Division 1

Lions A maintained their position at the top of the pinnacle of the Doric Insurance sponsored Senior leagues this week courtesy of a 7-3 win over Whistlers B.

In the fixture it was Joshua Butler that led the way for the league leaders due to his trio of singles victories over Joshua Stacey, Joseph Bourgaize and Martin Sarre. He beat Bourgaize and Sarre comfortably without loss, however he needed 4 legs to get the better of Stacey, the latter taking the tight 2nd end 14-12, before Butler edged the next 12-10 and the 4th 11-6. Ben Foss contributed well with wins over Sarre and Bourgaize and whilst he overcame Sarre in straight games in the opener, he had a struggle against fellow junior player Bourgaize. Bourgaize has a strong record of pushing Foss close and once more he did so due to holding a 2-1 lead over the Lions player. Foss came through strongly as he often does in the encounters between the 2 players to win 11-6 in the decider. He was unable to record an unbeaten evening as he was defeated by Stacey in straight games. Dan Collenette added a hard fought 4 set win over Sarre in the final match of the evening, 13-11 the score in the decisive leg. He was defeated by Stacey in straight games and Bourgaize in 4, however he did add a doubles victory alongside Foss over the team of Stacey and Bourgaize.

Lions C returned to winning ways and recorded their first win in 4 weeks after edging their way past Whistlers C 6-4. Paul Hainsworth and Phil Ogier each navigated their way to 2 singles wins each over the ever improving junior Matthew Casey and reserve James Rabey. Ogier posted clinical straight game wins over both players, however Hainsworth needed 4 games to overcome Rabey and 5 to get past Casey, having trailed 2-1 in that encounter. The pair also combined well in the doubles encounter where they defeated Lawrence Stacey and Casey in 4. Andre De Carteret was the player to add the crucial 6th rubber for the Lions outfit when he came through a tense encounter with Casey. The youngster had done very well to force a decider having trailed 2-0, however it was De Carteret that held his nerve and played the big points well during the tight 11-9 outcome. Despite the win, none of the Lions players were able to get the better of Stacey, who remains 2nd in the averages having lost just twice so far this season. Hainsworth and Ogier both came mightily close and Hainsworth spurned 4 match points from 10-6 up in the 3rd end, whilst leading by 2 games. Stacey nicked that 3rd end 12-10 before winning the 4th by the same margin. The decider was also hard fought, but again it was the Whistlers player that prevailed 11-8. Ogier too had a good chance of getting the win in the final match of the evening as he led 2-1 having taken a topsy-turvy 3rd 17-15. Stacey held his nerve well and powered through the final 2 ends. Stacey's final win came over De Carteret and despite being in straight games, it was another battle with the 2nd end only being clinched 19-17.

Whistlers A moved level on points with 3rd placed side Lions B after their close 6-4 win during the fixture between the two sides this week. Garry Dodd continues to breeze past his opposition and he recorded 3 emphatic singles wins over Olly Langlois, Ryan Bichard and Luke Bichard. He also teamed with Mark Pipet to win the doubles encounter over Langlois and Luke in straight games. Pipet was the player to add the other 2 important singles wins over both Bichard brothers on the evening. He resisted a stern fightback from Luke to win 15-13 in the 4th and that score was the same as the deciding 5th leg in his encounter with Luke's elder brother Ryan, a result that effectively sealed the win for his side. All of the Lions players earned wins over the Junior left-hander Ryan Gilson and Langlois added an additional straight game win over Pipet.