There remains to be 2 Divisions up for grabs in the final fixtures of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues next week.
The closest run season in recent memory has seen a further Divisional title clinched during the penultimate week of action, however the top-flight and Division 3 crowns have not yet been claimed.
Whilst the title has not been officially clinched yet, Lions C made a huge step towards this after they won the top of the table clash against Whistlers C 7-3. The victory puts the Whistlers side out of contention as they are 3 points adrift heading into the final week. Whistlers B benefitted from the result as they have moved into 2nd spot and are just 2 points off the summit. With the Lions side holding a superior games ratio over the Whistlers side, it means that to win the title they need to take just 3 individual matches in their final fixture against 6th placed side Lions B in their final match of the season and that is providing the Whistlers side also win 10-0.
The victory in the top of the table clash came against a Whistlers side that was missing Mark Pipet. Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Matthew Stubbington were equally strong on the night as they all earned singles wins over Dawn Morgan and 2nd Division reserve Martin Sarre to secure the victory. The closest of these encounters came between Butler and Morgan where the Whistlers player fought back from 2-0 down before Butler closed out the deciding 5th end 11-7. The doubles was won by Butler and Robilliard against Morgan and Alice Edwards in 4 sets. For the defeated Whistlers side Edwards went unbeaten in singles action in her return following absence the prior week. She earned straight sets wins over Robilliard and Stubbington, but was pushed by Butler, whom she had lost to in 4 sets in their prior meeting in January. Butler looked set to repeat the feat when he took a close 2nd end 12-10 to lead 2-0, but Edwards showed her fighting characteristics to take the final 3 games 11-7, 11-9, 11-7.
Whistlers B kept themselves mathematically in the hunt for the title after the in-form side made it a 4th consecutive win as they posted an emphatic 8-2 win over 7th placed side Lions E. Joshua Stacey and Matthew Casey were each unbeaten during singles wins over Ryan Bichard, Sam Clark and Steve Ozanne, however Bichard was unable to compete against Casey due to an injury sustained against Stacey earlier in the night and the Whistlers man won by virtue of walkover. Joseph Bourgaize came back from 2-0 down to defeat Ozanne over the distance and he also defeated Clark in straight sets. Bichard's first match of the evening saw him beat Bourgaize in 4 sets, whilst the Lions combination of Ozanne and Clark earned themselves a solid 4 set doubles win against Casey and Bourgaize.
The mid-table clash between 4th placed side Lions A and 5th placed side Whistlers A ended as a 5-5 draw and ensures that each side will remain in those positions at the end of the season. Lawrence Stacey steered the way for the Whistlers side with an unbeaten evening of singles action. This was however extremely hard fought, and he needed to dig deep in his last 2 clashes, following his straight sets win over 2nd Division reserve James Crocker in the match opener. His next match against Phil Ogier was the closest match all season as it saw 4 of the 5 sets go beyond the regulation 11 points. Stacey won the tight opener 12-10 before an incredible 2nd set which needed a whopping 46 points to conclude in what is likely the longest set across all Divisions this season. Set points went back and forth between both players before Ogier finally closed it out 24-22. He looked to be in the ascendancy from here as he stormed through the 3rd set 11-3. The close nature of the encounter returned from here on out and despite being very close to the finish line, Ogier could not quite emerge as victor as Stacey salvaged the 4th end 15-13 and deciding 5th end 12-10 to conclude a classic. His final match which came in the last rubber of the night was against Jez Powell and once more he found himself with his back against the wall. The pattern was identical to his clash with Ogier in that he had taken the opener before finding himself trailing 2-1. Again he showed true grit in taking the final 2 legs 11-7, 11-9. Ben Sharp had a strong evening which saw him overcome Crocker in 4 sets, but more impressively it saw him earn an upset 5 set win over Powell in a match where he had trailed 2-1. For the Lions side, all of the players defeated Ryan Gilson and Ogier added a dominant straight sets win over Sharp. Ogier and Powell teamed to win the doubles against Stacey and Sharp in straight sets.
The final match of the week saw a surprise result as bottom placed side Lions D defeated 6th placed side Lions B 6-4. The result sees the bottom placed side level on points with their E side leaving it down to the final week of the season to decide who finishes bottom. Paul Hainsworth and Andy Gill each earned singles wins against Jamie Ferbrache and Chloe Le Tissier, with Gill needing the full 5 sets to get past Ferbrache. The duo also combined to earn an excellent 5 sets win over the strong doubles pairing of Ben Foss and Ferbrache. Charlotte Casey picked up the important 6th rubber when she earned a good 4 set win over Le Tissier. For the defeated side, Foss was in top form and won all of his singles matches in straight sets, whilst Ferbrache showed strong form during a straight sets win over Casey.
Division 2
With the title and runners-up spots in the league already decided, the only thing left to conclude was the individual averages and this was sealed this week by Nye Matthew who cannot be caught.
Matthew is part of the title winning Lions F side and his trio of wins during his sides narrow 6-4 win over Whistlers E was clinical once more. He defeated Martin Sarre, Stuart Sarre and 3rd Division reserve Oskar Cleal in straight sets. His record heading into the final week is imperious as he has lost just 1 singles match from the 60 contested. More incredible is the fact that 44 of the 59 wins have been in straight sets and this includes 22 from his last 25 matches.
Kay Chivers is in pole position to take the runners-up spot in the averages, however she is in direct battle with Caden Brouard from Matthew's Lions F side as they meet in the final match of the season. Brouard can only salvage runners-up spot if he wins all 3 singles matches against the Whistlers side and Chivers only wins 1 match or less. If she wins 1 match then the duo will be tied on 52 wins from the 60 played and will share the runners-up spot.
The Lions side need just a point next week to seal the title, however this is expected to be a tough test because they are up against a 4th placed St Pauls B side that they have drawn both prior matches with this season.
