It was a good week for the leading Lions sides in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues as each earned victories, whilst the leading Whistlers sides battled to a stalemate.
Lions B are officially top of the table due to having a superior games ratio to their A side and they won 8-2 this week over Lions D. Phil Ogier and Dawn Morgan each won all of their singles matches against Liam Robilliard, Steve Ozanne and Charlotte Casey, however Ogier needed to withstand some strong play by Robilliard before coming through in 5 sets. Andre De Carteret added a 5 set win of his own over Charlotte Casey and needed to do so from a 2-0 deficit. Robilliard defeated De Carteret in 4 sets, whilst Ozanne's matching 4 set win has got him off the mark for the season. Ogier and Morgan defeated Robilliard and Ozanne in 4 sets in the doubles rubber.
Lions A were missing their undefeated player Ben Foss, however they still managed to edge past their C side 6-4. Ryan Bichard and reserve Jez Powell each defeated Sam Clark and reserve Brian Ferbrache, however Ferbrache put up a great fight against Bichard and only narrowly lost out 11-9 in the deciding end. Jamie Ferbrache defeated father Brian in straight sets and he also teamed with Bichard to win the important doubles match against Clark and Paul Hainsworth in straight sets. Hainsworth kept his 100% singles record intact due to 4 set wins over Bichard and Ferbrache and a straight sets win over Powell and joins Foss as the only players in the Division yet to lose a singles match after just 2 fixtures. Clark also earned himself a nice 5 set win over Ferbrache, 13-11 in the final end.
Whistlers A now find themselves in 3rd position after they were held to a 5-5 draw by their B side. Josh Stacey was the catalyst for the B side due his singles wins over twin Lawrence in 5 sets as well as Matt Casey and Ryan Gilson in straight sets. Ellis Tomlin earned himself a crucial 5 set win over Gilson and it was the doubles combination of Josh and Ben Sharp that edged the clash against Lawrence and Casey in 5 sets. Lawrence and Casey each picked up wins over Tomlin and Sharp, whilst Gilson picked up the 5th win during his 5 set win over Sharp.
Division 2
Whistlers D and Lions E remain at the top of the Division with each having won all of their fixtures so far this season.
The Whistlers side are top on games ratio and they earned themselves an emphatic 9-1 win over Lions F this week. Martin Sarre and Craig Dunning each picked up wins over Andy Ferbrache, Brian Ferbrache and reserve Terry Trustum, whilst Paula Le Ber added wins against Trustum and Brian in 5 sets. Sarre and Dunning won the doubles clash against Andy and Brian in straight sets. Andy prevented the whitewash by beating Le Ber in 5 sets.
The Lions side had a much tougher test, but edged past Lions G 6-4. Jez Powell steered the ship strongly due to his singles wins over Nye Matthew, Ian Le Page and Jonah Ingrouille. Caden Brouard picked up wins over Le Page and Ingrouille and combined well with Powell to win the doubles over Matthew and Ingrouille in 4 sets. Each of the defeated G side picked up wins over reserve Connor Powell, but the youngster acquitted himself well at this level, only narrowly losing to Ingrouille in 5 sets. Matthew also defeated Brouard in straight sets.
Division 3
Ravenscroft Panthers D and Whistlers G are leading the way as both have won their opening 3 fixtures of the season.
The Panthers side are looking particularly strong and they breezed past Whistlers E 8-2 this week. Shaun Mosley was the best performer as he defeated Shane Cotter, Hedley Watson and reserve Robbie Garner in singles action. Steve Martin and Mark Windsor added wins over Watson and Garner, but each lost to Cotter. The doubles was won by Mosley and Windsor against Cotter and Watson in straight sets.
The Whistlers side edged past Lions H 6-4 this week. Former GTTA president Ken Falla earned straight sets singles wins over Mike Brehaut, Dave Finn and Lynn Finn. Erik Teteruck added wins over Dave and Lynn, whilst the important doubles encounter was won by Falla and Teteruck over Brehaut and Lynn in straight sets. All of the Lions players defeated reserve Tom Bourgaize, whilst Brehaut also overcame Teteruck in 4 sets.
Division 4
The Panthers side were in ruthless form and whitewashed Whistlers H 10-0. Shelby Timms, Tia Timms and Huxley Le Conte all defeated Sabato Folmi, Oskar Cleal and Alex Cleal in singles action. The doubles was won by the Timms sisters over Folmi and Oskar in straight sets.
