Headline: 'Ryan Holland Simply Sensational in Division 1 table tennis' 

Week 13 of the IOMTTA table tennis fixtures took place at the NSC last week, with plenty of exciting action to be seen on both Wednesday and Friday sessions. 

Division 1

Ramsey A (6) Copy Shop (3)

11 year old Ryan Holland won all 3 of his matches in dramatic style in this fixture. Copy Shop were up against league leaders Ramsey A - Chris Holland, Adam Teare and Becky Taylor. Remarkably, he managed to edge past stunned Dad Chris in 5 ends, then smashed his way to victory against experienced Adam Teare in 3 ends. To complete his remarkable hat trick he battled his way past in-form Becky Taylor in 5. Ryan was 8-10 down in the final end of this match when he called a time-out, which then enabled him to really go for the final few points, which resulted in a hard-earned victory 12-10. Through Dad Chris, Ryan passed on his thanks to Ewan Watterson for his expert coaching, and to Gwen Watterson for her relentless support. Elsewhere in this tie, Becky had 2 good wins for Ramsey against Ewan and Sasha Thomas, as did Chris, and Adam. 

Peel A (0) Strathallan (9)

Another tough test for Peel in this tie. Wayne Taylor and Andy Horne chalked up 3 wins against Maggie Mulhern, Ken Hegarty and Ronan Thompson, albeit Maggie did well to take a game off each before losing out in the 4th end. Strathallan's third player Neil Quane literally blasted his way past Maggie, Ken and Ronan with very few points conceded and all in straight games. This loss leaves Peel somewhat adrift at the foot of the table. 

Arbory (5) Travellers B (4)

Khayee Vinas earned 2 points for the home side by seeing off Will Shooter in 4 ends, and Malc Lewis in 3. William won the first game 11-8 but left hander Khayee roared back with some impressive counter-hitting play. Amit Lannin had a hugely impressive win against Malc Lewis when he saw off Malc in 5 games. Amit is another youngster like Ryan, who has benefited from expert local coaching, and it's now bearing fruit. Mike Tamarov picked up 2 points with straight sets wins against Will and Malc, and played extremely well to push John Shooter to a 5th end - only losing out to the Traveller's man 14-12. 

Travellers A (8) Ramsey B (1)

Ramsey's Will Dalugdugan carried forward his winning form from the Junior Top 12 tournament to this fixture, with a thrilling 3 game win against Malcolm Cummings 11-7, 11-5, 11-5. Malcolm then had an edgy 5 setter against Chris Holmes but prevailed in the end 11-8 in the final end. Scott Lewis and Liam Chan had clean sheets against Holmes, Dalugdugan and Becky Taylor, albeit Holmes sneaked a game off Liam. 

Tower B (1) Tower A (8)

The relegation battle came to the fore in this tie with Tower A coming out on top, despite some close matches. Dave Parsons led the way for the A team with convincing wins against Steve Curtis and Simon Radcliffe. He then had a fantastic match against tenacious competitor Paul Callow, snatching a last gasp victory over Callow 11-9 in the 5th. Ken Mitchell added 3 points by beating Simon in 5 ends, Curtis in 4, and Callow in 3. Finally, Mike Bayley had probably the most exciting match of the evening against Curtis, finally taking the match 11-7, 12-14, 8-11, 11-5, 12-10. Mike was also taken to 5 by Simon, coming back from 1-2 down to win in the final end. 

Division 2

Ramsey C (8) Peel B (2)

Ramsey C kept up their strong momentum with another good showing which lifts them into second place, one point ahead of Copy Shop B. Tim Baker was once again efficient in defeating Jon Taylor-Burt, Bob Borland and Ale Ramirez. Nathan Walker notched up another 2 points with wins over Bob and Ale, albeit the youngster made him fight hard for it over 5 ends. Taylor-Burt was too strong for Walker however, decisively taking the match in the 3rd end. Finally for the home side, Wilma Dalugdugan did well to beat Bob and Ale, but was also out-foxed by Taylor-Burt in 3. Tim & Nathan then added a final, and vital, point by defeating Ale & John in the doubles in the 4th end.

Ramsey D (1) Desmonds Douglas A (9)

Wilma Dalugdugan was the only ray of sunshine for the battling home side when she defeated Tommy Cowin in 3 ends. Russell Kent had 3 good wins against Wilma, Francesca Lord 12-10 in the 4th, and Darren Shaw (who was playing up in this tie), in 4. Brandon Montgomery added 3 further points for Desmonds alongside the 2 points won by Cowin against Shaw and Lord. Doubles went to Russell and Brandon in 4 ends against Wilma and Francesca. 

Desmonds Douglas B (2) Travellers C (8)

Paul Mathieson-Nelson was back in action for the away side, and resumed his winning ways with a solid 3-1 win over Neil Ronan after losing the 1st 11-4. He then defeated Richard Hill and Michaela Duchonova in straight games. Keeran Chan's match with Ronan was the match of the night however, with the youngster eventually losing out to Ronan 11-13, 11-4, 13-15, 12-10, 11-13. Neil had another 5 setter against David Buck, winning a topsy turvy affair 11-4 in the 5th. Buck & Chan edged through in the doubles in 3 ends against Ronan and Hill to take the 8 points.

Copy Shop C (6) Copy Shop B (4)

Sonja Shaw had another good week for the B team with solid wins over Kevin Drewry in 4 ends, and Dan Levine, but was halted by a dogged Mike Levine who came from 2-0 down to take the next 3. In a rare outing, Mike added a further 2 points for the C team by defeating JP Banaag and Dave Bufton in 3 games each. JP kept up his good form with an impressive 3-0 win over Dan, with the third going to 14-12. Sonja and Dave Bufton then added a 4th point for the B team, by taking the doubles in 4 ends. 

Division 3

Junior Development North (6) IOM Junior Development (4)

Caitlin Henery is another fast improving junior talent, benefiting from local coaching. She pulled off 3 wins for the home side by defeating the impressive Luke Begley in 4 ends, and Max Doyle and Megan Corris in 3. Thomas Taylor-Burt added 2 great wins against Max and Megan, and then joined forces with Caitlin to take the doubles in 5 nerve-jangling games against Megan and Luke.

Ramsey E (8) Ramsey F (2)

Roland Bouchat had another great week for the E team with wins against Keith Herrington, Henry da Silva and Geoff Burchill. His match with Keith was particularly close with 3 games being settled 11-9, and the match ending in the 4th, as it was against Burchill. Lisa Lord also had a fabulous week with 3 splendid wins for the home side. Her match against Herrington was also extremely close, until she quashed Keith's hopes with an 11-3 final game scoreline. Ian Barnes added a point for Ramsey with a win over da Silva. The doubles was taken by Lisa and Roland in 4 ends. 

Tower C (2) Travellers D (8)

Tower C suffered the unusual experience of heavy defeat in this tie, falling to Division 3 leaders Travellers D. Barry Jenkins managed to salvage 2 points for the home side by beating Grant Paterson in 4, and Maurice Campbell in the 5th end. Other than that Adrian Tinkler, Paterson, and Campbell were invincible, sweeping aside the strong challenges of Margaret Forsyth and Dave Callow. Campbell and Paterson then piled  further misery on Tower, taking the doubles against Forsyth and Jenkins in the 5th end.