'Tower B and Peel A slug it out in race for Div2 second spot'    

Week 13 of the Fun88 sponsored IOM Table Tennis Association league saw a resumption of singles play in Divisions 1 & 2, and business as usual in Division 3. Further details & statistics can be found via our website at www.tabletennis365.com/IOM but here's a snapshot of how things stand with 2 months and 8 fixture weeks remaining out of 21, with the season due to end 27th March. 

Division 1: Travellers A remain top with 95 points, Ramsey A second on 70. Tower A and Travellers C are both firmly in the relegation zone. 

Division 2: Arbory B comfortably top, 20 points ahead of Peel A who are now level pegging with Tower B. Ramsey D and Travellers D are both rooted in the relegation zone

Division 3: Tower House well ahead, with IOM Junior A in second spot.  

Division 1

Ramsey A (5) Arbory (4) 

Ramsey A's Adam Teare and Duncan Alexander again had Will Dalugdugan playing up for them and he earned a valuable win over Dan Levine, who was also playing up for Arbory. It was a close match with some topsy turvy scoring, but Will eased through 11-9 in the final end. For Arbory, Mike Tamarov had a very successful evening with a superb 4 end win over Duncan Alexander, and then added a victory over Will, again in 4. Adam Teare halted him in his tracks however with a commanding performance in 3 ends. Alexander regrouped and took an excellent 3 end win over John Magnall. and also in 3 against Dan. Teare's good form was not enough to counter the deceptive spin of Magnall however, with the defensive Arbory player chopping and driving his way to a superb, but close, win 12-14, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9. Teare restored balance with a 4 end win over Dan, albeit the youngster played well to take an end off the experienced Ramsey player. 

Travellers C (2) Travellers A (7)  

Travellers A team comprised Scott Lewis, Malcolm Cummings, and (playing up from the D team), Maurice Campbell. David Buck, Adrian Tinkler, and Bob Borland all played up for the C team, so both teams were somewhat depleted. David and Adrian took the wins against Campbell, but Maurice pushed them hard with some close games in each match. Maurice then took a straight games win over Bob to earn a valuable point for the A team.  

Tower A (2) Travellers B (7)  

Tower's Dave Parson's experienced defeat for the first time in 7 matches, with John Shooter pulling through in 3 ends. Parsons got back on track with a superb win over Malc Lewis 12-10, 11-7, 12-10, and edged past Will Shooter also in 3. Mike Bayley crashed out in 3 to Lewis and Shooter senior. His match against Will Shooter was tight, though, with the Tower player losing out 13-15 in the 4th end. Ken Mitchell's barren spell continued with a 3 end loss to John and Malc, and after being 2-1 up against Will lost his way with Will cruising past in the 5th.   

Strathallan (4) Ramsey B (5)   

This tie was highly anticipated because both teams are battling to distance themselves from the relegation zone. This was duly achieved for both, with an almost equal share of points. Julian  Brierdcliffe was first up for Strathy and he came up against an in-form Tim Baker who produced a solid display to take the win in 3 ends for the away side. Julian then regrouped to take a splendid win against Becky Taylor, 11-8 in the 4th end. He then notched a further point with a win over William Dalugdugan who was playing up in the absence of Chris Holmes. Andy Patterson pushed Baker a little harder, eventually just falling in the 4th end 10-12. William had no joy against Andy either, losing in the 3rd end. Wayne Taylor then added a further point in a 3 end win over William, but was defeated in 3 by Tim, and in 4 by Becky. 

Division 2 

Tower B (3) Arbory B (7)  

Tower were up against it in this tie with Arbory forging ahead at the top of Division 2. Paul Callow tasted defeat for the first time this season, with top-ranked Div2 player Jason Quirk taking the win for Arbory in 3. He then managed to reverse that with a 3 end win over Malcolm Lambert. His long pip defence was too much for Dan Levine and he also crashed out in 3. Paul's teammate Simon Radcliffe had an off night, losing to Malcolm and Dan in 4 ends, and to Jason in 3. Steve Curtis could not make any inroads against Lambert or Quirk, losing both in 3 ends. He did manage a win however against Dan, using all his experience to out push and chop the youngster with a scoreline of 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5. The doubles was taken by Jason & Dan in the 4th end 12-10. Arbory remain firmly in top spot, whilst Tower are battling it out against Peel A who are now on the same points.

Travellers D (0) Peel A (10)  

Peel had to take as many points as they could in this tie in order to regain ground on second placed Tower. They did just that with a maximum 10 point haul, which was aided by the fact that the home side was only able to field 2 players in the shape of Grant Paterson and Margaret Forsyth. Peel's Jon Taylor-Burt, made short work of his 2 opponents, winning both in straight ends. Stu Perry had a 5 set epic with Grant though, just pulling through 11-6 in the 5th. He had less issues against Margaret, winning in the 3rd end. His teammate Ken Hegarty also breezed past Margaret but took 4 ends to edge past Grant. The doubles was won by Jon & Ken in the 4th end 12-10 against Margaret and Grant. This valuable 10 points then pulled Peel equal on points with Tower B in second place. 

Ramsey D (0) Desmonds Douglas (10) 

Neil Ronan, Brandon Montgomery and Russell Kent were all on supreme form in this tie. Most matches were settled in 3 ends but one stands out as match of the night. Keith Herrington pushed Neil all the way with an extremely close series of games. The Desmonds man eventually edged it however 9-11, 12-10, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10 - after which he must have breathed a huge sigh of relief! This win pulls Desmonds closer to third placed Tower B, but they are still 10 points adrift, so much work to do if they are to retain an outside chance of getting into the top 2 and a promotion spot. 

Ramsey C (5) Arbory C (5)  

Ramsey's Wilma Dalugdugan had a very impressive win in 4 ends against Sonja Shaw, and again in 4 against Rob Wright. She was 2-1 up against Kevin Drewry before being pegged back by the Arbory man 15-17 in the 4th. Drewry was then able to capitalise on this momentum shift and took the 5th end 11-6. Francesca Lord also managed tol beat Sonja, this time in 3, and Wright in the 4th end. But she too fell to Drewry - the wily Arbory player was able to dominate play, winning in 3 ends. Finally, for Ramsey, Adrian Slater looked to be in good form but was unable to convert that into points, losing to Drewry in the 4th end, also in 4 to Wright, and in 5 ends in a close with with Shaw - the scoreline of that match being 11-8, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11. The doubles was taken comfortably by Wilma and Francesca against Kevin & Sonja in 3 ends.

Division 3

Ramsey E (0) IOM Junior Development A (5)  

Tony Sewell was unable to make any impression against youngsters Liav Lannin and Luke Begley, nor could Teddy Clayton albeit he did manage to take a game from Luke before losing in the 4th end. The youngsters added their 5th point with a solid 3 end win.

Tower House (5) IOM Junior Development B (0) 

In what is starting to feel like a victory march for Tower House, Cameron Millar and Steven Carridge teamed up to notch up yet another 5-0 win for the home side. Young Thomas Taylor-Burt put up a tremendous fight however, losing out in a very close match with Cameron 11-8, 7-11, 11-13, 10-12. Max Doyle is on an upward path now, and he also pushed Cameron, taking the 3rd end, before falling in the 4th. Steven also had a tougher test from Thomas, losing the first end 9-11, before changing tactics and taking the next 3, and victory. Against Max he had fewer issues, taking the match in the 3rd end. The doubles was won in 3 ends by Steven & Cameron. 

IOM Junior Development D (2) IOM Junior Development C (3)  

Playing for the D team, Eben Moore lost the first game to Sydnie Weaver, before taking the next 3 comfortably. He then took his second point with a solid 3 end win against Seth Hornby-Wheeler. Eben's teammate Henry Weaver didn't have any issues in sweeping aside Sydnie in straight games, but against Seth he met his match, going down in 3 ends. The doubles was taken in the 4th end by Seth & Sydnie 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7. 

Alan Cooke, Nicola Deaton & Mat Ware Coaching Weekend 9-11 February

IOMTTA is pleased to announce that we have leading UK coaches and former internationals Alan Cooke, Nicola Deaton and Mat Ware visiting the Island between Friday 9th and Sunday 11th February. The weekend will be focused around coaching with 5 half day sessions to develop our leading players. As part of the weekend there is also a Saturday night event on 10th February at 8pm at the Energy FM Bowl Diner per the attached flyer - free admission to anyone who is interested! 

Follow local table tennis on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TableTennisIOM or on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/IOMTTA, and check out our website at www.tabletennis365.com/IOM. Practice sessions are available once again on Friday from 7.30pm to 10pm - the cost is £5 per adult or £3 for juniors. For those interested in table tennis do feel free to call in and have a go!