Division 1 

The Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues saw action from the penultimate week of the 2018 calendar year take place. 

Lions table tennis club were the big winners in the top flight this time as all 3 sides came out on top over their Whistlers counter-parts. 

Most significantly was the first defeat of the season for the previous league leaders Whistlers B, who had led the way since the 3rd week prior to this loss. The side to inflict the defeat was 3rd placed side Lions B who edged past 6-4. Phil Ogier and Dan Collenette were the catalysts for the victors with each player overcoming Matthew Casey and Ryan Gilson in singles action. The most important of these clashes came between Collenette and Casey, where the Whistlers player led 2-0 against a player he has not lost to this season. Collenette battled very hard and managed to turn it around, claiming the final 3 games 12-10, 13-11, 11-9. The result also came at a very crucial time as it put his side into the lead for the first time in the match, at 4-3. Andre De Carteret also more than played his part in the victory as he earned a pivotal 4 set win over Gilson straight after the doubles clash to keep the momentum going. The doubles clash in question also went the way of the Lions outfit as Ogier and De Carteret had teamed strongly to see off Lawrence Stacey and Gilson 13-11 in the deciding end. For the defeated side, Stacey did his best by winning all of his singles matches and Casey added a straight sets win over De Carteret. 

Defending champions Lions A took full advantage of the slip and now top the table by a single point following their emphatic 10-0 whitewash over bottom placed side Whistlers A. The competitiveness of the Division has been such that this is the first brush of the season and it has taken 30 matches to be achieved. Ryan Bichard, Jamie Ferbrache and 2nd Division reserve Steve Ozanne all defeated Ellis Tomlin, Sam Clark and reserve Ian Fitchet in singles action. The doubles fixture turned out to the closest of the match and it was the combination of Bichard and Ferbrache that came out on top over Tomlin and Clark over the full 5 set distance. 

Lions C made it a clean sweep following their 7-3 win over Whistlers C in a result that has seen them leap-frog the Whistlers side into 4th position in the table. Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and Corey Brouard all earned singles wins over Mark Pipet and Charlotte Casey to ensure the surprise victory was obtained. Gill's encounter with Pipet was the closest of these games and despite Pipet's fightback from a 2-0 deficit, Gill held his nerve and managed to close out the decider 11-7. Gill and Brouard also earned themselves an excellent straight set doubles win over Joshua Stacey and Casey. Stacey was unbeaten for the Whistlers side, but he was tested during tight 4 set clashes against both Hainsworth and Gill. 

Division 2 

Whistlers D remain top of the table by 2 points after their 8-2 win over Ravenscroft Panthers B. The team of Kay Chivers, Keith Opie and Ben Sharp navigated their way past Peter Vivian, Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin without too many troubles. Martin proved to be the only real resistance in the end and this was due to his good wins over both Opie and Sharp. 

Lions E are only 2 points behind and they earned themselves a hard fought 6-4 win over Ravenscroft Panthers A this week. Averages leader Jez Powell earned singles wins over Albert Unden, Ben Foote and Brandon Ferbrache, whilst Caden Brouard defeated Foote and Ferbrache. The duo combined well in the doubles to defeat Unden and Foote over 4 sets. 

Lions D may be 3 points behind, but they do have a game in hand on the leaders and they showed their intent this week courtesy of a 10-0 whitewash over Ravenscroft Panthers C. Tim Le Page, Steve Ozanne and Carl Le Tissier also overcame Richard Edwards, Juliette Yeaman and reserve Mick Ingrouille in singles action. The doubles proved to be the toughest  clash on the night as Ozanne and Le Tissier squeezed through in 5 sets over Edwards and Yeaman. 

Division 3 

St Pauls B remain 3 points clear and they brushed aside another of their potential title rivals Ravenscroft Panthers D 9-1 this week. Craig Dunning and John Wills each picked up wins over Rob Vile, David Kershaw and Mick Ingrouille, whilst Brian Le Cras also defeated Vile and Ingrouille. Kershaw prevented the whitewash on the night due to his 5 set win over Le Cras, a match in which he trailed 2-1. 

Division 4