Division 1
Whistlers B remain the team to beat going into the half term break and lead the way in the top Division of the Doric Insurance sponsored leagues.
The leaders have won all 6 of their matches thus far this season, but were tested strongly by 5th placed side Lions C this week, who just fell short 6-4 on the night. The form of Lawrence Stacey has been a key aspect in their strong start and he was again unbeaten in singles action. He overcame Corey Brouard in 4 sets and Andy Gill in straight sets, but needed to dig deep to overcome Paul Hainsworth in the final match of the night. Having led 2-1, Stacey then trailed 4-2 during the early stages of the deciding 5th end before coming back well to win 11-7 and secure the 2 points for his team. Matthew Casey secured important singles wins over Brouard and Gill, each in 4 sets and it was Ryan Gilson that chipped in with the other rubber during his 4 set win over Brouard. For the Lions side, Hainsworth beat Gilson in straight sets and Casey in 4 before teaming with Brouard to earn an excellent 4 set doubles win over Stacey and Gilson. Gill picked up the other rubber for the defeated side via an emphatic straight sets win over Gilson.
Lions A continue to chase the leaders and earned a 6-4 win of their own this week against 3rd placed side Lions B. Ben Foss was in good form for the victors courtesy of his singles wins over Phil Ogier, Jez Powell and Andre De Carteret, the former 2 wins coming over the full 5 sets distance and the latter in straight sets. Ryan Bichard and Jamie Ferbrache each overcame De Carteret in singles action, but it was the combination of Foss and Ferbrache that picked up the pivotal doubles rubber against Ogier and De Carteret in 4 sets. For the defeated Lions side, both Ogier and Powell earned wins over Bichard and Ferbrache.
Whistlers C moved up into 4th place following their 6-4 win over Whistlers A this week. Like twin Lawrence and Foss, Joshua Stacey has lost just 1 singles match so far this season. He once more showed his quality with singles wins over Dawn Morgan, Ellis Tomlin and reserve Paula Le Ber, dropping just the singles end to Le Ber in the process. Mark Pipet added wins over Tomlin and Le Ber and the duo combined strongly in the doubles to overcome Morgan and Tomlin in straight sets. For the defeated side, Morgan beat both Pipet and Charlotte Casey in singles action, whilst Tomlin and Le Ber also picked up wins over Casey.
Division 2
Whistlers D lead the way by 3 points at the top ahead of Lions D, however the Lions side have a game in hand and will be playing the league leaders in a top of the table clash this week.
Despite their lead, the Whistlers side dropped their first point of the season during a 5-5 draw with Lions E. Kay Chivers had surprisingly lost her 100% during a match held on Monday evening to Andy Ferbrache and she was to lose another during this fixture. Jez Powell was the player to do the damage for the Lions side as he defeated Chivers, Keith Opie and Ben Sharp on the night, losing just the single end to Junior player Sharp. He also combined well with Caden Brouard in the doubles where they defeated Chivers and Opie in straight sets. Brouard was mightily unlucky to lose out to Sharp in their clash after letting a 2-1 lead slip to lose in 5, but he made amends for that defeat by securing an excellent 4 set win over Opie in the important penultimate match of the evening.
Division 3
Lions H and St Pauls B remain locked together at the top of the 3rd after each side recorded comfortable wins this week.
The St Pauls side are second by virtue of games ratio and won 7-3 over Whistlers H this week.
The Lions side over-turned the games ratio due to their 10-0 whitewash of Lions J. Peter Powell, Edward Rowe and Oscar Pearson all defeated Mike Brehaut, Graham Mallett and Derek Cave in singles action. Powell and Rowe won the doubles over Brehaut and Mallett in 5 sets. Despite the nature of the scoreline, there were a further 3 singles matches won in 5 sets by Pearson, so the J side were unlucky to be recipients of the brush.
Division 4
Whistlers I showed their intent of challenging for the title after coming out on top in the big clash against Lions K. Their narrow 6-4 win gives them a 2 point lead at the top of the table. All of the Whistlers players picked up 2 wins, but over different opposition. Andy Le Page and Joe Le Page each beat James Le Tissier and Diane Le Page in singles action. Max Burrows also beat Le Page, but he was beaten in 4 sets by Le Tissier. The youngster saved his best performance for last however when he came back from 2-1 down in the last match of the night to defeat Val Guilbert and secure the win.
