SENIOR LEAGUE 2021-22 WEEK 11

It was a decisive week in the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues this week as leading sides in 3 of the 4 Divisions gained increased advantages at the top following the fixtures.

Division 1

The top flight however was the sole Division where the leaders remain locked at the top, as Lions A and Whistlers A each recorded victories in their final fixtures of 2021.

Defending champions Lions A extended their games ratio advantage due to their comfortable 8-2 win over bottom placed side Whistlers C. Ben Foss was in top form for his side as he dispatched Matthew Casey, Joseph Bourgaize and Ellis Tomlin without dropping a set. Ryan Bichard added straight sets wins over Casey and Tomlin, but he was edged in a tight 5 set tussle by Bourgaize, who won the penultimate 4th end 17-15. Steve Ozanne defeated Tomlin and Bourgaize, but was defeated by Casey in 4 sets. The doubles was won by Foss and Ozanne over Casey and Bourgaize in straight sets.

Whistlers A on the other hand had a very tough test against 4th placed side Whistlers B but did just enough to squeeze through 6-4. Josh Stacey proved to be important for his side due to his evening of unbeaten singles action which included 4 set wins over twin Lawrence and Ben Sharp as well as a straight sets win over Paula Le Ber. Dawn Morgan proved to be the match winner in the end though. Following her initial straight sets win over Le Ber, she came up against youngster Sharp in the final match of the night. The affair swung both ways but Morgan's experience told in the end as she clinched the decisive 5th end 11-7. The final rubber obtained by the joint league leaders came courtesy of Ryan Gilson's important straight sets win over Le Ber. For the defeated Whistlers side, Lawrence beat Morgan in 4 sets and Gilson in straight sets, whilst Sharp did well to beat Gilson in 4 sets. Lawrence and Sharp also combined strongly to win the doubles clash against Josh and Gilson in 4 sets.

The final game of the week saw third placed side Lions B defeat 5th placed side Lions C 8-2. Phil Ogier and Liam Robilliard were both in good form as each beat Andy Gill, Charlotte Casey and reserve Chloe Le Tissier without dropping a leg. Sam Clark extended the margin of victory when he edged past Casey 13-11 in the 5th and deciding leg of their encounter and he also teamed with Robilliard to win the doubles against Gill and Casey in 4 sets. Gill and Le Tissier each picked up consolation singles wins against Clark, with Gill winning in straight sets and Le Tissier in 5.

Division 2

Lions D now hold a single point advantage at the top following a slip by title rivals Whistlers D this week.

They were comfortable 8-2 winners over bottom placed side Whistlers E despite missing both Luke and Chloe Le Tissier. Reserve Andre De Carteret proved an important stand-in as he won all of his matches against Stuart Sarre, Darren Sarre and Matthew Board, dropping just 2 ends in the process. Shelby Timms and Ian Le Page each made sure of the victory when they defeated Darren and Board in singles action, whilst Timms also teamed with De Carterert to beat Board and Stuart in the doubles over 4 sets. Stuart defeated Timms and Le Page in matching 4 set wins to restore some pride for his side.

The Whistlers side were held to a 5-5 draw by 4th placed side Ravenscroft Panthers A, however this could have been worse had it not been for victories in the final 2 matches of the night for the title chasers. Kay Chivers was the player to win the final match of the night and secure the point when she battled past Oscar Pearson in 4 sets. She had earlier beaten Ben Foote in 4 sets and Craig Dunning in straight sets as well as teaming with Keith Opie to win what turned out to be a very important doubles match against Pearson and Foote in straight sets. The final Whistlers victory in the penultimate match came for young Erin Vaudin who held her nerve excellently to defeat Foote in 4 sets. For the Panthers side Pearson and Dunning each beat Opie and Vaudin in singles action, whilst Foote picked up a tidy 4 set win over Opie.

Division 3

Ravenscroft Panthers B struck a decisive blow in the title race due to their 7-3 win over closest rivals Ravenscroft Panthers D, a result which opens up a comfortable 3 point advantage at the top. Shaun Mosley, Steve Martin and reserve Andy Lihou contributed equally to the strong win as they all beat Juliette Yeaman and Tia Timms in singles action. Mosley and Lihou then also combined to win the doubles match against Becks O'Keefe and Yeaman. They came back from 2-1 down in this encounter to pinch the deciding end 13-11. O'Keefe maintained her 100% singles record despite the defeat for her team, however she was on the ropes in her match with Lihou but fought back strongly from a 2-0 deficit to win fairly comfortably in the end.

Division 4

Lions K reached the summit of the table a few weeks ago and have not looked back since. They earned an important 7-3 win over title rivals Lions J in a result which has seen them open up a 3 point lead. Jenny Powell was the player of the match due to her singles wins over Val Guilbert, Alex Paul and reserve Alex Whitten. Cameron Powell and Helen Barker each added wins over Paul and Whitten to ensure the win was obtained. Guilbert defeated both Cameron and Barker in singles action and she also teamed with Paul to win a 5 set doubles match over Jenny and Cameron.
Author: via Guernsey Table Tennis Association
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