Kendal League Juniors win Cumbria Schools Tournament
2 youngsters from the Kendal & District Table Tennis League were victorious in the Cumbria Schools Tournament which took place on Sunday, January 27th. England squad member, Jake Haygarth, from Kirkby Stephen, won the under 13 event while 8 year old Nicholas Morrell of Dallam won the under 11 event, without losing a game. Both players go forward to the National Schools Championships which will be played in Wolverhampton on April 27th.
Meanwhile, play continued in Divisions 1 & 2 of the League. In Division 1 the top 3 all won, Burton A, by 25 points to 7 against Natland B, Natland A, by 29-9 against Burton B and IBIS, by 24-11 against Kirkby Stephen A, despite Jake Haygarth winning all 3 of his singles matches. With 6 matches remaining, Burton A lead Natland A by 6 points but IBIS, in third position are only 19 points behind Natland and 26 behind Burton, with a game in hand. Jake Haygarth and Roger Pimblett are joint top of the Division 1 averages each with 32 wins out of 36.
Similarly in Division 2, the big three all won, Crook B, by 27-5 against Grayrigg A, Natland C, by 29-8 against Crook D and Natland D, by 29-3 against Grayrigg B. Steve Hawley, with an 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 victory against Rin Colombi, saved Grayrigg A from a whitewash. John Wood was the hero for Crook D with an 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-5 win against Natland C’s Peter Leahy and Harry Harper’s 9-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 comeback victory against Robert Robinson prevented Natland D from taking all 30 points. The net result is that 2 of the big 3 will be promoted at the end of the season. It looks like it will go to the wire.
