The Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues returned to action after the half term break with some interesting results across the 4 Divisions.
League leaders Whistlers A consolidated their 2 point advantage which they had earned at the end of the first round of fixtures with a strong 7-3 win over Whistlers B. This was aided largely thanks to a man of the match performance from Joshua Stacey. Stacey ended the last 100% singles record in the Division held by twin Lawrence when he beat him in 4 sets and he followed up on this with straight sets singles wins against Ben Sharp and Paula Le Ber. Dawn Morgan and Ryan Gilson each also contributed strongly as each player defeated Sharp and Le Ber in singles action. For the defeated B side Lawrence beat Morgan and Gilson in straight sets as well as combining with Sharp to defeat Josh and Gilson in 5 sets in the doubles match.
Lions A moved back into 2nd place on games ratio ahead of their B side following a dominant 10-0 whitewash over bottom placed side Whistlers C. The whitewash was the first to take place in the top flight this season and it saw Ben Foss, Ryan Bichard and Steve Ozanne all in good form. They each beat Matthew Casey, Joseph Bourgaize and reserve Erin Vaudin in singles action. The closest matches were Ozanne's 5 set wins against both Casey and Bourgaize. The doubles was won by Bichard and Ozanne against Casey and Bourgaize in 4 sets.
Lions B slipped behind their A side as a consequence of being held to a 5-5 draw by 5th placed side Lions C. The B side are still unbeaten, but this was their 4th draw of the season so far. Phil Ogier led the way strongly with singles wins against Paul Hainsworth, Andy Gill and Charlotte Casey without the loss of any ends. Liam Robilliard added a 4 set win over Gill and a straight sets win over Casey to make sure that the unbeaten run continued. For the C side all players defeated Sam Clark in singles actions, whilst Hainsworth added a further 4 set win over Robilliard. The doubles rubber turned out to pivotal in the outcome of the match and it was the team of Gill and Casey that crucially fought back from a 9-6 deficit in the 5th and final end of their clash with Robilliard and Clark to edge it 12-10.
Division 2 continues to be an excellent one to follow with results again being close and the leaders changing around once again.
Ravenscroft Panthers A had previously held top spot on 2 occasions and they made it 3 this week due to their 7-3 win over Lions F and owing to other results going their way. Oscar Pearson continues to show his continued improvement and he was the catalyst for victory thanks to a strong evening of singles performances. He overcame Nye Matthew excellently in 4 sets before adding a matching 4 set win over junior Jayden Tucknott and an impressive straight sets win over another junior in the form of Caden Brouard. Craig Dunning added a 4 set win over Tucknott and 5 set win over Brouard, whilst Ben Foote defeated Tucknott over 4 close sets. The doubles rubber was won by Dunning and Foote over Brouard and Tucknott in 5 sets. Matthew beat Dunning and Foote in singles action, whilst Brouard added a 4 set win over Foote.
They are however only ahead of the Lions D by virtue of their games difference being superior by 1 single match such is the tightness of the Division. The Lions side are the in-form team within the Division and they made it 6 wins on the bounce when they overcame former leaders St Pauls A 6-4. Luke Le Tissier's quality was evident during the match which saw him unbeaten. He defeated Tim Le Page, Trevor Bourgaize and Chas Elliott for the loss of just a single end to Bourgaize in the process. He also teamed with sister Chloe to win the important doubles rubber against Le Page and Elliott in straight sets. Chloe earned an important 4 set singles win of her own against Bourgaize, a feat which was impressively matched by the ever improving Shelby Timms.
Whistlers D had moved to the top of the Division for the 3rd time prior to the break, however they were surprisingly held to a 5-5 stalemate by 7th placed side Lions G and now find themselves a single point adrift from the leading duo. Each of the Lions players did well to overcome Erin Vaudin in singles action, whilst Andy Ferbrache earned a nice straight sets win over Opie. The doubles rubber proved crucial once more and it was the team of Ferbrache and brother Brian who showed superb form to defeat the experienced combination of Kay Chivers and Opie in straight sets. The Lions side were not too far away from securing an upset victory. Brian was ousted in 5 sets by Opie in the match opener. Chivers won all of her singles rubbers on the night and Opie picked up a further straight sets win over James Crocker to make sure of the point.
Ravenscroft Panthers B have an outright points advantage at the top for the first time this season after title rivals Ravenscroft Panthers D were held to a 5-5 draw.
The B side were themselves in ruthless mood as they romped to a 10-0 whitewash over Lions H. Shaun Mosley, Richard Edwards and reserve Marli Barker all beat Mike Brehaut, Dave Finn and Lynn Finn in singles action. Edwards and Barker then won the doubles over Brehaut and Lynn in 4 sets.
The D side were held by 4th placed side Lions I. They were missing their star player Becks O'Keefe who is one of only 2 players across all Divisions with a 100% winning record. That being said they did have a strong back-up in the form of former Division 2 player Andy Lihou, but it was not enough to prevent points being dropped. Steve Potter was in good for for the Lions side as he battled back from 2 sets to defeat Lihou over the distance on top of beating Yeaman in 4 sets and Tia Timms in straight sets. Graham Mallett had a strong evening which saw him beat Timms in 4 sets and Yeaman in straight sets and this was enough to earn his side a point. Timms held her nerve excellently in the final match of the night where she edged past Derek Cave in 5 sets.
