won twice and this included a strong fight-back from 2-0 down to get the better of David Newman 8-11, 10-12, 11-1, 11-6, 12-10.

Anglia Ruskin University are improving rapidly in division five and Mahmoud Abdelmagid, Fadel Azzazi and Pewist Osman  ran out 10-0 winners against Chelmsford H. However without their leading player - the undefeated Pewist Osman they missed out 7-3 against Writtle Excalibur D. Nicola Pippen won her three singles for Writtle and this included a very hard-fought 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9 win over Mohammed Abu Sawi. Galleywood B had Kamil Lentas on top form as they shaded the match 6-4 against Highwood. Francis Whitbread came out on top 7-11, 11-2, 13-11, 8-11, 11-9 in a widely fluctuating battle against Nathan Blore. There was success for Hatfield Peverel A who beat Chelmsford G 7-3. Pete Mortensen won his three singles.

Galleywood C took a giant step towards winning the CLICK division by beating second-placed Chelmsford J 5-0. Lewis Wilson and Rio Teplizki carried all before them. Wilson beat Harry Buckle 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4 in the pick of the night’s action. OCs J (Harry Rogers and Adam Chalk) ran out 5-0 winners against Black Notley B whilst in a much closer match Buttsbury C beat Buttsbury A 3-2. Zach Antoniou and Daniel Slaney both won once to counter the two games that Matthew Elliott won for the A side. Slaney’s game with James Green was
very tight with Slaney eventually winning 9-11, 9-11, 11-8,13-11, 11-9. There was a 5-0 win for Buttsbury C over Black Notley B after Jason Yeh and Toby Kelly had stayed undefeated whilst Harry Hutt won his two singles as Buttsbury A beat Black Notley B 4-1. Rowan Champney was on target for the losers. Black Notley B in turn edged it 3-2 in their match with Black Notley A. Elliot Game won both of his singles. Elliot Game was also undefeated as Black Notley A beat Buttsbury A 4-1 whilst Harry Hutt won both of his singles in Buttsbury B’s 4-1 win over Black Notley B.          

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 14 February 2017

Ross Saxby takes M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles Crown

26 year-old Ross Saxby is the 2017 M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Mens Singles Champion. He was crowned Champion on Monday night at the Old Chelmsfordians Club in Chelmsford. Considered by many people to be the most likely winner he didn’t disappoint although he was hard pushed in both his Semi-Final and Final. Saxby was tied at 2-2 in his Semi-Final against Essex no. one Junior Sam Hume in a match where there was literally nothing between the two players for  the first four ends. Scores of 9-11, 19-17, 11-9, 10-12 tell their own story with the ice-cool Sam belying his tender years to level at 2-2. Could he go on and win ?. The answer turned out to be “no” as Ross came out all guns blazing in the fifth end which he won 11-4. In the other Semi-Final George Reeves dominated from the off and although Scott Dowsett levelled at 8-8 in an exciting second end that was as close as he got. George eventually won 11-3,11-8, 11-6.

In the Final it was George who struck first and he was by far the more dominant player as he raced home 11-5 in the first end. The crucial point of the match came at 9-7 in the second end with George leading. Again it was Ross who showed the greater composure and belief just when he needed it and he levelled by taking the last four points to win 11-9. He now had the bounce and look of a Champion and although George continued to pressure him it was Ross who stormed home 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8.

The Ladies Singles Final featured two players who had played in their Group match in the actual Championship event. Lin Roff came out on top there in four close ends but this time it was Dawn Baldry who called all the shots. Hitting with flare and power particularly on the forehand she raced into a 2-0 lead and
although Lin fought back superbly from 4-9 down to level at 9-9 in the third end Dawn wasn‘t to be denied. She claimed the last two points to win her second title - 11-8,11-8, 11-9.  

It was title no. 14 for Julie Johnson in the Mixed Doubles  where she teamed up with her nephew Ryan Gooday for the first time to beat Jan Fuller and Duncan Taylor in five ends. When Jan and Duncan levelled at 2-2 they must have fancied their chances. Why not ? But in the fifth end Julie and Ryan didn’t put a foot wrong and they ran out 8-11,11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 11-4 winners. Victory to the Aunt and Nephew combination.

The Mens Doubles Final produced an upset of sorts. Playing with confidence and application in what was a very cagey and tight game it was Wale Bada and Reece Seddon who came out on top 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 against the two players contesting the Mens Singles Final - Ross Saxby and George Reeves. They became
the fifth different pair to win this title in the last five years - proof if any was needed as to what an “open” event this is.

The Under 21 Singles Final featured two players who had already appeared on the night and in a repeat of the Junior Boys Singles Final it was Sam Hume who beat Ryan Gooday narrowly 11-8, 11-9, 11-9. Ryan was in contention throughout and Sam will have been relieved to have won 3-0. There was never much in it.

The Veterans Final completed what was a great night for Wale Bada. With his spinny deceptive serves and booming forehand he was always looking to attack against Paul Davison.  Wale won the first quite comfortably 11-6 and when he shaded  the second end 13-11 the writing was on the wall for Paul. Although
Paul dug deep in the third end it wasn‘t enough and Wale ran out a 11-8 winner.

Guests of honour for the evening included the Mayor of Chelmsford - Councillor Patricia Hughes and the Mayor’s Consort - Paul Hughes as well as Anna Emtage - the Charity and Community Relations Manager at M&G Investments, Ken Field - Essex County Table Tennis Chairman and Jayne Johnson - Essex County Table
Tennis Association General Secretary.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 5 February 2017

Maldon A - the new leaders in Division One

Maldon A are the new leaders in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League with 86 points. They powered to a 9-1 win over Chelmsford A - with Alex Abbott and Trevor Lloyd both staying unbeaten. Ryan Gooday made his mark here for the losers with a fine 13-11, 11-7, 12-10 win over Colin
Stallwood. Maldon also drew 5-5 with Rawreth. Alex Abbott and Trevor Lloyd both won twice for Maldon although they both missed out against an inform Duncan Taylor. Liberal stay second but they lost ground on Maldon by losing 7-3 to Danbury A. Glenn Johnson won his three games for Danbury whilst Simon Webber
won twice for Liberal which included a fine 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10 victory over Gary Young. Rawreth could only field two players against Danbury B  and they paid the price for it.  Danbury B won 8-2 with Dave Richardson picking up two good wins over Mike Hayes (10-12, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8, 16-14) and Simon Neale (11-8, 12-10, 11-9).  Danbury B also did well to beat OCs A 6-4. Brandon Crouchman was undefeated for OCs but Eric Green and Dave Richardson both won twice for Danbury B. Eric Green defeated Chris Jacob 7-11, 13-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-2 in the most widely fluctuating game of the evening. Sam Hume who made such an impact in the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships gave a “taster” of what was to come as he stayed unbeaten in Bocking’s 6-4 win over Liberal. This included a fine 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 win over Paul Davison. In a match where the form book was “thrown  out of the window” Gary Cattermole beat Simon Webber 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 and  Paul Davison defeated David Cole 11-4, 11-8, 11-7. Chelmsford A were strengthened by the inclusion of Mateusz Zagajewski in their line-up against Danbury A and he retained his 100 % record (12 /12 wins)
by winning his three singles. He beat Gary Young (11-9, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10), Reece Seddon (11-4, 11-6, 11-8) and Gavin Price (11-3, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4).

Rawreth B top the division two table for the first time this Season with 80 points and they are in a very good position with two matches in hand on second-placed OCs B, who also have 80 points. Rawreth B secured a vital 8-2 win over third placed Danbury D after Barrie Delf (three wins), Gus Heath (two wins) and Paul Churn (two wins) had all played their part in that success. Gus Heath was in turn unbeaten in their 5-5 draw against Chelmsford B. He completed his ”full-house” with a 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 victory over Julie Johnson.  Danbury D lost more ground by losing 6-4 to Writtle A. Matthew Brown excelled for Writtle with an excellent trio of wins over Tim Cramphorn (11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4), Steve Buer (11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7) and Chris Buer (11-4, 11-3, 11-13, 11-6). James Hicks - who went on to win the Division Two Singles at the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships was on fine form as he led Galleywood  A to a 6-4 victory over Hatfield Peverel A. Hicks and team-mate Gary Brignall both won their three singles - good wins over Gareth Davies, Neil Freeman and Gary Ward. Brignall did well to beat Ward 11-5, 6-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-7. Liberal B ran out 6-4 winners over Danbury C although none of their players were able to get the better of improving Danbury reserve - David Gatheral. In the pick of the night’s action Gatheral pipped Andrew Huckson 14-12, 10-12, 2-11, 11-7, 12-10. OCs B with Kevin Worthington firing on all cylinders beat Chelmsford B 7-3. Worthington edged out Julie Johnson 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-9 in the last game of the evening and Julie was also involved in a “cliff-
hanger”  with Stephen Northcott. This time she fought back from 2-0 down to triumph 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9. Hatfield Peverel A ran out convincing 8-2 winners over OCs C. Gary Ward and John Gagg both picked up three wins. Ward perhaps “fashioned” the evening in the opening game of the night by getting the better of Peter Windley 5-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 13-11. OCs C did not fare any better against OCs B. They again  lost 8-2 after Stephen Northcott had won his three singles although Frank Hodge impressed for OCs C with his excellent win over Kevin Worthington (11-3, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3).

Danbury G have replaced Hatfield Peverel B at the top of division three.  Danbury’s Chris Hancox and Sam Lowman were both undefeated in their 8-2 victory over Danbury E. Dan Anderson picked up one win and it was a very close one - 11-6, 12-14, 11-7, 6-11, 14-12 against Tim Pulham. It was the same scoreline as they beat OCs E - with Sam Lowman again carrying all before him. The improving Charles Yeung beat both Dan Anderson and Cameron Gray. Chelmsford  C had Robert Shrimpton to thank as they beat Chelmsford D 7-3. They stay third. Jarek Pietraszuk beat Paul Nicol 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-13, 11-9 in the closest game of the night.   OCs E ran out 6-4 winners over Chelmsford D. Nat Ravlic gave them the edge with his hat-trick of wins over Dave Parker, Mo Mohseni and Keith Martin. Hatfield Peverel B who are in second place (but with a match in hand) beat Maldon B 7-3. Neil Freeman won his three singles and Dave Fiddeman picked up two wins. Freeman had to work very hard to get the better of Tom Elder 11-9, 12-14, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 in a marathon first game of the evening. Hatfield Peverel B also beat Danbury F 7-3. In a keenly contested match no one player stayed undefeated and the Hatfield Peverel trio of Gareth Davies, Neil Freeman and Dave Fiddeman all won twice whilst Dave Marsh picked up two wins for Danbury F.  Gareth Davies did well to defeat Dave Marsh 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 2-11, 11-8 in a gripping last game of the evening. Maldon C, led by Ciaran Whelan beat OCs D 6-4.
  
Hatfield Peverel C are well clear in division four (with 95 points) but they suffered their second defeat of the Season against Danbury K - where they lost 6-4. No single player remained undefeated and Alan Dadswell and Eamon Hall both won twice for Danbury K. Eamon Hall came out on top - 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10 against Colin Barham whilst in another nail-biter Hall defeated Bob Garson 11-7,7-11, 8-11, 14-12. Hatfield Peverel C returned to winning ways against Felsted RBL. Trevor Collin stayed undefeated in their 8-2 victory. However, he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Ian Butler 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 15-13. - Quite a battle !. Danbury J are second and they won twice. Dave Goody, Rob Kneale and Richard Allen were on target as they beat Danbury L 8-2 and Dave Goody, Dave Powell and Richard Allen came out on top 7-3 against OCs F. Richard Allen just got the better of OCs F’s Dave Newman 13-11, 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 15-13. Writtle C did well to beat Danbury L 6-4 - good going as none of their  trio of players - Dave Moles, Steve Siggs or Alan Offord were
able to get the better of Roger Tiffin. Danbury K beat Writtle Excalibur C 6-4. Alan Dadswell was their match winner and he beat Neil Thompson 12-10, 11-8, 10-12, 7-11, 12-10 in the closest game of the evening. Felsted RBL led by Ian Butler beat Chelmsford F 6-4 whilst the match between Chelmsford E and Maldon D finished all square at 5-5. Richard Baxter was unbeaten for Chelmsford E and this included a fine 11-4, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 win over Roger Hance.

Writtle Excalibur E (94 points) look to be well on target to win this division. They lead OCs H by 10 points.   It was “business as usual” as they beat Highwood and Hatfield Peverel D both 7-3. Ian Hockley was undefeated against Highwood whilst two wins for each of Hockley, David Meah and Colin Griffiths gave them the ascendancy  against Hatfield Peverel D. Peverel’s Alastair Brown and Highwood‘s Francis Whitbread caused them the most problems - they both won twice. OCs H (Tanishq Kotwal, Lawrence Bartlett and David Bishop) beat Chelmsford G 10-0 whilst Hatfield Peverel D (Dan Patynski, Peter Mortensen and Alastair Brown) ran out 10-0 winners over Galleywood B. Highwood had Martin Goddard to thank as they beat Anglia Ruskin University 6-4. Omar Medra came up trumps against Russell Downton by a last gasp 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline. Stuart Wintle led OCs G to a 7-3 win over Chelmsford G. Stephen Pratt backed him up with two successes. Tanishq Kotwal (just one defeat to date) was again unbeaten as OCs H beat Galleywood 7-3. Kotwal got the better of Mark Glenister over five ends (12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 14-16, 11-5).

Galleywood C (46 points) lead the way in the CLICK League by one point although they have a match in hand on second-placed Chelmsford J. With teams not fielding “regular sides” week in / week out  results have been very unpredictable recently. Buttsbury A (Tom Picton and James Hughes) in fact beat Galleywood C 4-1. James Hughes was unbeaten for Buttsbury. Likewise OCs J - led by an undefeated Harry Rogers beat Galleywood C 3-2. Aidan Noguchi beat Fraser Heard 14-12, 7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-5 in the pick of the night’s action. OCs J
(Harry Rogers and Adam Chalk) ran out 3-2 winners over Chelmsford J. Ben Jackson was the “thorn-in-their-side” and he won twice for Chelmsford J. Galleywood C in turn beat Buttsbury B 4-1. Aidan Noguchi and Rio Teplizki won all four singles but missed out on the doubles to Harry Hutt / James Green on this occasion. Chelmsford J were 5-0 winners over Black Notley B - Ben Jackson and Peter Davenport carried all before them. Buttsbury C also won 5-0. Jason Yeh and Toby Kelly gave nothing away against Buttsbury B. Chelmsford J were hard pushed to beat Black Notley B 3-2. Ben Jackson gave them the edge with his two singles wins. However, perhaps the most surprising result came when Buttsbury A beat Chelmsford J 5-0. Buttsbury fielded a very strong team and Nathan Fry and James Hughes carried all before them. 
 
All players are reminded that the Finals Night of the M&G Investments Chelmsford Championships takes place at the Old Chelmsfordians Club, Lawford Lane, Roxwell Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2NA on Monday 13 February 2017 starting at 19.30 hours. Presentations of all trophies will be made on the night.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Sam Hume dominates but watch out for newcomer Ross Saxby

There were shocks galore in this year’s M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Championships played at Hylands School, Chelmsford over the weekend. The Mens Singles in particular did not go to form and a series of major upsets coupled with four top seeded players (Dave Cole, Keiran Lally,
Alex Abbott and Trevor Lloyd) having to scratch for a variety of reasons meant that  the seedings counted for nothing at all - literally nothing. Perhaps for the first time ever - not one of the top eight seeded players have made it through to the Mens Semi-Finals.

In the top quarter of the draw 22 year-old Reece Seddon benefited from the withdrawal of top seed David Cole despite having lost 9-11, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10, 8-11 in his Group to Ryan Pitt. Seddon played very well to beat the seeded  Colin Stallwood 6-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 only to succumb to George Reeves 11-6, 6-11, 11-13, 7-11 in the Quarter-Final. On a day where shocks abounded Reeves  had also beaten Ryan Gooday 11-7, 11-4, 2-11, 11-4 and then most impressively the higher seeded Brandon Crouchman 11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 4-11, 12-10. There was an even bigger shock in the second quarter where Scott Dowsett battled his way through to the last four. Lee McHugh scored an absolute “gem” of a win - a real stunner of a victory by beating Duncan Taylor 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 and he followed this up with another  excellent victory over Babul McLeod 11-6, 4-11, 11-5, 11-
4. Scott Dowsett made his mark by defeating Adrian Pitt 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 and in the Quarter-Final shoot-out he beat the 27 year-old Lee McHugh 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10. The third quarter threw up a new name to many of us - Ross Saxby. New to the area having been a Mens Singles finalist two years ago in
Guildford the 26 year-old top-spinner produced some top quality play to beat Colin Stallwood in their group encounter (11-8, 11-7, 11-8) and  then James Hicks (11-3 11-8, 11-7), then seeded Gary Young (12-14, 11-7, 11-2, 11-6) and finally and most impressively of all Wale Bada (11-5, 11-8, 11-1). Saxby will face Essex no. one Junior Sam Hume in his Semi-Final. Hume had to pull out all the stops to retrieve a 8-4 and 10-8 fifth end deficit to get the better of Charles Sweeny 11-4, 11-3, 8-11, 11-13, 13-11 - arguably the best match of the
day and he then showed his mettle by beating the “dangerous” Glenn Johnson 11-9, 11-4, 12-10. Hume was just one game away from the Mens Semi-Finals and he showed no shortage of determination by getting the better of Simon Webber 11-8, 11-5, 11-8. Webber had made his mark with a superb victory of his own over the
second seed Paul Davison 11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7.

Both Semi-Finals which will be played  on Finals Night promise to be highly exciting matches. Both George Reeves and Scott Dowsett have made it to the Mens Semi-Final before and are proven Tournament players whilst Ross Saxby and Sam Hume gave every indication that they  have all the credentials to capture the
title.

Ladies Champion Dawn Baldry fought her way through to the Ladies Singles Final where she will meet Lin Roff on Finals Night. Ironically the two players met in their Group and it was the inform Lin who came out on top 13-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4. Lin also had her work cut out to beat newcomer Kelly Yuen 11-2, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10. In the other half of the draw top seed Julie Johnson won her three games and she looked to be on good form as she defeated Jan Fuller 11-6, 11-8, 11-8. The two ladies Semi-Finals produced fascinating encounters. Julie Johnson took a 2-0 lead against Dawn Baldry but it was Dawn who shaded a close third end and displaying all her tenacity and hard-hitting abandon she eventually triumphed 9-11, 1-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-2. Lin Roff - clearly on very good form ran out a four game winner over Jan Fuller (11-3, 3-11, 11-4, 11-5).

The Mens Doubles - always the most open of events became even harder to predict this year with many players withdrawing and pairings having to be reshuffled. Wale Bada and Reece Seddon emerged from the top half of the draw by getting the better of scratch-pairing Colin Stallwood / Paul Davison 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 in the Semi-Final. They will meet George Reeves / Ross Saxby in the Final. Reeves ./ Saxby were in all sorts of trouble against Ryan Gooday / Robert Shrimpton and trailed 7-3 in the fifth end. However, displaying all their experience they rallied to win 4-11, 12-10, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 and they then beat the 2015 Champions Scott Dowsett / Brandon Crouchman 14-16. 12-10, 11-9, 11-6. The Semi-Final ebbed and flowed but it was George Reeves / Ross Saxby who got their noses in front in the fifth end and they emerged as 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6 winners over surprise semi-Finalists Lee McHugh / Peter Mynard. The McHugh / Mynard combination scored two excellent wins of their own. They beat Adrian Pitt / Andrew Huckson (11-5, 18-16, 18-16) and then Sam Hume / Gary Cattermole (9-11, 11-19, 11-5, 11-3).    

The Mixed Doubles Final will be between scratch pairing Julie Johnson / Ryan Gooday and  second seeds Jan Fuller / Duncan Taylor.  Ryan / Julie impressed by beating Lin Roff / Gary Young 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 whilst Jan / Duncan  showed their credentials by getting the better of Shirley Carroll / Steve Whiteley (11-5, 11-6, 11-8) and Ciaran Whelan / Dawn Baldry (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7).

New pairing Julie Johnson / Jan Fuller emerged victorious from a hotly contested Ladies Doubles event. They beat Lin Roff / Kelly Yuen (12-10, 11-9, 11-7) and Dawn Baldry / Shirley Carroll (11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 17-15. Dawn /
Shirley finished runners-up by beating Lin / Kelly 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-3, 11-6.

As with the Mens Singles there were numerous shocks in the Veterans Singles. Newcomer Wale Bada has fought his way through to the Final where he will meet second seed Paul Davison. Wale beat James Hicks 12-10, 11-9, 14-12 and then Andrew Huckson 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3 and he then produced a top class display
of hard-hitting  Table Tennis to oust Alex Abbott 11-9, 11-6, 11-7. Alex Abbott beat Steve Whiteley 9-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 after Whiteley had ousted the seeded Colin Stallwood 12-10, 11-5, 5-11, 9-11, 12-10 - yet another superb victory. Gary Young who didn’t win his group having lost to Adrian Pitt (9-11, 11-8, 10-12, 6-11, 9-11) was involved in three more titanic battles in the bottom half of the draw. Young showed all his tenacity by ousting Duncan Taylor (7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10) and George Reeves (11-7, 12-10, 6-11, 6-11, 11-8) before missing out to Paul Davison over five furious ends (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 3-11, 8-11. Davison in his first year as a Veteran made no mistake in battling his way past Adam Buxton (11-8, 11-6, 12-10) and the seeded Trevor Lloyd (5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8).

There were yet more shocks in the Veterans Doubles and a new pairing have taken the title - unseeded Andrew Huckson / Adrian Pitt. Again there were twists and turns galore. Pitt / Huckson opened their campaign by beating scratch-pairing Steve Whiteley / Gary Cattermole 11-6, 11-6, 10-12, 11-3 and they then scored “the win of the event” by fighting back from 2-0 down to sensationally get the better of second seeds George Reeves / Duncan Taylor 6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-9. In the top half of the draw the favourites  Paul  Davison / Alex Abbott ousted Jan Fuller / Paul Mulley 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 and they battled back from 2-1 down to get the better of Trevor Lloyd / Colin Stallwood 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7. However, Alex Abbott had to pull out of the Final which was scheduled for Saturday with a shoulder injury and the title has been awarded to Andrew
Huckson / Adrian Pitt. Perhaps the least expected success of the weekend ? 

Babul McLeod emerged as the Winner of the Over 50s Singles - an event he also won in 2014. McLeod battled past Ian Whiteside (11-6, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7),  Lin Roff (11-5, 11-9, 11-9) and then Steve Whiteley (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7) and he produced a superb display to get the better of Glenn Johnson 11-6, 11-
8, 3-11, 11-4 in the Final. Johnson was on good form seeing off Roger Hance (11-7, 11-6, 11-9), Keith Martin (11-5, 11-6, 11-7) and Adrian Pitt (11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2). Keith Martin made his mark by getting the better of Dawn Baldry 11-4, 11-9, 15-17, 11-6.

Glenn Johnson - the top-seed in the Over 60s Singles made no mistake this time. He beat Steve Whiteley 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 and Trevor Carter 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 to take the title. Trevor Carter had ousted the holder Ian Whiteside 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6 in the penultimate round having also had to battle all the way to get the better of Mike Johnston 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8 a round earlier.  

The Under 21 Singles Final on Finals Night will be fought out between the holder Sam Hume and Ryan Gooday. Hume had to battle hard to get the better of Sam Lowman 13-11, 11-9, 11-9 whilst Ryan Gooday was also pushed to see off Peter Windley 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8. Peter Windley had upset the seedings by beating Daniel Berry 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6.

Sam Hume retained his Junior Boys Singles crown but only just. His Final against Ryan Gooday was a stunning encounter and Gooday came ohhh so close to capturing the crown. Gooday took a 2-0 lead and despite Hume rallying strongly to level at 2-2 it was Gooday who surged clear in the fifth end to lead 10-6. Just one point needed ! It just wouldn’t come and playing with real composure and no shortage of determination Sam Hume fought back to win 9-11, 8-11, 11-1, 11-5,12-10. The beaten Semi-Finalists were Connor Payne and Nathan Fry.

Sam Hume - by far the busiest player of the weekend also retained his Junior Doubles title. Paired with Connor Payne they beat Ryan Gooday / Ben Jackson 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 and Matthew Elliott / Nathan Fry 11-7, 16-18, 11-6, 11-8. Fry and Elliott had booked their appearance in the Final with a last gasp 11-7, 11-7, 6-
11, 15-17, 11-8 victory over Aidan Noguchi / Matthew Laws.

Connor Payne scored his second win of the weekend by taking the Under 16s Singles from the top seeded position. He beat Ben Jackson (11-9, 11-1, 11-3) and then Toby Kelly (11-3, 15-17, 11-3, 11-7) and in the Final he defeated Matthew Elliott 11-3, 12-10, 11-6. Matthew Elliott booked his Final appearance with wins over Tom Picton (11-6, 11-5, 11-6) and James Hughes (11-4, 7-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7).

Toby Kelly became the Under 14s Singles Champion for the first time. He booked his place in the Final by beating Christopher Stephens and Aidan Noguchi and he captured the title by getting the better of Oliver Cohen 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 in a hard fought Final. Cohen had to pull out all the stops to reach the Final. His
match with  second seed Rio Teplizki went all the way “to the wire” with Cohen finally clinching victory 7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 1-18, 14-12.    

The Junior Handicap Singles saw Sam Hume win again. Despite being heavily weighed down by having by far the toughest handicap to contend with he only dropped one game as he defeated Nathan Fry (12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7), Harry Rogers (11-8, 11-8, 11-8), Connor Payne (11-9, 15-13, 13-11), James Hughes (11-9, 12-10, 12-10) and in the Final - Ryan Gooday (11-9, 11-8, 11-9). Gooday battled his way past Daniel Slaney (12-10, 11-7, 12-10), Aidan Tucker (11-7, 11-8, 11-6), Alex Headley (11-7, 11-5, 11-5) and in his Semi-Final he beat Toby
Kelly 11-13, 118, 12-10, 11-9.

Sunday’s play which is dominated by the Divisional Singles  events is always fiercely fought and this year’s events were as competitive as ever. In the Division Two Singles you would certainly have expected Lee McHugh to feature in light of his heroics on the Saturday. Although he beat Sam Lowman narrowly 11-
9, 12-10, 11-9 that was as far as he progressed. He lost to Andrew Huckson 11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 6-11 a round later. Huckson in turn lost 5-11, 9-11, 6-11 to second seed James Hicks in the Semi-Final. In the top half of the draw Robert Shrimpton stole the show. He beat Ryan Pitt 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 and then the hard-hitting Ciaran Whelan 11-1, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 and he defeated top seed Adrian Pitt by a last-gasp 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9 margin in a tense Semi-Final. Whelan had impressed by ousting Neil Freeeman 11-7, 5-11, 11-13, 11-9,
11-9. The Final was always going to be a tight affair but it was a very composed James Hicks who eventually emerged as the winner in four ends (9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 12-10).

Samuel Lowman who plays such a smooth free-flowing attacking game emerged as the winner of the Division Three Singles. He beat Roger Hance 12-10, 14-12, 11-4 and then David Gatheral 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 and in the Semi-Final he saw off Trevor Collin 11-6, 11-7,11-9. His opponent in the Final was Robert Shrimpton - no surprise bearing in mind how well he had played in the Division Two Singles. Shrimpton had to pull out all the stops to see off Dan Anderson 11-6, 11-4, 3-11, 9-11, 12-10 and Ciaran Whelan 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in
the semi-Final. The Final was another cracker and it was Sam Lowman who sneaked home 10-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.     
    
Trevor Collin - clearly playing well as displayed by his excellent run to the Semi-Final in the Division Three Singles duly took top honours in the Division Four Singles. He toppled top seed Roger Hance in the Final 11-8, 11-9, 13-15, 11-6 having beaten Colin Barham 12-10, 12-10, 11-6 in the penultimate round. Roger Hance was also pushed in his Semi-Final before finally seeing off Mark Glenister 9-11, 11-6, 4-11, 13-11, 11-8. Trevor Collin was given a scare in his first round encounter and Kelly Yuen raced into a 2-0 lead before succumbing 3-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-3,11-5.

Pewist Osman - the favourite in the Division Five Singles was crowned Champion. He beat Fedal Azzazi 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 in the Semi-Final and Mark Glenister 11-7. 11-3, 11-9 in the Final. Glenister booked his Final appearance by defeating Kamil Lentas 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.

Matthew Laws is the 2017 Handicap Singles winner. His Final opponent - Pewist Osman had to retire injured but he had given a great account of himself to reach the Final. Laws defeated Peter Davenport (21-12, 21-11), Peter Windley (21-15, 21-13) and Rod MacLennan (12-21, 21-19, 21-19) to reach the Final. Pewist Osman ousted Charles Yeung (21-11, 18-21, 21-14), Robert Shrimp ton (21-17, 21-13) and Lee McHugh (21-7, 21-18). McHugh had beaten David Gatheral by a scoreline that needs to be read twice to be believed (21-17, 33-35, 24-22). Quite a match !.

Reece Seddon / Ken Sheard emerged as the winners of the Handicap Doubles. The Final went all the way “to the wire” before they finally saw off James Hicks /Peter Windley 16-21, 21-15, 21-19.

Finals Night takes place at the Old Chelmsfordians Club on Monday 13 February 2017 starting at 19.30 hours. Presentations of all trophies will be made on the night.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 22 January 2017

David Cole looking  to win his fifth M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles title

It’s that time of the year again and the 2017 M&G Investments Chelmsford Closed Table Tennis Championships take place from Friday evening (starting at 19.00 hours) on 27 January 2017 to  Sunday 29 January 2017 at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3DN. Admission is free and hopefully lots of  former players will drop into watch over the weekend.

The Chelmsford League Committee are as always very grateful for the very generous sponsorship of M& Investments. Anna Emtage - Charity & Community Relations Manager at M&G Investments commented  “M&G Investments is delighted to be sponsoring the 2017 Championship and I am looking forward to what I am
sure will be an exciting event“.

The “blue riband” event the Mens Singles promises to be very hotly contested this year . Four times Chelmsford Champion David Cole is top seed and he certainly possesses that all important “big occasion temperament” but there are as many as 15 other players who will be hoping that on a good day it might just
be their year. Five times Braintree Mens Singles Champion Paul Davison is seeded no. two with two times former Chelmsford Champion Alex Abbott and 2003 Winner Keiran Lally at joint no. three. Seeded in the five to eight bracket are Brandon Crouchman, Duncan Taylor, Colin Stallwood and Trevor Lloyd whilst the other players seeded as group winners are Gary Young, George Reeves, newcomer Wale Bada, Sam Hume and Simon Webber. There is clearly no shortage of good players taking part this year despite the fact that last year’s winner Tony Halling and runner-up - Rik James are missing.

As always certain groups look intriguing and with two players to qualify look out for Group 12 where Alex Abbott takes on Charles Sweeny, Reece Seddon and Adrian Pitt and group no. seven where Colin Stallwood comes face to face with another newcomer Ross Saxby, Hamish Innes and David Gatheral.  Group eight has
a real depth to it and Brandon Crouchman will be up against Oliver Reynolds, James Hicks and Peter Windley.

Julie Johnson is the top seed in the Ladies Singles where she is bidding to win the title for an incredible  24th time. After taking a year out through injury Julie has been on fine form this year and her playing record of 50 % in the very evenly matched second division illustrates that she is playing as well as ever. Last year’s Champion Dane Baldry is seeded second whilst Jan Fuller, Shirley Carroll and Lin Roff are all capable of causing major upsets.

In recent years the Mens Doubles has been one of the most open events.  Last year’s winners - Paul Davison and Alex Abbott are top seeds with the winners two years ago - Scott Dowsett and Brandon Crouchman seeded second. The joint no. three seeds are Colin Stallwood and Trevor Lloyd and Glen Johnson and Gary
Young. In what is a clearly a very strong event the fifth seeded pairings are Duncan Taylor / Charles Sweeny, Wale Bada / Reece Seddon, Sam Hume / Gary Cattermole and George Reeves / Ross Saxby.

Julie Johnson / David Cole will be strong favourites to capture the Mixed Doubles title for an 11th time. However they will certainly take nothing for granted as two years ago they were seeded no. one but sensationally lost to Ciaran Whelan and Dawn Baldry who in turn lost in the Final to Steve Whiteley
and Shirley Carroll. New pairing Duncan Taylor / Jan Fuller are second seeds and Gary Young / Linda Roff and Ciaran Whelan / Dawn Baldry share the joint third berth.
 
As befits his top status in the Mens Singles David Cole is also the favourite in the Veterans Singles where Paul Davison is seeded to meet him in the Final. Alex Abbott and Duncan Taylor are the joint no three seeds with Colin Stallwood, George Reeves, Trevor Lloyd, Gary Young, Gary Cattermole, Glen Johnson, Wale Bada and Steve Whiteley all seeded to emerge as Group winners. Group six looks to be the pick of the bunch here. Gary Young does battle with Adrian Pitt and James Hicks.

David  Cole looks set to have a very busy weekend and he is also top seed in the  Over 50s Singles. This time Trevor Lloyd is seeded to meet him in the Final. With a playing record of 80 % in the first division and a victory over Cole to his name this Season Lloyd won’t be an easy “nut to crack”. George Reeves and Glen Johnson are the joint third seeds and Group Two stands out here. Trevor Lloyd faces Julie Johnson and Babul McLeod - the 2014 Chelmsford Over 50s Champion.

In the Over 60s Singles Ian Whiteside - the holder will face tough opposition from Glen Johnson, Steve Whiteley and Hamish Innes. Group three looks to be the pick of the bunch. Whiteley, Innes and Mike Johnston come face to face.

The Veterans Doubles is also very open. Alex Abbott / Paul Davison are favourites and are seeded to meet George Reeves and Duncan Taylor in the Final. Other pairings who should be in with a shout are Glen Johnson / Gary Young and Gary Cattermole / David Cole. Possible wild cards include Trevor Lloyd / Colin Stallwood and James Hicks / Adam Buxton.

Sam Hume is seeded to play Ryan Gooday in both the Under 21 Singles and Junior Boys Singles Finals and only Dan Berry who features in the Under 21 Singles looks remotely capable of halting their progress. Hume is also favourite to annexe the Junior Doubles title where he is paired with Connor Payne. Their opponents in the Final are expected to be Matthew Elliott / Nathan Fry. Connor Payne will also be looking to “strike Gold” in the Under 16 Singles where he is seeded to play Matthew Elliott in the Final. Toby Kelly carries the burden of 
being the favourite in the Under 14 Singles where he is seeded to play Rio Teplizki in the Final.

Sunday’s play is dominated by the Divisional Singles events - and these are every bit as competitive as the Mens and Womens Singles. The Division Two Singles should be particularly hard fought.  Adrian Pitt is the top seed and James Hicks is seeded no. two with Ryan Pitt and Lee McHugh the joint no. three seeds. McHugh will be tested in his group where he faces Ciaran Whelan and David Gatheral whilst James Hicks also faces tricky opposition first thing on the Sunday morning. He has to take on Robert Shrimpton and Victor Chan. Neil
Freeman and Ciaran Whelan are the top two seeds in the Division Three Singles whilst that billing goes to Roger Hance and Trevor Collin in the Division Four Singles. Pewist Osman and Mark Glenister are the top two seeds in the Division Five Singles.

Finals Night takes place this year on Monday 13 February 2017 at 19.30 hours at Old Chelmsfordians Association, Lawford Lane, Roxwell Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2NS.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 15 January 2017

Rawreth B notch up big win in division two 

Division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League looks to be incredibly tight this year with a mere 12 points covering the top seven sides. OCs B are the new leaders by virtue of having played the most matches but it could be Rawreth B who are in fourth place but have three matches in hand who are best placed - as they only trail the leaders by seven points. Rawreth B were this week’s big winners and they defeated OCs C 9-1. Kim Shead and Paul Churn were both unbeaten. Danbury D fell back into second place after losing 7-3 to Liberal B. Adrian Pitt was the Liberal match winner with a hat-trick of successes which included a last gasp 11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 3-11,12-10 victory over Chris Buer. This match was a marathon affair in which no single game was decided 3-0 and five games were decided in the fifth end. OCs B missed out 6-4
against a James Hicks inspired Galleywood A but they in turn beat Writtle Excalibur B 6-4. The OCs pairing of Stephen Northcott and Trevor Carter and Writtle’s Paul Sturton all won twice. Carter beat Sturton 11-3, 6-11,11-8, 9-11, 11-2 in the most widely  fluctuating of five-end encounters. Danbury C ran out 7-3 winners over Chelmsford B. Peter Mynard was unbeaten for Danbury.

Maldon C were the week‘s big winners in division three and they excelled as they defeated Chelmsford D 9-1. Ciaran Whelan and Steve Scholz both bagged hat-tricks and it was left to Keith Martin to score Chelmsford’s sole win which he did with a 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 win over Colin Napper. Danbury H did very well to draw 5-5 with second placed Danbury E. Peter Hance hit top form with a very impressive hat-trick of wins. He beat Gordon Gatheral (11-9, 11-5, 11-6) and Tim Pulham (11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 4-11, 11-7) and finally Ken Sheard (8-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10). Danbury F ran out narrow 6-4 winners against OCs D. Dave Marsh and John Robinson won twice for Danbury whilst Mick Hayes picked up two wins for the Old Chelmfordians side. Dave Marsh fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of League Chairman Dave Porter narrowly 3-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8. Team-work was the order of the day as Chelmsford C beat Danbury G 6-4. Chelmsford’s Rob Shrimpton, Paul Nicol and Mark Allaway all won twice with Dan Anderson picking up two successes for the losers.

In division four second placed Danbury J fell back as they lost 6-4 to the third placed team - Chelmsford E. Richard Baxter was unbeaten for the Chelmsford side and he wrapped up his hat-trick with a very hard fought 12-14, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8 win over Dave Goody.   Danbury K (Eamon Hall, Dave Hancox and Kevin Willis) ran out 8-2 winners over Chelmsford F whilst the leaders Hatfield Peverel C pulled further clear by beating Danbury L 7-3. Trevor Collin annexed a hat-trick. It is looking good now for Hatfield Peverel C who lead the table by 10 points with a match in hand.

Pewist Osman retained his 100 % singles record in division five (he has 23 wins out of 23) although his hat-trick of wins couldn’t prevent Anglia Ruskin University losing 6-4 to Hatfield Peverel D. Osman had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Dan Patynski 6-11, 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8. Martin Goddard was on top form for Highwood who beat Chelmsford H 6-4 whilst the match between Galleywood B and OCs G finished 5-5. Stuart Wintle was unbeaten for the Old Chelmsfordians team whilst Stephen Peacock beat Mike Morecroft 11-8, 14-16, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8 in the closest encounter of the evening.  

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 8 January 2017

Top class display from Liberal‘s Adam Buxton

Occasionally a performance causes the whole of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League to take note. Adam Buxton’s superb trio of wins for Liberal A versus Danbury A in the first division certainly fell into that category and it must also be a contender for “Best Performance of the Season”.  Buxton defeated Reece Seddon 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 and Keith Adams 11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 11-5 and finally Glen Johnson 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-16 in a match that ended 5-5 - an excellent evening‘s work. The all-action Keith Adams in turn made his presence felt with a widely fluctuating five game win over Paul Davison (2-11, 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 11-6).

In division two Rawreth B have climbed into second place by beating Danbury C 8-2. Paul Churn was undefeated for Rawreth whilst Neil Want picked up two wins for Danbury C. This included an excellent 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8 victory over Kim Shead. Danbury D stay top and it was Chris Buer who led the way as they beat Chelmsford B 8-2. Chris Buer beat Julie Johnston - Chelmsford’s best player 11-7, 4-11, 12-10, 11-9.

Hatfield Peverel B stay top in division three with Neil Freeman‘s hat-trick being instrumental as they beat Danbury E 6-4. Freeman beat David Gatheral - who won twice for Danbury E 5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8.  Chelmsford D did well to draw with the higher placed Danbury G. Dan Anderson won twice for Danbury G
whilst Jarek Pietraszuk and Keith Martin both picked up two wins for Chelmsford G.       
 
Maldon D featured in two division four matches and Roger Hance was on top form winning all six singles as they drew 5-5 with Danbury J and lost 6-4 to Felsted RBL. Dave Goody provided Hance with his most severe test before he ran out a 7-11, 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6 winner.

There has been plenty of Cup action over the Christmas period. Chelmsford (Ryan Gooday, Mark Allaway and Robert Shrimpton) impressed by beating Hatfield Peverel A 5-2 in the Open Cup. Mark Allaway scored two superb wins - beating Gary Ward (9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10) and John Gagg (11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11). Danbury A (Gary Young, Eric Green and Steve Whiteley) gave nothing away in beating Danbury B 5-0. Ace defender Eric Green again impressed as he defeated Peter Mynard 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7. 

Mynard was in turn on the winning side in the Division two Cup. He led Danbury A to a 5-1 win over Danbury B. Sam Lowman made his mark for the B team by beating Glen Laing 13-11, 11-9, 11-2.

By virtue of their consistent displays in the League Hatfield Peverel A are going to take some stopping in the Division three Cup. Neil Freeman, Dave Fiddeman and Gareth Davies gave nothing away as they beat Maldon C 9-0. The match between Danbury A and Danbury C was a closer affair and Danbury A shaded it 5-3. David Gatheral won twice for the Danbury A side. Maldon B beat Chelmsford 5-3 in another closely fought match. Maldon won all three five enders with Colin Napper and Steve Scholz beating Victor Chan and Robert Shrimpton 12-10, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7, 13-11 in the opening doubles and Ciaran Whelan pipping Pauil Nicol 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10 in their singles encounter. Ciaran Whelan and Colin Napper got the better of Victor Chan and Robert Shrimpton 8-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9 in the middle doubles. A close match could quite conceivably have been even closer.

The Division five Cup produced the two closest matches of the round. Writtle Excalibur A fought back from 4-3 down to pip OCs A 5-4. Nicola Pippen beat Vince Gurney 14-12, 11-5, 11-2 to level the scores and Keith Fitzjohn and Keith Pallett defeated Vince Gurney and Mike Morecroft 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9 to seal the Writtle victory.  The match between Highwood and Writtle Excalibur B was equally close - mainly due to the fine form of Highwood’s Francis Whitbread who beat both Frank Neill (11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8) and David Meah (12-10, 11-6, 11-7), With the scores poised at 4-4 Frank Neill and David Meah came up trumps by beating Martin Goddard and Russell Downton 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 to seal a very hard earned victory.

Buttsbury  A are safely through to the next round of the Junior Knock Out Cup. Nathan Fry, Matthew Elliott and Alex Headley emerged as 5-3 winners over Chelmsford despite the fact that Chelmsford‘s Connor Payne remained undefeated. Payne beat Matthew Elliott 14-12, 10-12, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8 after a five game thriller.

In the Handicap Knock Out Cup OCs G (Tanishq Kotwal, Dave Bishop and Stuart Wintle) ran out 5-3 winners over Writtle Excalibur A whilst  Chelmsford D (John Wickens, Robert Shrimpton and Martyn Hiskey) beat Danbury B 5-0. Writtle Excalibur B (Dave Moles, Steve Siggs and Alan Offord) are also through to the next round by beating Danbury C 5-3. Offord was the OCs match-winner on this occasion with a hat-trick and he sealed the victory by getting the better of Mo Hardy 22-10, 21-17.  OCs A -Peter Windley, Frank Hodge and Nat Ravlic) did well to beat Danbury A 5-1. Five games were decided in the third end and OCs won four of them. Peter Windley and Frank Hodge both won twice. Hatfield Peverel B ran out 6-2 winners over Highwood. Dave Fiddeman and Neil Freeman were both undefeated on this occasion.     
  
Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report Issued - 18 December 2016

Peter Hayden leads the way for impressive Liberal A

Liberal A turned in a top-notch performance to beat Chelmsford A 8-2 to move into pole position in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. Six times Braintree League Mens Singles Champion Peter Hayden led the way with a hat-trick of wins - downing the challenges of Waseem Qureshi (11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9), Wal Bada (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4) and Ryan Gooday (11-8, 11-3, 11-9). Simon Webber played his part and he defeated Ryan Gooday 9-11, 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 12-10 in the closest game of the evening. Chelmsford A in turn did well to beat Danbury B 6-4. Newcomer Wal Bada was easily the best player on view here winning his three singles in commanding fashion. He beat Steve Whiteley (11-6, 11-4, 11-6), Ian Whiteside (11-7, 11-7, 11-5) and Eric Green (11-8, 11-7, 11-8). Bocking are rather surprisingly in bottom spot but with a mere 15 points covering all eight teams they won’t be too despondent. They beat Danbury B 7-3 with four times M&G Investments Mens Singles Champion Dave Cole taking charge by winning his three singles. Dave Richardson won twice for the losers and this included a superb 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 victory over Rik James. Bocking missed out 6-4 against Maldon A who are very handily placed in third position. Keiran Lally impressed by beating Trevor Lloyd (11-9, 12-10, 11-9) and Colin Stallwood (11-6, 11-5, 11-2) but he had to leave early and
conceded his third singles. Lloyd again showed what a good acquisition he is for Maldon by beating Dave Cole (11-7, 13-11, 11-8).

Division two produced two very closely fought matches this week. Gary Ward was undefeated for Hatfield Peverel A who drew 5-5 with Writtle Excalibur B. Rod Maclennan impressed for the Writtle team by beating both Dave Calleja (11-9, 11-6, 11-9) and John Gagg (10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-8). Writtle Excalibur A beat OCs B 6-4. Mathew Brown and Richard Storey both won twice for Writtle and Kevin Worthington picked up two wins for OCs B. Worthington beat Peter Layzell 8-11, 11-6, 2-11,13-11, 15-13 after a real roller-coaster encounter.

OCs D scored a fine 6-4 win over the higher-placed Maldon B in division three. David Porter  led the way with a hat-trick of wins for the Old Chelmsfordians side whilst Roger Hance won twice for Maldon. Mick Hayes fought back very strongly from 2-0 down to beat Ev Lucas 4-11, 6-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-2.   Maldon C had Ciaran Whelan to thank as they beat Danbury F 6-4. Whelan won his three singles beating Dave Marsh (11-4, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6), Rob Kneale (11-8, 11-8, 11-8) and Herbie Smith (11-8, 12-14, 11-4, 11-8).

All-conquering Hatfield Peverel C (Dave Carter, Bob Garson and Colin Barham) have hit a rich vein of form in division four and they beat OCs F 10-0 this week. They lead the way with 66 points - nine points ahead of Danbury J. Ian Butler was undefeated for Felsted RBL who beat Danbury L 7-3. Matt Laws won two nail-biting encounters. He beat Roger Tiffin 11-5, 8-11, 2-11, 11-4, 12-10 and Norman Hayes 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10. Writtle Excalibur C scored a fine 7-3 win over the higher-placed Chelmsford E. Dave Moles was their match-winner with a hat-trick of wins. Richard Upson had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Steve Siggs 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 5-11, 13-11.

In division five there was a shock defeat for third placed Galleywood B who lost 7-3 to Chelmsford G. Roger Wilson retained his 100% record for Galleywood whilst Michael Whelpdale, Steven Chambers and Martin Hiskey all won twice for the Chelmsford team. The leaders Writtle Excalibur E pulled even further clear
and Frank Neill, Colin Griffiths and Andy Fox were convincing 10-0 winners over OCs G. Andy Fox was hard pushed to get the better of Mike Morecroft 11-3, 11-7, 5-11, 7-11, 11-8 in the game of the evening. Anglia Ruskin University scored their second win of the Season by beating OCs H 6-4. Pewist Osman was undefeated. Hatfield Peverel D (Keith Cullen, Peter Mortensen and Dan Patynski) were never in trouble against Writtle Excalibur E and ran out 10-0 winners whilst Writtle Excalibur D (Nicola Pippen, Ian Hockley and Keith Pallett) ran out 9-1 winners over Highwood. Russsell Downton was Highwood’s sole singles winner and he beat Keith Pallett 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9. Braintree League stalwart Alastair Brown led the way for Hatfield Peverel D against Chelmsford H with a hat-tick of victories whilst Harry Matthews impressed for the losers with wins over Richard Drozd and Andy Simmonds.

Buttsbury A (Chris Stephens and James Green) were 4-1 winners in the CLICK League against BNCA A. However, it was the BNCA pairing - Nick Schofield and Peter Schofield who did well to come out on top in the doubles 11-6, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6.

A final reminder (as if you really need another one !) that the M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Tournament will be held at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, CM1 3DN on the weekend of 27 / 28 / 29 January 2017. The closing date for entries is tomorrow - Monday 19 December
2016 and no late entries will be accepted as the draws will be held before Christmas. Entries should be forwarded either via your Club Secretary or direct to Arthur Clark, 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RQ with payment. Payment can be made direct to the League's Bank Account at Sort Code
30-91-85 account no. 00406696. If payment is made electronically please tick the Box on the Entry Form and state the Payee surname if this is different to the Entrant's surname.  Entrants should note that they must have played in at least three Chelmsford League matches if they are registered in another League. An Entry Form is in the middle of the League handbook and can also be found on the League's website.

And finally - and most important of all - Season’s Greetings and a very Merry Christmas to all Chelmsford League players and officials.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report issued on 11 December 2016          

Another impressive performance from Maldon newcomer Trevor Lloyd

Last year’s first division Champions - Danbury A were well beaten 7-3 by Maldon A in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League despite turning out a strong side. Impressive newcomer - Wiltshire County player Trevor Lloyd and two times M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Alex Abbott were both on top form and they both stayed unbeaten. Gary Young, Glen  Johnson and Keith Adams all won once for the losers. Lloyd, a new name to many players in Chelmsford defeated Keith Adams (11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-7), Glen Johnson (11-6, 11-7, 11-4) and Gary Young (11-13, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7) - a very decisive evening‘s work. This result sees Maldon climb into third place just two points behind the new leaders - Liberal A who have played a match more.  Liberal A lost 6-4 to Rawreth A for whom ace defender Duncan Taylor remained unbeaten with a hat-trick of 3-0 wins over James Mullane, Peter Hayden and Adam Buxton but it was still an impressive display from the Liberal team. The improving Adam Buxton excelled and he defeated George Reeves (11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5) whilst Peter Hayden fought back from 2-0 down to pip Reeves 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9. 
In another desperately close finish Adam Buxton sneaked past Simon Neale 8-11,11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10.    

Rawreth B were impressive 7-3 winners over OCs B in division two. Paul Churn was right at the top of his game downing the challenges of Steve Northcott (12-10, 11-5, 11-4), Ashley Skeggs (9-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8) and Trevor Carter (11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8) but there was a first defeat of the Season for Kim Shead. The hard-hitting Steve Northcott came out on top here (11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8). Peter Hayden was in action again for Liberal B - this time with a hard-bat and his hat-trick of wins enabled Liberal B to beat Galleywood A 6-4. Six games were decided in the fifth end and Andrew Huckson sealed the Liberal victory in the last game of the evening by getting the better of Gary Brignall 6-11, 11-7, 2-11, 11-4, 11-9.  The match between Danbury C and Hatfield Peverel A was also a close fought affair and no individual player stayed undefeated. Peter Mynard, Glen Laing and Tony Forster all won twice for Danbury C as they ran out 6-4 winners. Galleywood A also won 6-4 and this time it was Gary Brignall who led the way with a hat-trick of wins. Julie Johnson won twice for 
Chelmsford B which included a very impressive quick-fire 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 win over James Hicks. In yet another 6-4 result Hatfield Peveral A beat Liberal B although all three Hatfield Peverel players missed out against Adrian Pitt who has excelled so far this Season with a record of 93 %. Here he beat Peter Brownlow (13-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-1), Gary Ward (11-9, 11-9, 11-8) and Dave Carter (11-6, 11-2, 11-3). Carter made his mark with a fine win over Andrew Huckson (11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9). The match between OCs C and Writtle Excalibur A finished tied at 5-5. Ryan Pitt won his three singles for the Writtle Excalibur side.    

Hatfield Peverel B reasserted themselves at the top of division three by beating OCs E 8-2. Neil Freeman and Dave Fiddeman were both undefeated. The game between Nat Rvlic and Freeman was a close fought affair with Neil Freeman finally sealing victory 10-12, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10. Chelmsford C moved into second place by beating bottom-placed Danbury H 9-1. Robert Shrimpton and Victor Chan gave nothing away. You have to feel sorry for Danbury H who lost all five games that went to the decider- and how often does that happen for the sides at the lower end of the table ?. Robert Shrimpton beat Peter Hance 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 13-11 in the closest game of the evening.  Maldon C (Ciaran Whelan, Colin Napper and Jan Fuller) in turn did well to beat Chelmsford C 6-4 with Whelan and Napper both winning twice. Victor Chan picked up two wins for the Chelmsford team. Maldon C were also 6-4 winners against Maldon B. Ciaran Whelan won his three singles on this occasion. Danbury E climbed into third place by beating Danbury F 6-4. David Gatheral won his three singles and he was ably supported by father Gordon  and Ken Sheard who both won twice.       

In division four OCs F ran out 6-4 winners over Chelmsford F. Farooq Ahmed (three wins) and John Watts (two wins) led the way and John Barrett won twice for the losers. Hatfield Peverel C stay top. Trevor Collin and Bob Garson gave nothing  away in their 7-3 victory over Chelmsford E. Again fortune favoured the team at the top of the table and Peverel won all four five-setters. Bob Garson was stretched to the limit to get the better of Richard Baxter 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5, 12-10. Roger Hance’s trio of wins was instrumental in enabling Maldon D to beat Writtle Excalibur C 6-4 whilst the match between Felsted RBL and Danbury J was a 5-5 draw. Craig Foster (Danbury K) and Felsted’s Ashley Butler and Ian Butler all won twice. Foster beat Ashley Butler 1-11, 10-12, 1-7, 11-8, 12-10 - good going after such  a heavy set-back in the first end.  

All four division five matches produced clear-cut winners. Galleywood B (Roger Wilson, Mark Glenister and Nathan Blore) won all nine singles as they defeated  Writtle Excalibur D 9-1. Nathan Blore beat Keith Pallett 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 12-10 in the pick of the evening‘s matches. OCs H (Tanishq Kotwal, Lawrence Bartlett and David Bishop) stay second after beating Chelmsford H 9-1whilst there was a welcome win for OCs G - their first of the Season - who beat Writtle Excalibur D 8-2. Stuart Wintle (three wins), Vince Gurney (two wins) 
and Tom Davis (two wins) all played their part. Vince Gurney edged out Keith Pallett 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 14-12 in the evening’s closest game. The leaders Writtle Excalibur E were the most clear-cut winners of all and David Meah, Ian Hockley and Frank Neill beat Chelmsford G 10-0. 

Chelmsford J (Callum Day and Peter Davenport) consolidated second place in the CLICK League by beating OCs J 4-1. Adam Chalk impressed here for the losers and he beat Peter Davenport 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10. Finally OCs J, this time represented by Adam Chalk and Harry Rogers beat Buttsbury A 5-0.  

A penultimate reminder to all Chelmsford League players that the M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Tournament will be held at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, CM1 3DN on the weekend of 27 / 28 / 29 January 2017. The closing date for entries is next Monday - 19 December 2016 and no late entries will be accepted as the draws will be held before Christmas. Entries should be forwarded either via your Club Secretary or direct to Arthur Clark, 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RQ with payment. Payment can be made direct to the League's Bank Account at Sort Code 30-91-85 account no. 00406696. If payment is made electronically please tick the Box on the Entry Form and state the Payee surname if this is different to the Entrant's surname.  Entrants should note that they must have played in at least three Chelmsford League matches if they are registered in another League. An Entry Form is in the middle of the League handbook and can also be found on the League's website. 

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report issued on 4 December 2016

Sam Lowman hat-trick thwarts Hatfield Peverel B

A first defeat of the Season for the leaders Hatfield Peverel B against Danbury G has seen them pegged back in the third division promotion race in the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. Danbury G ran out
8-2 winners to close to within two points of the trail-blazers. Danbury’s Sam Lowman scored a hat-trick and Dan Anderson and George Ashley both won twice. Neil Freeman won two singles for the Hatfield Peverel side.  Danbury F led by Dave Marsh were 6-4 winners against OCs E. Marsh was on top form beating Nat Ravlic (11-7, 11-9, 11-9), Vince Gurney (11-6, 15-13, 12-10) and Charles Yeung (11-9, 11-8, 11-9). OCs D (Tom Barker, Mick Hayes and David Porter) shaded their match against Chelmsford D 6-4 although none of their players were able to get the better of Keith Martin. The wily Dave Parker fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Tom Barker 6-11, 12-14, 12-10, 11-5, 11-7. 

Writtle Excalibur A were convincing 9-1 winners over their B team in division two. Richard Storey and Lee McHugh were both undefeated whilst Peter Layzell bagged two wins. The match between Chelmsford B and OCs C was a two-a-side affair and OCs C came out on top 5-4. Alastair Piper beat Ashton Parker 11-5,11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 13-11 in the tightest finish of the evening. 

Danbury K were the week’s big winners in division four. Dave Hancox and Eamon Hall were both undefeated as they beat Danbury L 9-1. Danbury L had to wait until the last game of the evening to get their name on the scoresheet. At this point Norman Hayes will have been pleased to have beaten Kevin Willis 11-7, 11-8, 11-7. Danbury J who have played two matches more than Hatfield Peverel stay top and they beat Writtle Excalibur C 6-4. Rob Kneale was unbeaten and Richard Allen and Dave Powell both picked up two wins. Hatfield Peverel C who are second were 8-2 winners over Maldon D. Peverel’s Bob Garson was undefeated whilst Roger Hance won twice for the losers and when these two players met in the last game of the evening it was Garson who came out on top 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. Garson with a Singles record of 87 % has enjoyed a very good Season to date.

Third-placed Chelmsford E had Richard Baxter to thank as they beat Chelmsford F 6-4. Baxter (with a record of 90 % over the course of the Season) was again unbeaten.  Team-work was the order of the day for Felsted RBL who beat OCs F 7-3. Matt Laws, Ashley Butler and Ian Butler all won twice. John Watts was their “bete-noire” and he raced through his three singles for the Old Chelmsfordians side.

Anglia Ruskin University are off the mark in division five. They impressed by beating the higher-placed Chelmsford G 7-3. Their top player - Pewist Osman retained his 100% record and Omar Medra picked up two wins. Medra came out on top against Steven Chambers 14-12, 11-6, 10-12, 7-11, 13-11 in the closest game
of the evening.  Writtle Excalibur E stay top with 60 points after beating Galleywood B 7-3. Brian Steward, Colin Griffiths and David Meah all won twice although they all missed out against Roger Wilson, who also has a 100 % Singles record.  Highwood scored their third win of the Season by getting the better of Hatfield Peverel D 7-3.This was again a very solid team-effort with Martin Goddard, Francis Whitbread and Russell Downton all winning twice. Peverel’s Richard Drozd beat Martin Goddard 9-11,11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10 in the closest game of the evening. OCs H are a clear second with 54 points and an undefeated Tanishq Kotwal led
them to a 6-4 win over Writtle Excalibur D. Kotwal completed his hat-trick with a hard-fought 4-11, 14-12, 11-5, 15-13 success against Melanie Bonnett.

There were 5-0 wins for both Galleywood C and Chelmsford J in the CLICK League. Lewis Wilson and Aidan Noguchi were both undefeated as Galleywood beat Black Notley whilst Jamie Penkman and Callum Day were on target as Chelmsford J got the better of Buttsbury B. Jamie Penkman beat Harry Hutt in a very well
contested five-setter 11-3, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7.             
            
A reminder to all Chelmsford League players that the M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Tournament will be held at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, CM1 3DN on the
weekend of 27 / 28 / 29 January 2017. The closing date for entries is 19 December 2016 and no late entries will be accepted as the draws will be held before Christmas. Entries should be forwarded either via your Club
Secretary or direct to Arthur Clark, 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RQ with payment. Payment can be made direct to the League's Bank Account at Sort Code 30-91-85 account no. 00406696. If
payment is made electronically please tick the Box on the Entry Form and state the Payee surname if this is different to the Entrant's surname.  Entrants should note that they must have played in at least three
Chelmsford League matches if they are registered in another League. An Entry Form is in the middle of the League handbook and can also be found on the League's website.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report - Issued 27 November 2016

Paul Davison leads Liberal to decisive win over Maldon A

Paul Davison (Liberal A), Brandon Crouchman (OCs A) and Gary Young (Danbury A) all notched up  "maximums”  in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League although it was the performance of the Liberal side that stood out the most. They beat second placed Maldon A 8-2 to move into third spot. Paul Davison showed his mettle. He beat Jan Fuller (11-3, 12-10, 11-4), John Poysden (11-7, 11-8, 11-8) and Hamish Innes (11-2,11-6, 11-7). Maldon’s John Poysden was involved in two cliff-hangers. He lost to  Steve Pennell (4-11, 11-8, 9-11,11-6, 12-14) but he hit back by beating six times Braintree Mens Singles
Champion Peter Hayden (13-11, 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9). OCs A missed out 4-6 against Rawreth despite the fact that Brandon Crouchman won his three singles but it was Daniel Berry who excelled for the Old
Chelmsfordians team in this game. He defeated Charles Sweeny (11-2, 11-7, 8-11, 12-10). Danbury A stay top despite losing 6-4 to their B team. Gary Young was undefeated for the A side although both Eric Green and Dave Richardson scored fine wins over Glen Johnson. Danbury B also beat Liberal A 6-4. No single player dominated and Steve Whiteley (Danbury B) and Simon Webber (Danbury A) both won twice. Simon Webber
rode his luck in both of the games he won. He beat Dave Richardson (7-11, 11-9, 13-11. 13-15, 11-9) and Eric Green (8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-9).

Rawreth B are still in contention in division two as they have matches in hand and they beat Writtle Excalibur A 8-2. Kim Shead retained his 100 % Singles record with wins over Peter Layzell (11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2), Ryan Pitt (11-8, 11-5, 11-3) and Richard Storey (11-9, 11-3, 12-10). He won’t be easy to beat at this level.

There was a welcome win for Danbury L in division four.  They beat Maldon D 7-3 with Norman Hayes beating Ross Wheeler (11-3, 11-7, 13-11), newcomer Kelley Yuen (11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6) and Shirley Carroll (8-11, 6-11,
11-5, 11-5, 11-6). Chelmsford E had to rely on team-work to beat Felsted RBL 6-4. Ian Butler won his three singles and he downed the challenge of Richard Baxter 10-12, 6-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 in the top game of the
night.    

OCs H ran out 8-2 winners over Highwood in division five. Tanishq Kotwal coasted through his three singles with wins over Francis Whitbread (11-4, 11-4, 11-4), Anne Lockhart (11-4, 11-9, 11-8) and  Martin Goddard (11-8, 11-9, 11-2). OCs are in second place - five points behind leaders Writtle Excalibur E.

Galleywood C and Chelmsford J were the week’s big winners in the CLICK League. Galleywood’s Rio Tiplizki and Lewis Wilson were both undefeated in their 5-0 win over BNCA A whilst Jamie Penkman and Callum Day (Chelmsford J) won their singles as they beat Buttsbury C 5-0. Buttsbury B (Harry Hutt and James Hughes)
defeated OCs J 4-1. James Hughes won his two singles comfortably.

Hatfield Peverel A advanced into the second round of the Handicap Knock Out Cup after a very hard fought 5-4 win over Danbury D. Four games were decided in the fifth end and these were shared 2-2 and in the last game of the evening Gary Ward (playing off 70) beat Eamon Hall (handicap of 54) 23-21, 21-19. Ward certainly got “value for money” in his three games having previously lost to Kevin Willis (handicap of 55) 26-24, 18-21, 18-21 and beating Alan Dadswell (handicap of 55) 19-21, 21-14, 21-15.

 
The Division two Knock Out Cup saw Galleywood A and Writtle Excalibur A both advance into the second round and both did so comfortably. Galleywood were 8-1 winners over Writtle B whilst Writtle Excalibur A beat OCs C 5-1. James Hicks and Gary Brignall were both undefeated for Galleywood with Hicks really hitting
top form. He beat Phil Smith (11-6, 11-6, 11-5) and Paul Sturton (11-6, 11-4, 11-6). Tom Barker (OCs C) made his mark with a fine 11-5, 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 13-11 victory over Lee McHugh.

The Division three Knock Out Cup produced four clear-cut winners and one very hard fought match. Chelmsford A, Danbury A, Maldon B, Danbury C and Chelmsford B all join the draw for the second round. Chelmsford A (Mark Allaway, Paul Nicol and Robert Shrimpton) won all six singles as they beat Writtle Excalibur 7-1 whilst Danbury A (David Gatheral, Ken Sheard and Gordon Gatheral) ran out 5-1 winners over OCs B. Nat Ravlic was on target for the losers and he beat Ken Sheard 17-15, 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4. Maldon B (Ciaran Whelan, Colin Napper and Steve Scholz) defeated Maldon A 5-1 with the only game that escaped their
clutches being Brian Riedling’s 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 13-11 victory over Colin Napper. Danbury C ran out 5-2
winners over Danbury D. With the score 3-2 to Danbuy C they made no mistake in the sixth and seventh games. Cameron Gray beat League President Norman Smith 11-5, 11-3, 13-11 and George Ashley beat Maurice Hardy 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 to book their place in the next round.  Chelmsford B’s match with Felsted RBL could have gone either way. In a dramatic last encounter Jarek Pietraszuk and Mo Mohseni fought back from
2-0 down to get the better of Nick Butler and Ashley Butler 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7. Chelmsford had lost
the two earlier doubles and will therefore be very relieved to have pulled through to win 5-4. Chelmsford’s Keith Martin impressed in defeating Ian Butler (11-8, 11-8, 11-9) and Nick Butler (11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4).               
Danbury A (Dave Goody, Dave Powell and Richard Allen) made no mistake by beating Highwood 8-0 in the Division four Knock Out Cup. Dave Goody beat Francis Whitbread 12-14, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 in the closest game of the evening.

The Division five Knock Out Cup saw two CLICK sides paired together and it was the Buttsbury A team of Matthew Ellott, Nathan Fry and Tom Picton who advanced into the next round with a 9-0 victory over OCs C (Harry Rogers, Alan Whitmore and  Fraser Heard). 
            
A reminder to all Chelmsford League players that the M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Tournament will be held at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, CM1 3DN on the
weekend of 27 / 28 / 29 January 2017. The closing date for entries is 19 December 2016 and no late entries will be accepted as the draws will be held before Christmas. Entries should be forwarded either via your Club
Secretary or direct to Arthur Clark, 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RQ with payment. Payment can be made direct to the League's Bank Account at Sort Code 30-91-85 account no. 00406696. If
payment is made electronically please tick the Box on the Entry Form and state the Payee surname if this is different to the Entrant's surname.  Entrants should note that they must have played in at least three
Chelmsford League matches if they are registered in another League. An Entry Form is in the middle of the League handbook and can also be found on the League's website.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report - Issued 20 November 2016

National Volunteer Award for Adam Pitt

Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Committee member Paul Nicol reports “The Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League is delighted to offers its congratulations to Adam Pitt of the Chelmsford Table Tennis Club for being awarded Table Tennis England's "Club Volunteer of the Year" Award. Adam has coached at the Club’s Friday Night Open sessions at Melbourne Athletics Centre for many years. Since the start of 2015, when Barry Pritchard unfortunately had to stop due to ill health, Adam has led the sessions, with invaluable help from Arthur Clark and Keith Martin. Adam has been tireless, enthusiastic  and friendly in promoting the Sport to beginners - young and old, and he is one of the first every week to set up the equipment as well as one  of the last to leave after clearing it all away. The Club and the League are exceedingly grateful to him“.

Bocking have been uncharacteristically languishing towards the bottom of the first division but recent results have suggested a timely upsurge in form. Keiran Lally and Dave Cole were both undefeated as they beat OCs A 6-4. Four times M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion David Cole had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Brandon Crouchman 8-11, 11-4,11-9, 7-11, 11-9. Bocking were also 6-4 winners against Chelmsford A and this time Sam Hume was their match-winner. Wal Bada was the best of the Chelmsford players with wins over Gary Cattermole and Oli Reynolds. Bocking had Cole in their side against Danbury A and his hat-trick of wins enabled Bocking to run out 7-3 winners. Gary Cattermole excelled here, beating Gary Young 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11,12-10.  Bocking didn’t fare so well against Liberal A, losing 7-3. Paul
Davison stole the show and he produced a dazzling display to beat Dave Cole 11-8, 11-4, 11-4. Cole had earlier come good with a hard-fought 10-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 win over perennial rival Peter Hayden. Maldon A  had impressive new signing - former Wiltshire County player Trevor Lloyd to thank as they beat OCs A 6-4. Lloyd beat Brandon Crouchman in four ends  whilst Brandon bounced back to nail Alex Abbott 11-8, 11-8, 11-9. OCs A were themselves resounding winners beating Chelmsford A 9-1. Scott Dowsett (three wins), Dan Berry (two wins) and Brandon Crouchman (three wins) all played their part in this success. Scott Dowsett had to survive a two game mauling to get the better of his cousin -  Ryan Gooday 3-11, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-7. However, OCs A didn’t fare so well against Danbury B and they were well beaten 8-2. Dave Richardson and Steve Whiteley were both undefeated after Richardson had given them a winning start with a 11-6, 7-11, 13-11, 7-11, 14-12 win over Robbie Burton. Rawreth have a very strong pool of players and this was illustrated perfectly as they beat Chelmsford A 8-2.  County President and former England Senior International Stuart Gibbs and current Essex County Veterans player Duncan Taylor were both undefeated. Ryan Gooday again showed he is in awe of no one and he gave it a real  “go”  before losing to Gibbs 3-11, 11-6, 6-11, 19-21. Danbury  were also involved in a 5-5 draw against Maldon A. Ben Warner won his three singles, getting the better of all three Maldon players - Hamish Innes (3-0), Alex Abbott (3-0) and John Poysden (3-2).
    
The division two clash between Danbury C and OCs C produced a fiercely fought encounter in which five games were decided in the fifth end. Danbury’s Peter Mynard won his three singles whilst Glen Laing beat Peter Windley 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10 in the closest fought game of the evening.  The match fittingly finished as a 5-5 draw. The leaders Danbury D can’t put a foot wrong at present and they beat second-placed OCs B 8-2 this week, a real triumph. Tim Cramphorn (three wins), Steve Buer (two wins) and Chris Buer (three wins) were all on tip-top form. Chris Buer fought back from 2-0 down to get the better of Steve Northcott 10-12, 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-8. Danbury D were also 8-2 winners over Hatfield Peverel A with Tim Cramphorn and Chris Buer again carrying all before them. Galleywood A ran out 7-3 winners over Writtle Excalibur B. James Hicks with a very impressive 87 % record to date won his three singles with wins over Paul Sturton (3-0), Phil Smith (3-2) and Lin Roff (3-0). The victory over Smith was particularly hard fought with Hicks retrieving a 2-0 deficit before winning 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8. 10-0 wins at this level are rare and OCs C will have been cock-a-hoop after they had beaten Liberal B 10-0. Frank Hodge, Daniel Berry and Peter Windley were all on top form. It just wasn’t Liberal’s night and Dean Andrews  who raced into a 2-0 lead against Frank Hodge was
eventually pegged back and he lost 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-13, 10-12. Liberal B enjoyed an altogether better experience against Writtle Excalibur B winning 6-4 although none of their trio of players was able to get the better of Paul Sturton. Andrew Huckson and James Mullane both won twice for Liberal.   

In division three Hatfield Peverel B made it seven wins out of eight by beating Chelmsford D 6-4. The inform Gareth Davies won his three singles with victories over Mo Mohseni (3-1), Keith Martin (3-2) and Jarek Pietraszuk (3-2). Chelmsford D in turn hit back and they beat Danbury F 6-4. Keith Martin completed his impressive hat-trick with an excellent 14-16, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6 win over Dave Marsh. Danbury G moved into second place by beating  Danbury H 8-2. Sam Lowman won his three singles whilst George Ashley beat Chelmsford League President Norman Smith after a real tussle 17-15, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10. There was a dramatic reversal of form when lowly OCs E played the higher ranked Maldon B. Few would have predicted the resounding 9-1 win that OCs E recorded. Sue Hickman and Charles Yeung were both unbeaten with Hickman beating current M&G Investments  Chelmsford Ladies Singles Champion Dawn Baldry 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5. Nat Ravlic came out on top 9-11, 16-14, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 in a hard fought clash against Tom Elder. Solid team-work enabled Chelmsford  C to beat Danbury F 7-3. Mark Allaway, Paul Nicol and Robert Shrimpton all won twice although they all missed out against Dave Marsh. Maldon C were 6-4 winners over
Danbury G. Ciaran Whelan’s hat-trick gave them the edge.  

In division four Danbury J consolidated second place by drawing 5-5 with Hatfield Peverel C although it will be the Hatfield Peverel side who will be the happier with the result. They won all four five enders including the last two games to secure a share of the points. Bob Garson beat Dave Goody 11-5, 11-5, 10-12, 6-11, 13-11 and Trevor Colin clinched his hat-trick by getting the better of Rob Kneale 15-13, 11-7, 12-14, 10-12, 11-9 in a dramatic last game of the evening. Writtle Excalibur C were 8-2 winners over Chelmsford F after Dave Moles had won his three singles whilst Danbury K ran out 8-2 winners over OCs F. Kevin Willis beat Farooq Ahmed 13-11, 12-14, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11 in the closest game of the night - again that last encounter.  OCs F did better
against Danbury L winning 6-4. Former first division player John Watts won his three singles for the Old Chelmsfordians team. Chelmsford F were also 6-4 winners over Maldon D. Jason Clark won his three singles and this included a 11-8, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-8 win over Mervyn Perriman - the best of the Maldon players.

Division five produced four very close matches this week. Hatfield Peverel E ran out 6-4 winners over OCs H. Andy Simmonds (one win), Keith Cullen (two wins) and Dan Patynski (two wins) were all on target for Hatfield Peverel although they all missed out against Tanishq Kotwal. OCs G beat Highwood 6-4 after Stuart Wintle had won his three singles whilst the match between Chelmsford H and Chelmsford  G finished all square. Thomas Nguyen was unbeaten for Chelmsford H. Anglia Ruskin University did well to draw against the higher placed Galley wood B. Mark Glenister was undefeated for Galleywood whilst Omar Medra and Fadel Azzazi both picked up two wins for the University team.

There was a first defeat for the leaders Galleywood C in the CLICK League. They missed out 3-2 to Buttsbury A for whom Tom Picton was unbeaten. OCs J (Adam Chalk and Harry Rogers) were 5-0 winners against Black Notley A whilst Chelmsford J (Peter Davenport and Ray Booty) also beat Black Notley A 5-0. Ray Booty was pushed to the limit to get the better of Rowan Champney 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10. The match between Black Notley B and Buttsbury B was a close one and Buttsbury B shaded it 3-2. All four players - the Black Notley pairing of Nicholas Grice and Elliott Grice and  Buttsbury’s duo of Harry Hutt and James Green won one singles match.
            
An annual  reminder to all Chelmsford League players that the M&G Investments Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Closed Tournament will be held at Hylands School, Sherwood Drive, Chelmsford, CM1 3DN on the weekend of 27 / 28 / 29 January 2017. The closing date for entries is 19 December 2016 and no late
entries will be accepted as the draws will be held before Christmas. Entries should be forwarded either via your Club Secretary or direct to Arthur Clark, 2 Top Road, Woodham Walter, Nr. Maldon, Essex, CM9 6RQ with payment. Payment can be made direct to the League's Bank Account at Sort Code 30-91-85 acount no.
00406696. If payment is made electronically please tick the Box on the Entry Form and state the Payee surname if this is different to the Entrant's surname.  Entrants should note that they must have played in at least three Chelmsford League matches if they are registered in another League. An Entry Form is in the middle of the League handbook and can also be found on the League's website.

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
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Press Report - Issued 13 November 2016

Impressive performance by Tim Cramphorn

Danbury D have jumped into second place in division two of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League although they were hard pushed to beat OCs C 6-4. Tim Cramphorn outscored his team-mates  Steve Buer and Chris Buer on this occasion by winning his three singles. Cramphorn completed his hat-trick of wins by getting the better of Peter Windley - the best of the OCs players 11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4.Writtle Exccalibur A were 7-3 winners over Chelmsford B. Lee McHugh won his three singles and he defeated Julie Johnson 12-10, 6-11, 11-9, 11-13, 12-10 in the closest game of the evening.

Hatfield Peverel B made it six wins out of seven in division three by beating Danbury H 8-2. Dave Fiddeman won his three singles and Neil Freeman and Gareth Davies both won twice. With 51 points out of a possible 70 Hatfield Peverel B are setting a fierce pace. Chelmsford C had Mark Allaway to thank as they beat Maldon B 6-4. Allaway scored his third win of the evening by downing the challenge of Brian Riedling  9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9.

Hatfield Peverel C consolidated second position in division four by dishing out a 9-1 beating to Writtle Excalibur C. Bob Garson and Trevor Collin both remained undefeated and Garson retained his 100 % Singles record but only just. He had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Dave Moles 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 18-16. Chelmsford E who have played a match less are also in contention and Richard Upson and Richard Baxter  were both undefeated in their 7-3 success against Danbury L. Danbury L’s Roger Tiffin was a five game winner over Karl Baldwin (9-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4,11-6).  Chelmsford E won by the same scoreline against Danbury K. Richard Baxter stood out again by winning  his three singles. The leaders Danbury J (Rob Kneale, Brian Ellis and Richard Allen) were 8-2 winners over Chelmsford F. Kneale dominated proceedings with three wins and Brian Ellis and Richard Allen both won twice. Chelmsford’s Connor Payne did well to beat Brian Ellis 3-11, 11-8, 11-6, 12-14, 11-8. Danbury J also beat Felsted RBL 7-3 and this time Dave Goody excelled with
three singles victories. He completed his trio of wins by getting the better of Ashley Butler 13-15, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10.

Division five leaders Writtle Excalibur E beat Anglia Ruskin University 9-1. David Meah and Andy Fox were both undefeated. The shock here was that the previously undefeated Frank Neill lost his unbeaten tag. Writtle Excalibur E also beat Chelmsford H 7-3. Chelmsford H won all three five enders with Harry Matthews winning in five games against Brian Steward and Colin Griffiths. Chelmsford G were convincing 9-1 winners over Highwood with John Wickins, Martin Hiskey and Steven Chambers winning all nine singles encounters. Martin
Hiskey had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Martin Goddard 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 15-13. Chelmsford G added another seven points to their tally by beating Writtle Excalibur D 7-3. Steven Chambers led the way with a hat-trick.

Galleywood C with 22 points out of 25 are setting a hot pace in the CLICK League. They beat OCs J 4-1 with Aidan Noguchi ousting Harry Rogers 10-12, 2-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Galleywood C added another five points to their total by defeating Buttsbury B 5-0 after Rio Teplezki and Aidan Noguchi dominated the evening. Buttsbury A (Matthew Elliott and Nathan Fry) ran out 5-0 winners over Buttsbury C whilst they also beat Buttsbury B 5-0. They were represented by Alex Headley and Harry Hutt on this occasion. In an altogether closer match Black Notley B (Nicholas Grice and Oliver Cohen) were 3-2 winners over Buttsbury A although neither player was able to get the better of Duranza Green. In another close match Buttsbury C (Jason Yeh and Zach Antoniou) ran out 3-2 winners over BNCA B although they both missed out against Oliver Cohen.       

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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Press Report - Issued 6 November 2016

Rawreth A score impressive 10-0 win over Danbury B

Rawreth A took no prisoners in their match against Danbury B in the first division of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League. The very strong team of George Reeves, Charles Sweeny and Babul McLeod (who were all making their first appearances of the Season) ran out convincing 10-0 winners. Babul McLeod
impressed in beating Dave Richardson in five ends (11-7, 12-10, 10-12, 8-11, 11-6). Bocking are at present in a strangely unfamiliar seventh place. Four times M&G Investments Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion Dave Cole was firing on all cylinders against Danbury B and he stayed undefeated but Gary Cattermole and new signing Oli Reynolds didn’t fare so well. Both Eric Green and Steve Whiteley excelled in beating Gary Catermole which enabled Danbury B to share the points - a very good result indeed. Eric Green in particular has made a fine start to the Season with an impressive seven wins out of 11.   

Danbury C jumped above Galleywood A in division two after beating them decisively 8-2. Tony Forster (two wins), Peter Mynard (three wins) and Neil Want (two wins) all played their part. Forster concluded the proceedings with a fine 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5 success against Gary Brignall. Liberal B also impressed with their 7-3 victory over Writtle Excalibur B. Adrian Pitt held them together with his three wins. Chelmsford B ran out 6-4 winners against Writtle Excalibur B - good going as none of their players were able to get the better of Phil Smith. Julie Johnson came closest in the first game of the evening before Smith edged her out 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9. It was honours shared between Hatfield Peverel A and Rawreth B and Kim Shead (11 wins out of 11) marked his card as the player to beat in this division. He downed the challenges of all three Hatfield Peverel players - John Parodi, John Gagg and Pete Brownlow three-straight. Rawreth B also overcame a two-player Writtle Excalibur B 6-4. There were no surprises and Kim Shead was again unbeaten although he had to pull out all the stops to get the better of Paul Sturton 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9.

In division three Danbury G have jumped into second position after drawing 5-5 with Danbury F. This was a fiercely fought match in which four games were decided in the fifth end. No single player stayed undefeated and Danbury G’s George Ashley and Cameron Gray and Danbury F’s Dave Marsh all won twice. Cameron Gray scored a fine 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 2-11,11-9 win over Dave Marsh. Maldon B had Brian Riedling to thank as they beat Chelmsford D 7-3 whilst Maldon C led by an undefeated Ciaran Whelan ran out 8-2 winners over Chelmsford E. Maldon’s Colin Napper won twice and just missed out against Nat Ravlic 5-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-6, 10-12 in a stirring final encounter. The match between Danbury H and OCs D finished all square after Dave Porter had won his three singles for the Old Chelmsfordians side.   

In division four there is only one match to report on this week and that was an evenly contested encounter between Danbury K and Maldon D.  This ended tied at 5-5 with Clive Forster winning his three singles for the Maldon team. Forster completed his hat-trick with a very hard-fought 11-2, 6-11, 11-13, 11-9, 13-11 victory over Alan Dadswell, the best of the Danbury players.

OCs G were involved in both division five matches this week. Hatfield Peverel D’s Peter Mortenson was unbeaten as they defeated a two-player OCs G 7-3. Keith Cullen’s game against Tom Davis looks to have been the pick of the action here with Cullen finally winning 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 13-11. OCs G fared better against Chelmsford G and drew 5-5. Stuart Wintle won his three singles beating Steve Chambers (14-12, 11-6, 14-12), John Whelpdale (11-8, 11-3, 11-8) and Martin Hiskey (11-8, 11-9, 11-7).

Galleywood C were 4-1 winners over BNCA B in the CLICK League. Lewis Wilson won both of his singles. It was 3-0 against Michael Grice and the game against Oliver Cohen went all the way to the wire before Wilson finally edged home 11-6, 8-11, 11-9,7-11, 11-9. 

Steve Kerns - Press & Publicity Officer - Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League

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