Issued on 28 January 2025
Whiteside shines against Division Two leaders Buttsbury
There were no positional changes in week 19 of division one as leaders Danbury C extended their lead at the top to nine points thanks to trebles from Gary Young, Paul Davison and Trevor Lloyd in a 10-0 home win over Galleywood A. Chelmsford A lost ground in second place as they were held to a 5-5 draw by Danbury A despite Chelmsford’s Joshua Bickles firing his ninth league treble of the season. Bickles and Danbury’s Chris Penrose entertained the crowd with an awesome five-gamer which went in favour of Bickles 15-13, 11-9, 9-11, 13-15, 11-7. The only other five-gamer was the previous match in the running order which saw Simon Jarvis fight back from 2-0 down to beat Dave Richardson. C&DTTL men’s singles champion Duncan Taylor was back in action and posted a treble alongside Mark Mulley and Trevor Carter in Writtle A’s 10-0 victory over Chelmsford B who sit just three points above bottom side Galleywood A.
Ian Whiteside went unbeaten for Danbury F in a 6-4 home loss against division two leaders Buttsbury A. Whiteside had to recover from 2-0 down against David Gatheral for the first of his three wins while there were two other five-gamers - Buttsbury’s Grace Liu beat Alan Scammell before Rob Burton saw off Ken Sheard. Second-placed Maldon A narrowed the gap on Buttsbury with a 7-3 home win over Old Chelmsfordians B in a fixture which saw a third treble in his last four outings for Chris Hancox. Hancox’s biggest test was from OC’s David Porter who had held a 2-1 advantage before the Maldon man fought back. Porter had earlier given up a 2-1 lead against Colin Napper. Chelmsford C narrowed the gap on the two teams above them when posting an 8-2 home win over Writtle C. Simon Jarvis won all three and remains undefeated in 28 division two singles matches this season. Mark Glenister was unbeaten as ninth placed Galleywood B won 6-4 over Hatfield Peverel A - a seventh consecutive loss for the visitors. Sanjay Saptarshi and Daniel Patynski won three apiece as fourth-placed Danbury D won 7-3 on the road at Writtle B - Patynski dropped just one game in his three singles wins with Saptarshi flawless.
Chelmsford D made it seven division three victories in a row with a 7-3 home win over Writtle D who slip from third to fifth. Chelmsford’s Christopher Denyer was the only undefeated player though he was taken the distance by Malcolm Hemstock. Writtle’s Hemstock saw two further five-game losses against Alex Tkachuk and Mike Johnson. Following a second loss of the season in week 17, second placed Buttsbury B were back to winning ways with a 7-3 home win over Danbury J thanks to trebles from Paul Sturton and Joshua Freeman, while third placed Danbury G beat Writtle E 7-3 despite a treble from Writtle’s Dave Moles. C&DTTL under 15 boys champion Kuzey Musabak won all three of his matches in Chelmsford E’s 7-3 home win over Hatfield Peverel B, while Colin Blore went undefeated in Galleywood C’s 6-4 away win at Danbury H. Bottom side OCA C earned their second victory of the season when overcoming eighth placed Chelmsford F, Tom Barker fired a hat-trick though had to recover from 2-1 down against Cleon Fernandes in his first match of the evening.
Hutton A extended their lead at the top of division four with a seventh victory on the trot - a 9-1 win over Danbury K, Alex Ware and Gheorge Nita won three singles matches with Charlie Ware winning two. Danbury M are still searching for their first league victory of the season though they walked away from their meeting against eighth placed clubmates Danbury L with a credible 5-5 draw - Graham Naggs scored a hat-trick for the M team who remain bottom of the table. Second placed Maldon B lost some ground on the leaders despite earning a 7-3 away win over 10th placed Hatfield Peverel C. Ella Sach, Chris Ravenhill and Brian Reidling won two apiece for Maldon while Neil Wood carried the fight for Peverel with two victories.
Week 19 saw a thirteenth win of the season for division five leaders Hutton B who moved 17 points clear with an 8-2 success over Hatfield Peverel E. Division five singles champion Lee Vallis won all three of his singles matches, dropping just one game in the process. Buttsbury E remain in second place despite a 6-4 reversal at home to Chelmsford H, Jason Clark won three and Shengbing Zhu two for the visitors who remain sixth. Arthur Shadforth won both of his matches as Maldon C beat the two-person team of ARU 8-2. Ron Tam and Michael Anthony were in fine form as they both posted trebles in fourth placed Writtle F’s 9-1 home win over Galleywood E, while fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel D won 8-2 over Hatfield Peverel F thanks to three victories from Richard Drozd and two apiece from Andy Simmonds and Bruce Wickham.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issued on 21 January 2025
Number one seed Duncan Taylor earned the 2025 men’s singles title at ‘Finals Night’ with a 3-1 victory over Reece Seddon. Taylor beat Chelmsford’s Harry Chivers in the semi-final after victories over Jamie Elliott and Nikita Tkachuck in the earlier knockout rounds. Seddon’s path to the final saw wins over Dan Anderson (last 16), John Poysden (quarter-finals) and Keith Adams (semi-final). 2024 ladies singles runner-up Alesha Ellis-Austin went one better with an exhilarating final victory over number one seed Dawn Baldry. Ellis-Austin had beaten Frances Hutt in the semi-final while Baldry beat Lucy Elliott at the same stage.
Third seed Joshua Freeman was victorious over top seed and defending champion Charlie Ware in the final of the under 13’s singles. Freeman earned his place in the final with a 11-9 fifth game success over second seed Grace Liu while Charlie beat his younger brother Jago. The unseeded Kuzey Musabak earned the under 15’s singles title with victory over third seed and 2024 runner up Joshua Freeman. Musabak beat second seed Grace Liu in the semi-final while Freeman won his match with number one seed Charlie Ware.
Alesha Ellis-Austin made it three junior girls singles titles in a row by going undefeated in this ‘Round Robin’ event. Ellis-Austin was pushed to fifth-game deciders by both Lucy Elliott and Grace Liu but won in three straight games against runner-up Adhuna Das. Third seed Aidan Lees won an exciting junior boys singles final over defending champion and number one seed Harry Chivers. Chivers earned his place in the final without dropping a game in either the quarter-final against U15 boys champion Kuzey Musabak or semi-final opponent Jamie Elliott while Lees beat Nikita Tkachuk and Joshua Bickles at the same stages. In the final itself Lees held his nerve to take the deciding fifth game. There are new names on the junior doubles trophy as second seeds Aidan Lees and Nikita Tkachuk beat first seeds and defending champions Joshua Bickles and Harry Chivers 3-1 in the final. Lees and Tkachuk beat Jamie Elliott and Lucy Elliott 3-1 in the semi-final while Chivers/Bickles beat Cleon and Dion Fernandes 3-0.
Top seeds Dawn Baldry and Reece Seddon won the mixed doubles title with a 3-1 final victory over Jamie and Lucy Elliott. Baldry and Seddon beat Jacqui Smith and Duncan Taylor 3-1 in the semi-final while Jamie and Lucy Elliott posted the same scoreline in their victory over Gary Young and Adhuna Das. Despite being on the opposite side of the table in the final of this event last year Dawn Baldry and Alesha Ellis-Austin joined forces for victory in the ladies doubles over the sister duo of Francesca and Freya Hart. Second seeds Gary Young and Keith Adams became men’s doubles champions with a straight game final victory over the unseeded Jamie Elliott and Joshua Bickles. Ellott/Bickles won through to the final having disposed of top seeds Duncan Taylore/Kevin Read over five games in the semi final, while Young/Adams beat fifth seeds Paul Davison and Sanjay Saptarshi at the same stage.
In the division two singles event, last year’s semi-finalist Sanjay Saptarshi produced a comeback from 2-1 down in the final for victory over last year’s division three singles winner Jamie Elliott. Both finalists won their semi-final matches by a 3-0 scoreline, Saptarshi seeing off Ian Whiteside while Elliott beat Robert Burton. Hatfield Peverel’s Neil Freeman lifted the division three singles title with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Harry Sawford (Buttsbury). Freeman’s route to the final included victories over last year’s finalist David Moles and division four singles winner Cleon Fernandes, while Sawford’s path included wins over Ryan Pitt and Peter Harverson.
Charlie Ware (Hutton) lifted the division four singles title following a 3-1 final success over second seed Oscar Hutt (Buttsbury). Ware’s route to the final included victory over top seed Alex Ware (runner-up last year) in the last four while Hutt beat Buttsbury clubmate Lucy Elliott in the other semi-final. Third seed Lee Vallis recovered from 2-1 down to get the better of unseeded Hutton clubmate Gheorghe Nita in the division five singles final. Vallis beat first seed Peter Davenport (Chelmsford) 3-1 in the semi-final while Nita fought back from 1-0 down to beat Jago Ware (Hutton) in four games.
Buttsbury’s Jamie Elliott defended the handicap singles title he won last year with a 21-19, 21-19 win over Hutton’s Vincente Beco. Elliott had beaten last year’s runner up Peter Davenport in the semi-final while Beto got the better of Lucy Elliott in the other semi-final to dash hopes of a brother/sister showdown. Charlie Ware and Lucy Elliott eased to the handicap doubles title by losing just one game in their three knockout matches beating Alex Ware and Jago Ware in the semi-final following wins over Douglas Bawuah & Ken Wilding as well as Felix Reeve and Rev Matthews Their opponents in the final were the duo of Joshua Bickles and Richard Pond who had a more complex route to the final when overcoming the duos of Adhuna Das/Peter Harverson in three, Cleon Fernandes/Mark Glenister in three and Davina Brazier/Neil Freeman in two close games in the semi-final. The final itself was relatively close in the first game which Ware/Elliott won to 16 before clinching victory to 11. Elliott retains her half of the title she won last year with Saul Chivers.
Harry Chivers defended the hard bat singles title he won last year with a 2-0 victory in the final against Dan Anderson. Chivers was taken the distance by both brother Saul and Maldon’s Derek Balding in the knockout rounds while Anderson made the final with straight game wins over Paul Mulley, Mark Glenister and Ian Wall.
Second seed Reece Seddon felled top seed and defending under 40’s singles champion Ian Wall in the final following wins over Daniel Piggott and Arron Chandler in the previous two rounds. Wall made the final with a semi-final win over Dan Anderson and quarter-final success over Matt Stringer. Top seeds Ian Wall and Matthew Stringer defended their under 40’s doubles title with a 3-1 final victory over Dan Anderson and Arron Chandler. Wall and Stringer made the final with victory over Paul Sturton and Harry Sawford while Anderson and Chandler squeezed through with a 3-2 come-from-behind success over Saul Chivers and Wiktor Delimat.
In the senior age categories, Gary Young earned the over 50’s singles title with a 3-1 victory over Kevin Read. Young made the final with 3-0 wins over both Robbie Burton (quarter-finals) and Mark Glenister (semi-finals) while final opponent Read came through 3-0 against Neil Freeman (quarter-Finals) and 3-1 against John Poysden (semi-finals). Bruce Kettle (Danbury) Trevor Lloyd beat Sanjay Saptarshi 3-2 in an exciting final to earn victory in the over 60’s singles event. Lloyd made the final with comfortable victories over Davina Brazier (quarter-finals) and Rev Matthews (semi-finals) while runner-up Saptarshi beat Hamish Innes (quarter-finals) and John Poysden (semi-finals) en route to the final. Ian Whiteside went one better than his runner-up position in the 2024 event as he beat Hamish Innes in the final of the over 70’s singles event. Whiteside beat Derek Balding in the semi-final while Innes triumphed over Denis Crapnell.
Third seed Keith Adams beat seventh seed Sanjay Saptarshi 3-1 in the veteran’s singles final. Saptarshi made the final with victories in the knockout stages over Adi Kamma (last 16), top seed Kevin Read (quarter-final) as well as John Poysden (semi-final), while Adams had wins over Matthew Brown, Bruce Kettle and Paul Davison. In a repeat of last year’s final, reigning veteran doubles champions Kevin Read and Keith Adams beat top seeds Duncan Taylor and Paul Davison in three straight games. Read and Adams made the final with victories over Gary Young and John Poysden in the semi-final while Taylor/Davison saw off Neil Freeman and Matthew Brown at the same stage.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issued on 14 January 2025
Daniel Piggott and Keith Adams hit trebles for Danbury Division 1 Teams
There were matching 8-2 wins for two of the Danbury teams in division one this week as a Daniel Piggott treble led the B team to victory at Galleywood A while Keith Adams won all three in the C teams away triumph at Chelmsford B. Piggott was in fine form as he breezed through his first two matches of the night in straight games but was well tested by Galleywood’s James Mullane with the win secured 11-8 in the fifth game. Galleywood’s Peter Barrett produced a fine comeback from 2-0 down to overcome Danbury’s Sam Lowman and recovered from 2-1 down to get the better of Arron Chandler. Keith Adams dropped just one game in his three wins for Danbury C while teammate Trevor Lloyd saw two five-game matches - losing out to Felix Reeve but besting Nikita Tkachuk. Danbury C lead division one - four points ahead of second placed Chelmsford A having both played 11 matches.
The unbeaten Buttsbury A remain top of division two with a 7-3 home win over second placed Maldon A. There were three wins for Harrison Hill though he had to recover from 2-1 down to beat Chris Hancox, while Rob Burton also beat Hancox in the deciding game for one of his two victories. Third-placed Chelmsford C fell to their third defeat of the season - this time at the hands of Danbury E who were boosted by a Neil Want treble. Want had to overcome stubborn resistance from both Cleon Fernandes and James Grimston with victory against Fernandes secured 12-10 in the fifth, while Grimston’s 2-0 lead proved not enough to prevent Want’s third win of the night. Gary Ward won all of his matches as Writtle C won 7-3 at home against Galleywood B. There were two wins for Galleywood’s Will Goodchild - both from losing positions, the second from 2-0 down against John Parodi. Mick Richardson won all three matches though it was not enough to earn a first victory of the season for bottom of the table OCA B as they fell to a 6-4 loss against Writtle B. Ian Whiteside and Alan Scammell won two matches apiece as tenth placed Danbury F upset fifth-placed Hatfield Peverel A by a 6-4 scoreline. Scammell beat both Gareth Davies and Martin Archie over five games but ran out of steam against Julie Johnson who won two matches herself.
Chelmsford D moved six points clear at the top of division three as Adi Kamma won all three in the 7-3 away win against Writtle E. Second placed Buttsbury B lost ground on the leaders as the fell 6-4 to a Matthew Brown inspired Writtle D while Danbury G sit third despite a 7-3 loss at Hatfield Peverel B - Merv Perriman kept up his end of the bargain for Danbury by winning all three of his matches. Colin Blore and Robin Armstrong led the way for Galleywood C in their 7-3 home win over OCA C, Armstrong’s third victory of the night was by a hard fought 11-7, 10-12, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 over Richard Baxter. Peter Hance was the only player undefeated in the Danbury derby as his J team won 6-4 over the H team, while Cleon Fernandes did likewise in the Chelmsford derby despite his F team being held to a 5-5 draw with the E team.
Hutton A extended their lead at the top of division four to eleven points with a 10-0 whitewash of ninth-placed Danbury L - Charlie Ware, Jason Yeh and Alex Ware did the business for the league leaders. Maldon B sit in second position following a 7-3 home win against Galleywood D in a fixture which saw a treble from Maldon’s Brian Riedling, as Buttsbury C moved into third place - their highest of position of the season - with a 10-0 home win over Hatfield Peverel C. Dave Powell won all three as Danbury K consolidated fifth position with a 7-3 home win over sixth-placed OCA D while Roger Patient and David Cockrell won three apiece in seventh-placed Highwood A’s 8-2 win over Danbury M. Chelmsford G moved up into eighth position though were held to a 5-5 home draw against Buttsbury D - Mark Nolan won all three of his matches though two of his victories were fifth-game deciders.
Division five runaway leaders Hutton B who have won twelve from twelve this season were not in action but Gary Carr and Francesca Hart won three apiece as second placed Buttsbury E inflicted a twelfth straight defeat on ARU with a 9-1 scoreline. Third placed Maldon C won 7-3 on the road at Galleywood E despite three victories from Galleywood’s Darren Wright who had to recover from 2-1 down against Tim Huxtable for his third win of the evening. Ron Tam fired a treble as Writtle F beat Hatfield Peverel F 8-2 - Tam dropped one game in each of his three wins while Martin Goddard’s treble for Highwood B in their 7-3 win against Hatfield Peverel E involved two come-from-behind five gamers. Peter Davenport won both of his matches as Chelmsford H beat the two-person OCA E team 8-2.
Jeremy Hill, Press Officer, Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
