Senior League Week 19

Division 1

 

Lions A took a decisive step towards the league title after they overcame the previous leaders Lions C 7-3.

 

The result which saw the A side move 1 point clear at the top was a result of unbeaten evenings for both Joshua Butler and Ben Foss. Foss was the most impressive on the evening and only dropped the single end during his 3 singles encounters against Phil Ogier, Paul Hainsworth and Andre De Carteret, Hainsworth taking the 3rd end of their clash 13-11, before being edged by the same score in the 4th. Butler did not drop any sets during his wins over Hainsworth and De Carteret, but he needed to turn it around during his clash with Ogier, whilst trailing 2-1. He made strong starts to each of the 4th and 5th ends and this gave him sufficient breathing room to clinch them both by the eventually narrow 11-9 scorelines. The duo of Butler and Foss also combined well in the middle of the match where they defeated Hainsworth and De Carteret over 4 ends in the doubles clash. Junior Dan Collenette came very close to increasing the margin of victory further when he led De Carteret 2-0, however he ran out of steam and lost in 5. Ogier and Hainsworth each picked up comfortable consolation singles wins over Collenette.

 

Whistlers A moved to just 2 points behind 2nd placed side Lions C after they defeated Whistlers B 7-3. Garry Dodd continues to be the man to beat and his undefeated singles record remained intact during this fixture. Despite this fact, he had very tough start to the night where he was tested firmly by Joshua Stacey. Stacey bounced back strongly from losing the opener to lead 2-1, but Dodd did not let this impact him and comfortably came through the proceeding 4th and 5th ends. His other singles wins came over Martin Sarre and Joseph Bourgaize in straight games. Mark Pipet added a brace of singles wins over Sarre and Bourgaize without loss and left hander Ryan Gilson sealed the win during his tight 5 set win over fellow junior Bourgaize. Dodd and Gilson were also on hand to win the doubles match over Stacey and Bourgaize in 4 games.

 

5th placed side Lions B moved to within a single point of Whistlers C after defeating them 7-3. Liam Robilliard, Luke Bichard and Ryan Bichard all overcame Matthew Casey and Albert Unden in singles action. During these clashes, it was Casey that came the closest to picking up a win, losing out to both Robilliard and Ryan in 5 sets. Despite these wins, none of the Lions players were able to get any joy out of Lawrence Stacey, who won all of his singles matches, for the loss of just 1 end to Ryan. Robilliard teamed with Luke to win the doubles match over Stacey and Unden in straight games.

 

Division 2

 

Lions D's lead at the top of the Division remains at a hefty 5 points after their crucial top of the table clash against Lions E ended as a 5-5 stalemate. Carl Le Tissier was in superb form for the E side as he won all of his singles matches over Jamie Ferbrache, Andy Gill and Ian Le Page. His wins over Ferbrache and Le Page came in straight games, but he needed to come back from 2-0 down to get past Gill in a very tightly contested encounter where 3 of the 5 ends went past the regulation 11 points. Mike Lucas and reserve Peter Powell each beat Le Page to pick up the point. For the leaders, Ferbrache and Gill each beat Lucas and Powell in singles matches before combining to win the doubles against Le Tissier and Lucas in straight games.

 

Division 3

 

Whistlers G remain 4 points clear at the top after they drew 5-5 with title rivals Whistlers H. Ellis Tomlin was once more the difference and his 100% singles record continued with wins over Callum Gilson, Ben Sharp and Caden Brouard on the night. Tom Hagerich beat Brouard in the opening match of the night and then teamed with Tomlin to post a pivotal 5 set doubles win over Sharp and Brouard. This win was extremely hard fought, as they needed to come back from a 2-1 deficit, edging the final 2 sets 12-10, 13-11.

 

Division 4

 

Whistlers K's lead at the top was reduced to 5 points from 7 due to their ghost week.

 

Lions J are the side in 2nd that closed this gap due to their tight 6-4 win over Lions K. The fixture saw a welcome return to the team for Graham Mallett, who has missed a large portion of the season with injury. Mallett, daughter Janine and Derek Cave all posted singles wins over Diane Le Page and James Le Tissier to ensure that the win was obtained. Val Guilbert did all she could on the night for her side and won all of her singles matches in 4 sets as well as teaming with Le Page to defeat Cave and Janine over 4 sets in the doubles encounter.
Author: via Guernsey Table Tennis Association
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