'Travellers stretch their lead in Division 1 whilst Arbory still top in Division 2'
Week 12 of the Fun88 sponsored IOM Table Tennis Association league was another doubles only fixture for all teams in Divisions 1 and 2, with Division 3 continuing with their regular singles/doubles format. Doubles involves different dynamics to singles play, and requires a contrasting set of strategies. It's a fun, yet competitive format, and one that requires good teamwork and knowledge of each other's play. Prior to this season, doubles had not been played in Division 1 for several seasons, so the aim of these doubles only evenings is to re-introduce it to players, and enable them to hone their doubles play. Not surprisingly, the evening produced some interesting results.
We were unable to report on Week 11 last week, but amongst others Dave Parsons had another superb week with a second successive clean sheet for Tower A. In Division 1, Travellers A continue to dominate at the top, with Ramsey A firmly in second place. In Division 2, Arbory B stretched their lead over Tower B who remain just ahead of Peel A. Tower House remains at the top of Division 3, 8 points clear of IOM Junior Development A.
Division 1
Travellers B (1) Ramsey A (5)
Ramsey A's Adam Teare, Duncan Alexander and Will Dalugdugan, dominated this tie. Travellers B were missing Malc Lewis so David Buck played up for them. Ramsey's number one pairing of Teare & Alexander were unbeaten, as were their number 2 pairing of Teare & Dalugdugan. John Shooter and Buck nabbed the home side's only point with a great win against Teare & Alexander in 3 ends.
Arbory A (0) Travellers A (6)
Arbory A fielded a strong team consisting of John Magnall, Mike Tamarov, and Jane Kneale, but they were unable to make any inroads against the mighty Travellers A team of Scott Lewis, Liam Chan and Malcolm Cummings. The only match that was not won in straight games was between Arbory's top seeds Tamarov & Magnall and Chan & Cummings, with Mike and John taking the third game. Other than that, Travellers were ruthless and the 6 points means they are well ahead of the top of the tree.
Ramsey B (5) Tower A (1)
The home side was a strong one - Tim Baker, Chris Holmes and Becky Taylor combined well. Tower A, desperate for points, were therefore up against it. 3 matches went to 5 games, but Tower were only able to pull through in one of them with Ken Mitchell & Mike Bayley prevailing 11-8 in the final end against Baker and Taylor. Dave Parsons and Bayley had 2 match points against Holmes and Taylor, however Holmes reeled off some fantastic winning loops to blast their way to victory 12-10 in the fifth.
Strathallan (6) Travellers C (0)
Strathallan hauled themselves out of the relegation zone with a 5-4 victory against Tower A in Week 11, and this vital 6 point win against a depleted Travellers C side provides further comfort. Only Grant Paterson and David Buck were able to play for the away side so it was an early bath for all.
Division 2
Desmond's Douglas A (4) Tower B (2)
This result demonstrates the unpredictability of doubles, with second placed Tower B losing out to Desmonds who are in 4th spot. Desmond's Russ Kent, Brandon Montgomery and Neil Ronan looked like they were relishing the challenge and produced some notable wins. Their second pairing of Kent & Ronan had greatest success with wins over Paul Callow & Simon Radcliffe in 3 ends, and against Radcliffe & Steve Curtis, also in 3, after winning the first end 16-14. Number 2 pairing Callow & Curtis, notched Tower's second point with a close win over Kent & Montgomery, taking the final end 14-12.
Arbory B (5) Peel A (1)
Table toppers Arbory had their big guns out, with Jason Quirk, Malcolm Lambert and Mike Levine all playing their part in an almost perfect display against Peel. The one blip was Peel's third pairing of Stu Perry & Maggie Mulhern who proved troublesome to Arbory's No2 pairing of Mike & Malcolm. The Peel pairing gelled well in a close match, eventually winning 13-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7.
Arbory C (5) Ramsey D (1)
Arbory consisted of Sonja Shaw, Kevin Drewry and Jonathan Pooley. Their No1 pairing of Sonja & Kevin racked up 2 wins over Ramsey's No1 and No2 pairings. Their match against Keith Herrington & Geoff Burchill was a close one with Sonja & Kevin narrowly pulling through 11-9 in the fifth end. Arbory's No2 pairing of Sonja & Jonathan similarly scored 2 points, they too had a close tussle against Ramsey's No1 pairing of Keith & Geoff, coming back from the dead to win 12-14, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-8. Ramsey's second pairing of Keith & Darren Shaw were the away side's salvation, with a great 4 set win over Drewry & Pooley to take a solitary point for the away side.
Ramsey C (6) Travellers D (0)
The home side fielded Wilma Dalugdugan, Francesca Lord and Adrian Slater, and were up against Bob Borland, Mike Chapman & Margaret Forsyth. Doubles specialists Wilma and Francesca were not troubled and notched up 2 wins, albeit Travellers No1 pairing of Bob & Mike did nick a game off them. No2 pairing Wilma & Adrian came off relatively unscathed in their 2 wins, and Francesca & Adrian also added 2 points after losing only one end along the way.
Division 3
IOM Junior Development B (3) Ramsey E (2)
Rising junior star Max Doyle had an excellent win against Tony Sewell, coming back from 2-1 down, to take the final 2 ends 11-8, 11-4. Against newcomer Teddy Clayton however, he was unable to counter his opponent's excellent play and lost out 0-3. Teddy added a further point by beating Megan Corris, albeit the youngster pushed him to a 4th game. Megan added a point by beating Tony in the 4th end. Max & Megan then paired up and had a great win in the 4th end.
IOM Junior Development A (2) Ramsey F (3)
Roland Bouchat stepped in to play for Ramsey, and it's great to see him back. He produced 2 excellent wins against Liav Lannin and Luke Begley in straight sets. His teammate Pat Halliwell wasn't able to add to the points tally however, with Luke getting the better of her in 3 ends, and Liav prevailing in the 4th. Roland & Pat then paired up and did well to counter the enthusiasm of youth, just pulling through 11-7 in the fifth end.
IOM Junior Development C (1) Tower House (4)
Steven Carridge and Paul Mitchinson pulled out all the stops in this tie to take 4 points with excellent wins over Henry Weaver and Eben Moore in straight ends. The only ray of sunshine for the youngsters came from Henry who pulled off an amazing 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 win over Steven. Tower House remains firmly at the top of the Div3 table, and are favourites to be promoted to the second tier.
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