Bob Pettit's weekly reports

This page collates the weekly reports which Bob Pettit has been submitting to the Cambridge Evening News. Bob welcomes any information which you would like to submit.

Send your contributions to b.pettit7@btinternet.com.

26 Sep 2010

In their first match of the season Impington I found themselves 5-0 down at home to Soham I in division one. The first two matches of the night were very tight with Reno Phyo was two sets down to martin Freeland before staging a recovery to get Back to 2-2 only to lose 9-11 in the fifth. Dave Rowell was 2-0 up against Tony Everitt but also finished up losing 9-11 in the fifth. Unfortunately Mandy Mills retired hurt in her first match and had to concede all her singles which left Impington 5-0 down. However Phyo and Rowell then won all their remaining games, including two more five game matches, and the doubles to finish with a 5-5 draw. Soham II put up a creditable performance to get four points from the visit of St Neots with the match of the night being between Kieran Mohan and Chris Pickard. There were many big smashes and hard pimple bat defence from Pickard who won the first two games 11-6, 13-11 but Mohan came back to win the next three 11-9, 11-9,11-6. Champions St Georges I easily beat their newly promoted second team 10-0 with only Markus Frey coming close to a win for the seconds when he lost narrowly in four games to Steve Trevanion.

In division two Impington III whitewashed RCG Stapleford, who were made up of last years second team, 10-0.

Soham III beat Impinton IV 8-2 in division three with Jonathan Audus winning three for Soham and Duncan Taylor recording Impington's points. Impington V also suffered from being a player short due to a family emergency and as a consequence suffered a heavy 3-7 loss to Bassingbourn for whom Val Parkes won three singles.

DIV 1

Impington I 5 Soham I 5
St Georges I 10 St Georges II 0
Soham II 4 St Neots 6

DIV 2
Impington III 10 RCG Stapleford 0

DIV 3
Soham III 8 Impington IV 2

DIV 4
Bassingbourn 7 Impington V 3

3 Oct 2010

NCI drew their first match of the season 5-5 against St Ives II in division one with the ever reliable David Tiplady winning all three of his singles. He was well supported by Robert Swift who, although he last played in the Cambridge League over 20 years ago, still plays a very good game and won two singles only losing very narrowly to Steve Fisher. NCI then followed this up with a convincing 9-1 success against Haverhill with again Tiplady and Swift both winning three along with another new signing, PHD student Raphael Assier. Although Rob Cushen went close losing in five games to with Swift and Maria Bolton also losing in five to Assier, Haverhill, without the services of Tony Reardon, could only muster a win in the doubles. Haverhill did perform much better against St Ives I with Cushen and Reardon both beating Leon Rogers and Alan Smith but they had no answer to Simon Pryke who recorded a maximum for St Ives as they eventually won 6-4. Promoted St Georges are finding the going tough in the top division and went down 9-1 to Soham II. Although Mick Runswick got them off to a good start by beating Liam Mohan and there were several other close games Christian and Kieran Mohan both won three singles each for Soham. Last seasons runners up St Neots won 8-2 against Impington I with Shaun Murray winning three singles although he had to work hard to beat Jan Hryca in five games. Although several other games went to five Impingtons two points came from Dave Rowell who beat both Chris Pickard and Colin Luscombe.

In division two Impington II got their season off to a good start by visiting NCI III and coming away with an 8-2 victory. Impington have two new signings in Tony Comiskey and Jan Hryca who both recorded maximums with NCIs sole success coming through Syd Dunster who managed to come back from two games down to beat Bob Pettit. Impington II then followed this up with another 8-2 win over their third team again with Comiskey gaining a maximum and two wins each for Hryca and Pettit.

RESULTS

Div 1
St Ives II 5 NCI I 5
NCI I 9 Haverhill 1
St Neots 9 Impington I 1
St Georges II 1 Soham II 9
Haverhill 4 St Ives I 6

Div 2
NCI III 2 Impington II 8
Impington II 8 Impington III 2

Div 4
Impington VI 1 Impington V 9

10 Oct 2010

Soham I came away with a good 7-3 victory on their visit to St Ives II to set the early pace in division one. Martin Freeland won all three singles for Soham and was well supported by Tony Everitt and Andreas Elias who both won two whilst Steve Fisher recorded two wins for the home team. Champions St Georges I with a game in hand are however looking to retain their title and an 8-2 success away to St Ives I emphasized their credentials. Martin and Kevin Gray both recorded maximums for St Georges whilst Simon Pryke was St Ives only singles winner in a very close five game encounter with Steve Annison. Soham II comprising the Mohan family are continuing to improve as they seek to consolidate their place in the top division and they gained an impressive 5-5 draw with St Ives I. Mark Fisher was very strong for St Ives winning all three singles although Christian Mohan pushed him all the way in a close encounter before losing 11-8 in the fifth game. Kieran Mohan came back from two games to one down and 6-10 in the fourth against Alan Smith to take the next six points to take the game 12-10 and then went on to win the fifth 11-5.

In division two Over II overcame St Georges III 6-4 with three wins each for Matt and Ray Allen including a very hard fought five game win by Ray over Rob Pownall when three of the games could have gone either way. Although Jeff Catlin gained a maximum for Impington III and the doubles with Tracey Sambrook they just lost out to Cambridge II 4-6 with Peters Zivtins, James Nicholls and Fred Laband all winning two for Cambridge. Cambridge III, who are having venue difficulties, played their match against Impington II at Impington and went down 2-8 with Jan Hryca and Bob Pettit winning three each and the doubles for the victors.St Ives III have got off to a good start following promotion and recorded another useful 9-1 victory on their visit to NCI III. The ever reliable Alan Fitzgerald winning all his singles as did Joe Thorogood whilst the only reverse came when Tony Whiting defeated Brian Freer.

Maximums from Ian Boggie and Jon Audus ensured Soham III overcame Sawston 7-3 in the third division whilst a very strong Priory team comprising Ray Thorpe, Rob Wallis and Kin Choi Chan whitewashed Cambridge IV 10-0.

RESULTS

DIV 1

St Ives I 2 St Georges I 8
St Ives II 3 Soham I 7
Soham II 5 St Ives I 5
Impington I 10 St Georges II 0

DIV 2
NCI III 1 St Ives III 9
Impington III 4 Cambridge II 6
Cambridge III 2 Impington II 8
Over II 6 St Georges III 4

DIV 3
Soham III 7 Sawston 3
Priory 10 Cambridge IV 0

17 Oct 2010

Champions St Georges I came out on top 6-4 in their top of the table clash with NCI in division one thanks mainly to Martin Gray's excellent start to the season. He recorded three wins including a straight games victory over NCI's top player Keith Richardson whilst Kevin Gray and debutante Andrew Dosher both beat an out of sorts Raphael Assier and Robert swift won two for NCI. Due to a fixture clash Haverhill were forced to play with two players against Soham II, but Rob Cushen and Maria Boulton both won two singles and paired up for the doubles to secure a 5-5 draw. Patrick Mohan beat Cushen in five and Kieran Mohan beat Boulton for Soham other points.

In division two Jeff Catlin was in imperious form for Impington III winning all his games three straight against St Ives III and in the process inflicted the first defeat of the season on Alan Fitzgerald. Tracey Sambrook and Colin Adams, who only just lost to Fitzgerald in five games, both won one singles each to secure the draw for Impington whist Joe Thorogoods two wins gave ample support to Fitzgerald for St Ives. NCI II recorded a good 7-3 win against RCG Stapleford with a maximum from Kelvin Mitchell including an 11-8 victory in the fifth against Nigel Bates who surprisingly only won one singles for the visitors. NCI II then visited leaders Impington II and were whitewashed 10-0 although Mitchell did offer some resistance before going down in five games to both Tony Comiskey and Bob Pettit.

Priory, even without Ray Thorpe, beat Sawston 9-1 to consolidate their position at the top of division three with maximums for Rob Wallis and Kin Choi Chan and two from Alan Chambers and Sawstons solitary point coming from Steve Shi. Mike Friday's three wins proven conclusive as Impington IV moved out of the bottom two with a 6-4 victory over St Ives IV. Harris Ryder recorded an impressive maximum as St Georges IV swept Cambridge IV aside 8-2. His dad, Hamish, recovered from match point to grind out an 11-9 win against Fred Laband in the fifth game but perhaps the most entertaining match of the night was Jon Chapman's fine victory for Cambridge over Howard Middleton in a great advert for division three table tennis.

St Ives V were held to a draw at home by Impington V in division four with Anna Bridge maintaining her good start to the season with a maximum for the visitors. Struggling Impington VI had Dave Harrison to thank for winning three singles and the doubles with Ron Hodierne for their points as they just went down 4-6 to St Ives VI.

RESULTS

DIV 1

Haverhill 5 Soham II 5
St Georges I 6 NCI 4
Cambridge  0 St Neots 10

DIV 2
St Ives III 5 Impington III 5
NCI II 7 RCG Stapleford 3
Impington II 10 NCI II 0

DIV 3
Priory 9 Sawston 1
Impington IV 6 St Ives IV 4
Cambridge IV 2 St Georges IV 8

DIV 4
St Ives V 5 Impington V 5
Impington VI 4 St Ives VI 6

25 Oct 2010

The top two teams in division one St Georges I and St Neots remain level on points following easy 10-0 victories against Soham II and St Ives II respectively. NCI are desperately trying to remain in touch and they beat Soham I 9-1 in their latest victory. David Tiplady won his three singles for NCI but was pushed all the way by both Martin Freeland and Clive Woollard whilst Raphael Assier won two only losing out to Freeland. The man of the match for NCI was Robert Swift who won all his games easily and is beginning to look quite formidable as his confidence returns after many years out of the game. The closest game in the division saw Impington I draw 5-5 at home to a strong Haverhill I with Dave Rowell continuing his fine start to the season with a maximum for Impington.

In division two leaders Impington II gained an impressive 7-3 victory against a full strength Over I with Tony Comiskey and Jan Hryca both recording maximum wins although they were both pushed to five games by Roger Fensom. St Ives III remain in second place with a 7-3 victory at Cambridge III thanks to three wins each by Alan Fitzgerald and Joe Thorogood. Impington III got the better of St Georges II 6-4 although Rob Pownall with three wins for St Georges proved to be a thorn in their side. His wins included five game victories in very close matches with both Helen Arnold and Jeff Catlin. Cambridge II are also moving up the league and with Peters Zivtins and Richard Bellamy both gaining maximums they easily accounted for NCI II 7-3 with Kelvin Mitchell and Colin Taylor gaining NCI's victories. NCI II had mixed fortunes losing 4-6 to Over II for whom Terry Edwards won three, but then beat St Georges III 7-3 with Syd Dunster gaining a maximum.

Soham III continued their good start to the season in division three with an impressive 8-2 success against CIBA. Neil Abraham won three whilst Ian Boggie lost 11-13 to Martin Touhey in the fifth and Jon Audus also lost to Gerald Blackaby also in the fifth game. Impington IV continue to struggle and despite two wins by Mike Friday went down 7-3 to Over III with Owen Davis winning his customary three singles.

Results

DIV 1
NCI 9 Soham I 1
St Neots 10 St Ives II 0
Soham II 0 St Georges I 10
Impington I 5 Haverhill %
St Ives II 10 St Georges II 0
St Ives I 6 Cambridge I 4

DIV 2
Over I 3 Impington II 7
Impington III 6 St Georges III 4
Cambridge III 3 St Ives III 7
NCI III 4 Over II 6
St Georges III 3 NCI III 7
NCI II 3 Cambridge II 7

DIV 3
Soham III 8 CIBA 2
Impington IV 3 Over III 7
St Georges IV 5 Sawston 5
Cambridge IV 6 St Ives IV 4

DIV 4
Cambridge V 6 St Ives V 4
St Georges VI 10 Impington VI 0
Impington V 9 St Georges V 1

31 Oct 2010

Owing to school half term no league matches were scheduled and the week was given over, as per tradition, to the first round of the handicap. Last seasons beaten finalists, Impington III, with lower handicaps this year, still made light of the points they were giving away to their sixth team and ran out easy 5-1 winners. Jeff Catlin and Tracey Sambrook gave their side an early 2-0 advantage before Dave Harrison beat Helen Arnold 2-1 to pull one back for the sixths. However, further wins by Catlin, and Arnold and a very close fought win by Sambrook over Harrison wrapped up the victory.

Impington IV put up a good performance and made their handicaps tell in beating first division St Neots 5-4. Man of the match was John Bray who gained a maximum in beating Shaun Murray, Bernie Shannon and Ivan Clark and he was well supported by Duncan Taylor who also beat Shannon and Clark. St Georges II found the handicap deficit much too hard to overcome as they were well beaten by their fourth team 8-1. Andrew Maguire recorded their only win by beating Harris Ryder 2-1 but solid performances by Howard Middleton and Peter Hutchison with three wins each ensured the fourth team progressed to the next round.

Results

Handicap Round 1
Impington VI 1 Impington III 5
Impington IV 5 St Neots 4
St Georges IV 8 St Georges II 1
St Ives IV 9 St Georges V 0 w/o
Cambridge IV 9 St Ives III 0 w/o
St Georges VI 9 St Ives VI 0 w/o
NCI III 9 Cambridge III 0 w/o
Sawston 9 St Ives II 0 w/o

7 Nov 2010

St Ives I got the better of their second team 6-4 in division one with Simon Pryke's maximum proving to be the crucial difference between the sides. He was supported by Mark Fisher and Alan Smith who won one game each whilst Reuan Williams recorded two wins for the second team. Although Li Wei won three games for Cambridge on their trip to Haverhill they went down 4-6 with Rob Cushen and Maria Boulton winning two for the home team. St Georges I consolidated their position at the top of the league with Martin and Kevin Gray and Steve Annison proving far too strong for Impington in a 10-0 whitewash. Impington's new signing Mirek Pazezior did manage to take Annison and Martin Gray to 4 games but that was as good as it got for the losers. NCI also recorded a 10-0 win over Soham II to move into second spot whilst St Georges II, following promotion last season are finding the going tough losing heavily again to Cambridge I 10-0.

In division two Pat Amps recorded a maximum in Over I's 7-3 win against Cambridge II, and although Roger Fensom also won two he found James Nicholls in determined mood and lost in five games. The match between St Georges III and Cambridge III was in the balance up to the eighth game with the away team leading 4-3 when Rob Pownall and marc Meunier met in a very exiting and tense match which Meunier won 11-9 in the fourth. Pownall was also very unlucky against Ju Young in the fourth match when losing 13-15 in the fifth game. The match finally went in Cambridge's favour 7-3 with Meunier and Young both recording maximums. Impington maintained their position at the top with an 8-2 win over RCG Stapleford for whom Russell 'super' Cooper made his first appearance of the season and Nigel Bates unusually lost all his singles. Impington came out on top in three of the four five game matches with Jan Hryca and Bob Pettit finishing with three wins each and Tony Martin, also in his first match of the season, won one but lost out to both Cooper and Dan Bates. St Ives III maintained second spot with an 8-2 success over NCI II with an all round contribution of three wins by Alan Fitzgerald and two each by Brian Freer and Joe Thorogood.

Haverhill II beat Soham III 6-4 in a top of the table clash in division three with Andrew Drivers maximum separating the teams. Priory stay in first place with a 6-4 win at CIBA with Kin Choi Chan, Alan Chambers and Martin Hagon all winning two singles each. Cambridge IV beat Over III 7-3 although Bill Knibbs who was playing up from division four for the visitors, proved to be a tough nut to beat and he came away with three very good wins.

In division four Over IV beat Impington V 6-4 thanks to a maximum from Maurice Circus although he was pushed all the way by Gautam K R only just winning at deuce in the fifth game. Gautam won his other two singles and Mike Johnston also beat Ed Merola in five games and teamed up with Gautam to win the doubles for Impington's other points. Bassingbourn sit comfortably at the top of the division which they consolidated with a 9-1 victory at Impington VI.

RESULTS

DIV 1
St Georges II 0 Cambridge I 10
Haverhill 6 Cambridge I 4
St Georges I 10 Impington I 0
NCI 10 Soham II 0
St Ives I 6 St Ives II 4

DIV 2
St Georges III 3 Cambridge III 7
Cambridge II 3 Over I 7
Over II 2 Impington III 8
Impington II 8 RCG Stapleford 2
St Ives III 8 NCI II 2

DIV 3
Cambridge IV 7 Over III 3
Soham III 4 Haverhill II 6
CIBA 4 Priory 6

DIV 4
Over IV 6 Impington V 4
St Georges V 2 Cambridge V 8
St Ives V 7 St Ives VI 3
Impington VI 1 Bassingbourn 9

14 Nov 2010

St Neots laid down a marker for their challenge St Georges in division one with an emphatic 9-1 victory over third place NCI. With new recruits in Matt Ware, ranked in the top ten in England and Win Yan Chan teaming up with Shaun Hall, the leagues singles champion for the last two years, NCI found this a really tough match. Although there were some good matches Keith Richardson who was hampered by a back injury managed to overcome Chan for NCI's sole success and David Tiplady made Hall work hard in their match. Champions St Georges maintained a slim lead at the top of the league with an 8-2 win at Cambridge with Martin Gray and Steve Annison both recording maximums. Haverhill without the services of Rob Cushen played with only two players and found the handicap too much to overcome as they went down 3-7 to St Ives II.

In division two Over I drew 5-5 with second placed St Ives III with Roger Fensom, as steady as ever, winning three singles for Over. Alan Fitzgerald and Joe Thorogood responded well by winning two each for St Ives. NCI II also drew 5-5 with St Georges III in another tight match with St Georges Mark Lillyman emerging as man of the match with three wins. After several tight encounters with many of the matches going to five games Impington III finally battled through to beat NCI III 7-3. Tracey Sambrooks return to form saw her win three games and she was well supported by Helen Arnold with two wins and Colin Adams one before the two girls teamed up for another five game match to win the doubles 12-10 in the fifth.

Cambridge IV with Mike Fricker starting to fire on all cylinders drew with Soham III 5-5 in a good match. Ian Boggie played pretty well for Soham but was undone by the trickery of Jon Chapman. In a match which no one player dominated resulted in St Georges IV going down at home to CIBA 4-6 with Peter Hutchison and Harris Ryder winning two each for St Georges and Cliff McKay and Martin Touhey two each for CIBA.

In division four the clash between two unbeaten teams saw Cambridge V come out on top 6-4 against Over IV with Nilesh Patel continuing his impressive form with a maximum. St Ives V recorded a 10-0 whitewash over St Georges VI to move to the top of the league by a single point although Bassingbourn in second place do have a game in hand.

RESULTS

DIV 1
NCI 1 St Neots 9
Impington 8 Soham II 2
Cambridge I 2 St Georges I 8
Haverhill I 3 St Ives II 7
Soham I 10 St Georges II 0

DIV 2
Impington III 7 NCI III 3
NCI II 5 St Georges III 5
Over I 5 St Ives III 5

DIV 3
St Georges IV 4 CIBA 6
Cambridge IV 5 Soham III 5
Haverhill II 9 Impington IV 1
Over III 8 Sawston 2

DIV 4
Cambridge V 6 Over IV 4
St Georges VI 0 St Ives V 10

21 Nov 2010

Impington I pulled off the performance of the week by beating NCI I 9-1 in division one with Mirek Pazezior, Dave Rowell and Reno Phyo all recording maximums against David Tiplady, Robert Swift and Paul Wood. The Mohan family are now beginning to establish themselves in the top league and recorded a useful 7-3 victory against Cambridge I. Christian and Kieran Mohan played very well to beat Li Wei in five sets with Kieran remaining unbeaten on the night. St Ives I seem to be returning to form recording an 8-2 victory at Soham I with Simon Pryke and Alan Smith both recording maximums. Luckless St Georges II lost 10-0 to St Neots who have regained top spot.

In division two St Ives III beat RCG Stapleford 7-3 with Alan Fitzgerald again winning his three singles and they are now level on points at the top of division two with Impington II who beat Cambridge II 6-4. Tony Comiskey recorded a maximum for Impington whilst Bob Pettit was unlucky to break his bat in his first game necessitating the need to play with an unfamiliar one. Over II had a very hard fought match against NCI II finding themselves 1-3 down before emerging 6-4 winners. The turning points came when Matt Allen beat Kelvin Mitchell in five games and Ray Allen beat Martin Cadman. St Georges entertained Over I and after going 2-1 up with Dave Oates beating Rod Hatton and Rob Pownall beating Yvette Hooks but from then on it was all downhill and Over emerged 8-2 winners. In another close game NCI III lost 4-6 to Cambridge III with the match in the balance until the final singles between Tony Whiting and Ju Young who had both won two singles. Ju eventually came out on top in the fifth game.

Junior Harris Ryder was on top form with a maximum as St Georges IV comprehensively beat Soham III 8-2, Howard Middleton and Hamish Ryder gave good support with two wins each whilst Neil Abram won two for Soham.

RESULTS

DIV 1
Soham II 7 Cambridge 1 3
Impington I 9 NCI I 1
Soham I 2 St Ives I 8
St Georges II 0 St Neots 10

DIV 2

St Georges III 2 Over I 8
NCI III 4 Cambridge III 6
Over II 6 NCI II 4
St Ives III 7 RCG Stapleford 3
Cambridge II 4 Impington II 6

DIV 3
Soham III 2 St Georges IV 8
CIBA 6 St Ives IV 4

DIV 4
Bassingbourn 7 St Ives V 3
Over IV 10 St Ives VI 0
St Georges V 3 St Georges VI 7

28 Nov 2010

Haverhill were back to full strength for their match with Soham in division one and as it ebbed and flowed; it was not until the eighth game until they opened up a two game lead before going on to win 7-3. Tony Reardon of Haverhill was the only unbeaten player on the night whilst Soham's Martin Freeland beat Rob Cushen and Maria Boulton. Li Wei recorded a maximum for Cambridge in their match against Impington I but could not prevent his side losing 6-4 with Mirek Pazezior and Reno Phyo winning two each for the visitors. NCI returned to winning ways beating bottom team St Georges II 9-1 whilst St Ives II with three wins by Reuan Williams defeated Soham II 7-3.

Division two saw a top of the table clash between Impington II and St Ives III with Impington coming out on top 8-2 to remain in first place. Jan Hryca recorded another maximum for Impington supported by two wins each from Tony Comiskey and Bob Pettit. Alan Fitzgerald won St Ives points including inflicting a first defeat of the season on Comiskey. Over II gained a very respectable 5-5 draw with their first team with Terry Edward being the man of the match with wins over Roger Fensom, Pat Amps and Yvette Hooks. Matt Allen gave good support with one win and Edwards and Ray Allen won the doubles.

Leaders Priory lost 4-6 in a closely fought match with St Georges IV in division three with Howard Middleton and Harris Ryder winning two each and the doubles to clinch the match for the Saints. Ray Thorpe won two for Priory but lost for the first time this season to Middleton. Maximums for Andrew Driver and Neil Farlie were enough to give Haverhill II a narrow 6-4 win at Cambridge IV whilst another of the top teams, Over III, had a comfortable 9-1 success at CIBA>

Cambridge V beat Impington V 6-4 in a competitive match in division four to continue their unbeaten start to the season thanks to another maximum from Nilesh Patel and two from Tony Clarke. Gautum K R won two and Mike Johnston and Amy Catlin one each for Impington. Bassingbourn without Val Parkes lost 4-6 to St Georges V who had Clare McRae, with a maximum, to thank for the narrow win.

RESULTS

DIV 1
Soham I 3 Haverhill I 7
Cambridge  I 4 Impington I 6
NCI 9 St Georges II 1
St Ives II 7 Soham II 3

DIV 2
Impington II 8 St Ives III 2
Over I 5 Over II 5

DIV 3
St Georges IV 6 Priory 4
CIBA 1 Over III 9
Cambridge IV 4 Haverhill II 6

DIV 4
Cambridge V 6 Impington V 4
Bassingbourn 4 St Georges V 6
Impington VI 1 St Ives V 9
St Georges VI 5 Over IV 5

5 Dec 2010

St Georges I and St Neots, the top two teams in division one, both recorded comfortable 9-1 victories in their battle for the honours against Soham I and Haverhill I respectively. St Georges new signing, Tony West returned to the Cambridge League after an absence of 18 years and won all his singles whilst Soham's sole victory came from the ever improving Martin Freeland over Andrew Dosher. Haverhill's had to wait until the double for their point against St Neots with Maria Boulton and Rob Cushen beating Shaun Murray and Shaun Hall in five games. St Ives I also recorded a 9-1 success against St Georges II with St Georges only win coming from Mick Runswick who beat Leon Rogers in five games.

In division two St Ives III beat Cambridge II 6-4 with a maximum from the ever reliable Alan Fitzgerald who received good support from Joe Thorogood with two wins. Three wins by Nigel Bates were not enough to prevent a 6-4 defeat to Over II for whom Terry Edwards and Matt Allen both won two singles and Ray Allen one. A weakened Impington III lost 7-3 to Cambridge III with a maximum from Ju Young, including a straight sets win over Jeff Catlin, providing the cornerstone to Cambridge's win. Impington III then got back to winning ways when cruising to a 9-1 victory against relegation zone opponents NCI II. Tracey Sambrook and Jeff Catlin both recorded maximums for the home side against Martin Cadman, Kelvin Mitchell and Colin Taylor. Mitchell put up a good showing against Catlin before losing narrowly in the fifth game, whilst NCI's only point came from Taylor who beat Colin Adams in another close five game match. Top team Impington II came away from St Georges III with a 10-0 win to consolidate their position. St Georges III did however defeat RCG Stapleford 6-4 with a maximum from Rob Pownall and two wins by David Oates.

Haverhill II proved too strong for St Georges IV in division three recording a 7-3 success with three wins by Andrew Driver and two each for Neil Farlie and Colin Cushen. Five of the sets went to five games, including three at deuce in the fifth which all went Haverhill's way. Priory maintained their position at the top with a 9-1 demolition of St Ives IV with St Ives only success coming from Brian Asplin who defeated Ray Thorpe 16-15 in the fifth game. Kin Choi Chan and Robin Wallis, who remains unbeaten this season both recorded maximums for Priory. Two of the teams chasing Priory, Soham and Over II battled out a 5-5 draw with Owen Davies again proving to be man of the match with three wins for Over.

In division four top of the table Bassingbourn won 6-4 at Over IV with Derek Fuller recording a maximum for the visitors whilst Maurice Circus inflicted a first defeat of the season on Val Parkes. NCI IV went down 7-3 at home to Cambridge V with Mick Wells and Tony Clarke recording maximums for Cambridge although the most exiting match of the night was the double with NCI triumphing in the fifth game. Impington V beat a young and improving St Ives VI consisting of Ben Peach, Leon Davey and Ollie Loia 9-1 although there were some close entertaining games and it will not be long before the youngsters start to reverse some of the results they have been getting.

RESULTS

DIV 1
St Georges I 9 Soham I 1
Haverhill I 1 St Neots 9
St Ives I 9 St Georges II 1

DIV 2
Impington III 9 NCI II 1
St Georges III 0 Impington II 10
St Ives III 6 Cambridge II 4
Cambridge III 7 Impington III 3
Over II 6 RCG Stapleford 4
RCG Stapleford 4 St Georges III 6

DIV 3
St Georges IV 3 Haverhill II 7
Priory 9 St Ives IV 1
Sawston 1 Cambridge IV 9
Soham III 5 Over III 5

DIV 4
Impington V 9 St Ives VI 1
NCI IV 3 Cambridge V 7
Over IV 4 Bassingbourn 6
St Georges V 10 Impington VI 0

12 Dec 2010

The local derby between the two Soham teams in division one saw the second team emerge 6-4 victors in a closely fought match in which no player remained unbeaten on the night. Christian and Patrick Mohan both won two singles for the seconds whilst Andreas Elia did likewise for the firsts. Keith Richardson won his three singles for NCI I as they beat St Ives I 7-3 and he was well supported by David Tiplady and Rob swift who won two each. Mark Fisher and Simon Pryke recorded wins for the St Ives points. Haverhill I eased away from the relegation zone with a 10-0 win over bottom team St Georges II.

In division two RCG Stapleford gave their survival chances a boost with a 7-3 win over fellow strugglers NCI III thanks to maximums from Nigel and Danny Bates. Top team Impington II played with only two players due to a late family emergency for one of their players but they still managed to overcome Over II 7-3 to extend their lead at the top. Jan Hyrca and Bob Pettit both recorded maximums although Pettit was pushed all the way by Matt Allen before finally winning 13-11 in the fifth game of their match.

In the top of the table clash in division three Over III held Priory to a 5-5 draw with Owen Davies putting in a man of the match performance to win his three singles including one against the previously unbeaten Rob Wallis. Kin Choi Chan and Alan Chambers both won two for Priory to ensure the spoils were shared. Haverhill II beat Sawston 8-2 to remain in contention in second place with Andrew Driver gaining a maximum and Peter Driscoll and John Vale two wins each. Youngtser Yao Shi recorded two wins for Sawstons points. Impington IV continue to struggle and went down 8-2 at home to CIBA with the visitors wins coming from Martin Touhey with a maximum and two each from Gerald Blackaby and Cliff Mackay.

RESULTS

DIV 1
St Georges II 0 Haverhill I 10
NCI I 7 St Ives I 3
Soham I 4 Soham II 6

DIV 2
Impington II 7 Over II 3
RCG Stapleford 7 NCI III 3

DIV 3
Impington IV 2 CIBA 8
Haverhill II 8 Sawston 2
Over III 5 Priory 5

19 Dec 2010

St Neots continued their good form to maintain a healthy lead at the top of division one as they strive to record their first top division title with a comprehensive 9-1 victory against Soham II. The only blot on their performance came when Liam Mohan beat Chris Pickard. St Georges I who due to a player shortage had to call on the injured Martin Gray to make up the team as they beat their second string 10-0. He managed to cope with his injury well to win his three singles including a five set thriller against Andrew McGuire. Robert Swift's maximum backed up by David Tiplady's two wins saw NCI just ease past St Ives II 6-4 with Richard Wells winning two for the visitors. Mirek Pazdzior has proved a useful addition to Impington I and again won three for them in a 9-1 win against Soham I

In division two Ju Young's three wins and two from Caroline Wright were enough to see Cambridge III beat struggling NCI II 6-4 with Kelvin Mitchell winning two for NCI. Cambridge III also drew 5-5 at Over I and this time Mark Meunier gained a maximum whilst Terry Edwards and Roger Fensom won two each for the home side. Rob Pownall was the star of the night as he gained a maximum for St Georges III at St Ives III but could not prevent St Ives running out winners 7-3. Leaders Impington II maintained their push for promotion with a 9-1 victory against NCI III with the visitors only success coming from Tony Whiting.

Rhys Davies with three wins was the difference between the teams as Haverhill II beat St Ives IV 6-4 in division three. Soham III also recorded a narrow 6-4 win at Impington IV thanks to a maximum from Jon Audus whilst John Bray and Duncan Taylor both won two for the hosts. Another maximum man was Owen Davies but he could not prevent his team, Over II, from going down 4-6 to St Georges IV who had junior Harris Ryder and Peter Hutchison, with two wins each, to thank for most of their points.

Impington V managed a creditable 5-5 draw with top team Bassingbourn in division four thanks to two wins each for Gautum K R and Mike Johnston and one from Amy Catlin. However Derek Fuller with his top spin attack proved too consistent and won all three of his singles for Bassingbourn whilst the much improved Robbie McIntyre chipped in with one. Barbara Pace and Jill Fitzgerald won two games each as St Ives V were held at home 5-5 by St Georges V with Clare McRae winning her three singles for the visitors.

RESULTS

DIV 1
Impington I 9 Soham I 1
NCI I 6 St Ives II 4
St Neots 9 Soham II 1
St Georges II St Georges I 10

DIV 2
Cambridge III 6 NCI II 4
Over I 5 Cambridge III 5
Impington II 9 NCI III 1
St Ives III 7 St Georges III 3

DIV 3
Haverhill II 6 St Ives IV 4
Over III 4 St Georges IV 6
Impington IV 4 Soham III 6

DIV 4
Bassingbourn 5 Impington V 5
St Ives V 5 St Georges V 5

9 Jan 2011

The league resumed after the Christmas break with the second round of the handicap. One of the closest matches saw third division Impington IV push first division Soham II all the way by holding them to 3-3 before Soham finally wrapped up the match 5-3. The experienced Liam Mohan won all his games for Soham with sons Christian and Kieran winning one each. Duncan Taylor, Mike Friday and John Bray all won one for Impington. In another close match second division NCI III just edged out fourth division St Georges VI 5-4 thanks to a maximum from Tony Whiting and two wins by Howard Morley. NCI II also from the second division could not emulate their third team and went down 5-2 to Soham III of the third division. Two wins each by Neil Abrahams and Jon Audus and one from Martyn Heyes sealed Soham's win although Martin Cadman who beat both Abrahams and Audus did his best to keep NCI in the match. Although there were some close games CIBA managed to beat Impington V 7-2 with Impington's wins coming from Gautum K R who beat Gerald Blackaby and Mike Johnston who beat Tim Shelbourne.

In two of the other matches Impington III easily overcame a two man Cambridge IV 6-0 and Cambridge V had a walkover against St Ives V.

RESULTS
CIBA 7 Impington V 2
Impington III 6 Cambridge IV 0
Impington IV 3 Soham II 5
NCI II 2 Soham III 5
NCI III 5 St Georges VI 4

In the National Competitions, in the Wilmott Cup (men) Cambridge have been drawn in the Zonal Group against the Ipswich, Watford and Shaw (St Albans, Hatfield and Welwyn) leagues whilst in the Rose Bowl (women) Cambridge will have a really tough time as they have been drawn against North Herts, last seasons winners and Leicester, the previous seasons winners.

Both events are to take place at St Neots Table Tennis Club on Saturday 22nd January starting at 10.30 a.m.

16 Jan 2011

Leaders St Neots were held to a 5-5 draw at Impington in division one of the Cambridge and District League. St Neots Shaun Murray with a maximum was the man of the match although he was pushed all the way by Impington's Mirek Pazdzior before winning in five legs. Pazdzior went on to win his other two singles and was supported by Dave Rowell and Reno Phyo who won one singles each as did Daniel Fielding and Alex Facey for St Neots. St Georges I made up some ground on St Neots with a surprising 10-0 whitewash against St Ives I with Kevin Gray, Steve Trevanion and Tony west all recording maximums. Haverhill entertained NCI I consisting of Mick Harper, Dave Tiplady and Paul Wood just losing out 6-4. Harper won three for the visitors whilst Rob Cushen, Tony Reardon and Maria Boulton all beat Paul Wood and the hosts other win came when Reardon recovered from two games down in the best game of the night to beat Tiplady in five. Although struggling St Georges II went down heavily 10-0 at Soham II there was an impressive first division debut for junior Harris Ryder who was playing up from the third division. He played some fine attacking shots in taking games off both Liam and Patrick Mohan and has potential to become a very good player.

In division two Peters Zivtins won all three of his singles as Cambridge II beat NCI III 8-2 and was backed up by two wins each by James Nicholls and Rob Fincham. Howard Morley played very well to get NCI's points and only just lost in five games to Zivtins. Impington III entertained their second team in a local derby but could not prevent the league leaders recording an 8-2 win with Jan Hyrca winning three and Toney Comiskey and Bob Pettit two each whilst Jeff Catlin recorded the third team's two wins.

CIBA beat struggling Sawston 7-3 in division three thanks to a maximum from Gerald Blackaby and two wins each for Martin Touhey and Cliff Mackay with youngster Yao Shi getting two for Sawston. Soham III kept their promotion hopes alive with a 9-1 win against two man Cambridge IV. Cambridges only success coming from Aldo Galea who defeated Neil Abraham in five close games.

In the top of the table clash in division four Cambridge V came out on top 6-4 against Bassingbourn. With the match poised at 4-3 to Cambridge the top game featured Nilesh Patel for Cambridge against Bassingbourn's Derek Fuller both of who had only bean beaten once this season. With the match at two games all the fifth game ebbed and flowed before Patel finally triumphed 11-9 in an excellent game of Table Tennis. Val Parkes also won two games for Bassingbourn with Tony Clarke and Kwok Kee Chan one each for Cambridge. With Bassingbourn's defeat Over IV have taken over at the top of the division with a comprehensive 9-1 victory against St Ives V with St Ives' only success coming from Jill Fitzgerald who defeated Ed Merola in 5 games. Impington V overcame Impington VI 9-1 although Rod Smith making a return to the area pushed Gautum KR all the way before losing in five and he did win the sixth team's only point by defeating Amy Catlin in five games of a very entertaining match.

RESULTS
Div 1
Haverhill I 4 NCI I 6
Impington I 5 St Neots 5
St Georges I 10 St Ives I 0
Soham II 10 St Georges II 0

Div 2
NCI III 2 Cambridge II 8
Impington III 2 Impington II 8

Div 3
CIBA 7 Sawston 3
Soham III 9 Cambridge IV 1

Div 4
Cambridge V 6 Bassingbourn 4
Over IV 9 St Ives V 1

24 Jan 2011

Division one leaders St Neots recorded an 8-2 victory at home to Cambridge to consolidate their position at the top. Shaun Hall won three for the Saints whilst Lei Wei won Cambridge's points by beating Shaun Murray and Alex Facey. Last seasons champions, St Georges also won 8-2 at Haverhill to keep alive their hopes of retaining the title with maximums from Tony West and Kevin Gray with Haverhill's points coming from Rob Cushen and Maria Boulton who beat Andy Dosher in three games and five games respectively. Reaun Williams with three wins and two from Richard Wells ensured that St Ives II came away from Soham I with a 7-3 victory although Martin Freeland did win two for Soham. St Ives I had a close match with Soham II which resulted in a 5-5 draw with St Ives Simon Pryke the man of the match with three wins which were countered by Liam and Kieran Mohan winning two each for Soham. Impington I with Tony Comiskey playing up from the second division were still too strong for luckless St Georges II running out 10-0 winners.

In division two Impington III were held to a 5-5 draw by Cambridge II with Rob Fincham recording a maximum and Peters Zivtins one win and the pair teaming up to win the doubles. Jeff Catlin and Tracey Sambrook won two each for Impington and Colin Adams one as well as pushing Fincham all the way before losing out in the fifth game. Second placed St Ives III were held to a surprising 5-5 draw by struggling NCI III and although Alan Fitzgerald won three for St Ives, Tony Whiting and Jon Thackray won two each to ensure NCI had a share of the points. An on-form Ju Young won all three singles as Cambridge III beat RCG Stapleford 6-4 however he could not repeat the feat against Impington II in a 9-1 defeat. In a closely fought match St Georges III lost 4-6 to Over II with four of the matches going to five games. In the first of the night St Georges Mark Lillyman came back from two games down to beat Matt Allen in five but the match of the night was David Oates against Owen Davies. Four of the games went to deuce and in the fifth Oates was 10-8 up when Davies edged a winner and then at 13-12 edged another to win the match and secure a maximum. Kelvin Mitchell recorded NCI II's sole win as they went down at home to Over I 9-1.

Cambridge IV went in to a 2-0 lead against Priory in division three with wins for Mike Fricker over Alan Chambers and Jon Chapman over Rob Wallis but that was as good as it got as Priory recovered to go on and win 8-2 with a maximum from Ray Thorpe. In a match between two of the promotion hopefuls Haverhill II beat Over III 6-4 despite three wins for Over by Owen Davies. Two wins each for Andy Driver, Neil Farlie and Peter Driscoll in an all round performance saw Haverhill edge home. Impington IV gave their survival hopes a boost by beating St Georges IV 7-3 with John Bray recording a maximum and good support from Mike Friday and Duncan Taylor who won two each both losing out to Harris Ryder.

In division four Over IV maintained top spot by beating St Georges V 6-4 thanks mainly to three wins by Bill Knibbs. Gill Fitzgeralds maximum earnt a 5-5 draw for St Ives V against NCI IV whilst another maximum from Val Parkes helped Bassingbourn stay in touch at the top by beating St Ives VI 7-3. Nilesh Patel's three wins helped Cambridge V to an easy 8-2 victory over bottom team Impington VI although Rod Smith played well to win two for the losers.

RESULTS

Div 1
Haverhill I 2 St Georges I 8
St Neots 8 Cambridge I 2
Impington I 10 St Georges II 0
Soham I 3 St Ives II 7
St Ives I 5 Soham II 5

Div 2
Impington III 5 Cambridge II 5
Impington II 9 Cambridge III 1
St Ives III 5 NCI III 5
Cambridge III 6 RCG Stapleford 4
NCI II 1 Over I 9
St Georges III 4 Over II 6

Div 3
Cambridge IV 2 Priory 8
Over III 4 Haverhill II 6
Impington IV 7 St Georges IV 3

Div 4
Bassingbourn 7 St Ives VI 3
Impington VI 2 Cambridge V 8
St Ives V 5 NCI IV 5
Over IV 6 St Georges V 4

30 Jan 2011

Soham II beat Haverhill I, who were without Rob Cushen 6-4 to consolidate their place in mid table in division one. Two wins each by Liam and Kieran Mohan including good wins over Maria Boulton helped them to the win but neither had any answer to Haverhill's Tony Reardon who played well to win all of his games. Mirek Pazdzior continues to impress since joining Impington I with three wins, including an impressive four game success over Simon Pryke, to ensure that they beat St Ives I 6-4. A close win in five by Mark Fisher and the doubles enabled St Ives to keep the score respectable. A weakened St Ives II were no match for league leaders St Neots going down 10-0 whilst reigning champions St Georges slipped up and went down 6-4 to NCI. Cambridge I have moved to a new venue at Quy Village Hall and although there were lots of close games with six sets going to five games and four going to four games they beat luckless St Georges II 10-0.

In the local derby in division two Cambridge III drew 5-5 with Cambridge II with Marc Meunier starring for the third team with a maximum three wins. Rob Fincham and Peters Zivtins responded with two wins each for the seconds. Impington III had a very impressive 8-2 victory against St Ives III with both Jeff Catlin and Helen Arnold both winning three and Colin Adams two whilst Alan Fitzgerald won St Ives only singles victory. NCI III lost at home 7-3 to fellow strugglers St Georges III with Rob Pownall winning three and David Oates two for the 'Saints'. Impington II continue to lead the division with another 9-1 success at NCI II thanks to maximums from Jan Hryca and Toney Comiskey and two wins by Paul Grammer. NCI's sole victory coming from Nick Rains.
Over I with games in hand are still pushing for promotion and their 8-2 win against RCG Stapleford has enhanced their chances. Rod Hatton's three wins were the backbone of the win whilst Nigel Bates' two wins over Roger Fensom and Yvette Hooks secured Stapleford's two points.
In division three junior Harris Ryder won three as St Georges IV were held to a 5-5 draw by Cambridge IV. Mike Fricker and Nick Gatherer won two each for Cambridge. St Ives IV proved too strong for Impington IV and with three wins each for Paul Pilson and Brian Asplin they ran out comfortable 7-3 winners.

Impington V kept alive their promotion hopes by beating St Ives V 9-1. Anna Bridge returned to the team following an enforced break but played very well to win her three games. Mike Johnston also won three and Gautham K R two to secure the victory. Val Parkes three wins helped to earn a draw for Bassingbourn against St Georges VI whilst St Ives VI beat Impington VI 9-1.

RESULTS

Div 1
Soham II 6 Haverhill I 4
Cambridge I 10 St Georges II 0
St Ives II 0 St Neots 10
NCI I 6 St Georges I 4
Impington I 6 St Ives I 4

Div 2
NCI III 3 St Georges III 7
Over I 8 RCG Stapleford 2
Cambridge III 5 Cambridge II 5
NCI II 1 Impington II 9
Impington III 8 St Ives III 2

Div 3
St Georges IV 5 Cambridge IV 5
St Ives IV 7 Impington IV 3

Div 4
Impington V 9 St Ives V 1
Bassingbourn 5 St Georges VI 5
St Ives VI 9 Impington VI 1

6 Feb 2011

In division one Cambridge I picked up a useful four points in their bid to escape relegation at St Ives I with Li Wei winning two singles but he could not overcome Simon Pryke who won three for the home team and was the difference as they won 6-4. Impington I were a player short when they visited Haverhill but the home team could not capitalize as Impington won all the games played to record a 7-3 victory with Mirek Pazdzior and Reno Phyo gaining maximums and teaming up to win the doubles. Soham I lost 8-2 when they entertained NCI I, who included both Keith Richardson and Mick Harper in their line-up, and had to settle for a win each by Martin Freeland and Andreas Elia over David Tiplady. Andrew Maguire beat Joe Thorogood but two man St Georges II were well beaten by St Ives II 9-1.

Unbeaten Impington II had to comeback from 4-0 down in division two to beat Over I 6-4 to maintain their record as two wins by Roger Fensom and one each for Owen Davies and Pat Amps got Over off to a flier. Impington then responded with two wins each for Jan Hryca and Tony Comiskey and one from Bob Pettit as well as the doubles to complete the comeback against a team who are also pressing for promotion. Impington III who also have an outside chance of promotion played struggling St Georges III emerging winners by 6-4. Helen Arnold and Tracey Sambrook both beat David oats and Rob Pownall and Colin Adams who also beat Oates but non of them could overcome Mark Lillyman who was the man of the match with a maximum for St Georges. St Ives III stay in second place by virtue of an 8-2 victory against Cambridge III with a maximum from Alan Fitzgerald and two each from Brian Freer and Joe Thorogood whilst Ju Young won the two points for Cambridge.

In division three leaders Priory easily beat bottom club Sawston 9-1 with maximums from Ray Thorpe and Kin Choi Chan and Sawston playing with only two players fared little better as they also went down 8-2 to St Georges IV. Over III kept alive their promotion hopes with a comprehensive 9-1 success against another of the struggling teams Impington IV as did Soham III who, with maximums from Jon Audus and Ian Boggie, beat CIBA 7-3. In a close match Cambridge IV just lost 6-4 to St Ives IV who had Greg Zeiba with three wins to thank for the win.

The top of the table clash in division four saw Over IV beat Cambridge V 6-4 with two wins each for Bill Knibbs and Maurice circus although neither had any answer to Cambridge's Nilesh Patel who won three. Patel was again on form in winning all his singles as Cambridge V also won 6-4 at St Ives V. Another of the promotion contenders Impington V came away with a 6-4 win at St Georges V although Clare Macrae kept the score respectable for the Saints with three wins. Bottom club Impington VI lost 9-1 at home to St Georges VI with their sole success coming from junior Howard Leek making his debut.

RESULTS

Div 1
Haverhill I 3 Impington I 7
St Ives I 6 Cambridge I 4
Soham I 2 NCI I 8
St Georges II 1 St Ives II 9

Div 2
Impington III 6 St Georges III 4
St Ives III 8 Cambridge III 2
Impington II 6 Over I 4

Div 3
CIBA 3 Soham III 7
Impington IV 1 Over III 9
Priory 9 Sawston 1
Sawston 2 St Georges IV 8
Cambridge IV 4 St Ives IV 6

Div 4
Over IV 6 Cambridge V 4
St Georges V 4 Impington IV 6
Impington VI 1 St Georges VI 9
St Ives V 4 Cambridge V 6

13 Feb 2011

In a match that saw five of the sets go to five games, Impington I held St Georges I to a 5-5 draw in division one. Steve Annison was the only unbeaten player on the night with three wins for St Georges although he was pushed all the way by Impingtons Mirek Pazdzior who also beat Kevin Gray in five close games. Dave Rowell and Reno Phyo both defeated Andy Dosher and teamed up to overcome Annison and Gray 13-11 in the fifth game of the doubles to ensure the draw for Impington. Haverhill I travelled to Cambridge I and Rob Cushen recorded an excellent maximum over the Cambridge Trio of Li Wei, Terry Lane and Andy Merritt, the best of which was a thrilling win in five games against Wei. Maria Boulton picked up two wins in beating Merritt and Lane whilst new signing Gracjan Sen also beat Lane in five games which ensure a 6-4 win for Haverhill. Two wins each for Liam, Patrick and Kieran Mohan enabled Soham II to record a useful 6-4 victory at NCI I although none of them could overcome David Tiplady who recorded a maximum for the home side.

In division two Over I beat fellow promotion challengers Cambridge II 9-1 with maximums from Roger Fensom and Yvette Hooks, with Cambridge's sole success coming from James Nicholls who beat Pat Amps. Impington III beat Over II 8-2 with three wins for Jeff Catlin and two each for Helen Arnold and Colin Adams to maintain their outside chance of finishing second whilst Kelvin Mitchell and Nick Rains played extremely well for NCI II to record maximums against St Ives III in a surprise 7-3 victory. Runaway leaders Impington II, who were without two of their regular players, still managed to beat RCG Stapleford 7-3 with John Bray stepping in to help out and gaining a useful win over Chris Badger.

Haverhill II moved to the top of division three with a crushing 9-1 victory against Soham III thanks to maximums from Peter Driscoll and Gracjan Sen and Over III beat Cambridge IV 8-2. Owen Davies won his usual three for Over and Ian and Jon Francis two each although neither of them could get the better of Mike Fricker. Three wins each for Greg Zieba and Paul Pilson gave St Ives IV a 7-3 victory against struggling Sawston.

Although without the services of Nilesh Patel Cambridge V moved to joint top of division four by beating St Georges V 6-4 with two wins each for Tony Clarke, Kwok Kee Chan and Mick Wells, although non of them could beat Margaret Chambers who recorded a maximum for the 'saints'. In the top of the table clash Impington V came off second best going down 8-2 to Over IV with their two wins coming from Gautam KR who played well to beat both Maurice Circus and Ed Merola. The local derby between St Ives VI and St Ives V resulted in a win for the sixth team with a maximum for Nick Bennett, two wins for Ollie Loia and one for Ben Peach. Three wins each for Val Parkes and Derek Fuller enabled Bassingbourn to beat bottom team Impington VI whose two points came from Geoff Hudson and Tim Leek with wins over Peter Gale.

RESULTS

Div 1
Cambridge I 4 Haverhill I 6
Impington I 5 St Georges I 5
NCI I 4 Soham II 6

Div 2
Over I 9 Cambridge II 1
Impington III 8 Over II 2
NCI II 7 St Ives III 3
RCG Stapleford 3 Impington II 7

Div 3
Over III 8 Cambridge IV2
Haverhill II 9 Soham III 1
St Ives IV 7 Sawston 3
Bassingbourn 8 Impington VI 2
Impington V 2 Over IV 8
St Ives VI 7 St Ives V 3

20 Feb 2011

In a disappointing match that saw St Ives II turn up with only two players at Haverhill in division one. the home side ran out comfortable 9-1 winners through Rob Cushen, Tony Reardon and Maria Boulton. St Ives sole success coming from Reuan Williams who beat Boulton.

In division two St Ives III drew 5-5 with promotion chasing Over I although Over also suffered from a player shortage with Yvette Hooks failing to arrive due to a blocked road in St Ives following a traffic accident. Rod Hatton recorded a maximum and Roger Fensom two wins for Over whilst St Ives Joe Thorogood won two. Impington III maintained their outside chance of promotion by beating relegation threatened NCI III 8-2 with Tracey Sambrook winning three and Jeff Catlin and Colin Adams two each. The surprise of the evening was NCI's John Thackray who managed to beat Jeff Catlin. In a relegation battle St Georges III went down 6-4 to NCI II. Kelvin Mitchell won three and Martin Cadman two for NCI with perhaps the game of the night being Cadman's 12-10, 12-10, 6-11, 19-17 victory over Dave Oates.

In division four Impington V kept up their promotion challenge with an 8-2 win over NCI IV thanks to three wins by Anna Bridge and two each from Mike Johnston and Amy Catlin whilst Jon Taylor won NCI's two points.

In the quarter final of the Handicap Cup second division Impington III came out on top 5-2 against first division Soham II. Impington got of to a flier with wins by Jeff Catlin against Liam Mohan, Tracey Sambrook against Kieran Mohan and Helen Arnold against Christian Mohan before Liam pulled one back against Sambrook. Catlin then extended Impingtons lead to 4-1 with a win over Christian before Kieran then again reduced the arrears with a win over Arnold. Sambrook then played very patiently to hold off Christian in a tight game to seal the match for Impington.

RESULTS

Div 1
Haverhill I 9 St Ives II 1

Div 2
Impington III 8 NCI III 2
St Ives III 5 Over III 5
St Georges III 4 NCI II 6

Div 4
NCI IV 2 Impington V 8

Handicap Quarter Final
Impington III 5 Soham II 2

28 Feb 2011

With it being the school half term there were few scheduled fixtures although some teams took the opportunity to catch up with outstanding games. In division one St Neots brought out their big guns to beat NCI I 7-3 and consolidate their position at the top of the league. Three wins each for Matt Ware and Shaun Hall were pretty predictable for St Neots although Keith Richardson and Robert Swift both beat Colin Luscombe. St Georges I kept up the pressure on St Neots by beating Cambridge I 8-2 although Steve Annison was surprisingly beaten by both Li Wei and Terry Lane.

Simon Pryke won his three singles comfortably as St Ives I overcame Impington I 6-4. Impingtons wins came from Mirek Pazdzior and Reno Phyo who won two each but the normally reliable Dave Rowell had an off night and lost to both Alan Smith and Mark Fisher.

In division two Cambridge II suffered from only having two players and went down 7-3 to RCG Stapleford a result that helps the winners in their quest to remain in the division. In a very close match with lots of deuce games Over II just lost to St Ives III although Matt and Ray Allen had good wins over Alan Fitzgerald.

Impington V played their reverse fixture with NCI IV having beaten them 8-2 a couple of weeks previously and this time ran out 10-0 winners. Anna Bridge, Gautum K R, and Mike Johnston all recorded maximums and the result puts Impington back on track for promotion.

Two matches were played in the quarter finals of the Handicap Cup with St Georges I overcoming NCI III 5-1. Kevin Gray overcame his handicap deficit to win two games whilst fifth team player Margaret Chambers, playing up due to a shortage of first team players, used her handicap well to also win two. NCI's sole win came from Syd Dunster who beat Steve Trevanion. In the other match Nilesh Patel proved to be the difference between the sides as his three wins ensured that Cambridge V overcame St Georges IV 5-3.

RESULTS

Div 1
NCI I 3 St Neots 7
St Georges I 8 Cambridge I 2
St Ives I 6 Impington I 4

Div 2
RCG Stapleford 7 Cambridge II 3
Over II 4 St Ives III 6

Div 4
Impington V 10 NCI IV 0

HANDICAP CUP QF
NCI III 1 St Georges I 5
St Georges IV 3 Cambridge V 5

6 Mar 2011

St Georges I, who have been without Martin Gray for most of the season, are seeing their grip on the first division title slowly slipping away. Although they beat St Ives II 7-3 with maximums from both Kevin Gray and Steve Trevanion they lost a rearranged match with Haverhill I 6-4. The highlight of this match was an excellent maximum for Tony Reardon including a first ever win over Kevin Gray in straight games. Cambridge I boosted their survival hopes with a 7-3 success against Soham II thanks to an all round team performance with three wins for Li Wei, two for Andy Merritt and one from Terry Lane.

In division two Over I, who have matches in hand, look favorites to join Impington II and gain promotion to the top division following a 10-0 whitewash against struggling St Georges III. Leaders Impington II had an easy 9-1 win against Cambridge II who once again paid the penalty of only having two players. A maximum from Nigel Bates and good support from Chris Badger with two wins and Danny Bates with one gave RCG Stapleford a valuable 6-4 win over St Ives III and they now look likely to avoid relegation.

In the top of the table clash in division three, Haverhill II came out on top with an emphatic 8-2 victory over Priory. Recent signing Gracjan Sen with three wins and two each for Andy Driver and Rhys Davies have given Haverhill a chance of beating Priory to the title. Struggling Impington IV recorded their best win of the season when they beat Cambridge IV 8-2 with John Bray and Mike Friday winning three each and Cambridge's sole singles win coming from Mike Fricker who beat Duncan Taylor in five games. In a mid-table clash honors were shared 5-5 between St Georges IV and Soham III. Man of the match was Soham's Ian Boggie with a maximum whilst Harris Ryder and Howard Middleton both won two each for St Georges.

In division four Cambridge V moved to the top of the league with a 10-0 success against NCI IV whilst maximums from Derek Fuller and Val Parkes paved the way for Bassingbourn's 8-2 win over St Ives V. In the local derby between St Georges VI and St Georges V, three wins from Clare Macrae, two from Anne Chambers with the two then combining to win the doubles, the fifth team came out on top 6-4.

RESULTS

Div 1
St Georges I 4 Haverhill I 6
Cambridge I 7 Soham II 3
St Georges I 7 St Ives II 3

Div 2
Impington II 9 Cambridge II 1
Over I 10 St Georges III 0
RCG Stapleford 6 St Ives III 4

Div 3
Impington IV 8 Cambridge IV 2
Haverhill II 8 Priory 2
St Georges IV 5 Soham III 5
St Ives IV 9 CIBA 1

Div 4
Bassingbourn 8 St Ives V 2
Cambridge V 10 NCI IV 0
St Georges VI 4 St Georges V 6

13 Mar 2011

St Neots brushed aside St Ives I 8-2 in division one with a maximum from Shaun Murray and two wins each for Alex Facey and Julian Tee whilst Simon Pryke recorded St Ives' two victories. Although champions St Georges beat St Ives II 7-3 with three wins each by Kevin Gray and Steve Trevanion, St Neots only require seven more points from their remaining two fixtures to win the league for the first time. Haverhill I disposed of Soham I 8-2 with maximums from Rob Cushen and Tony Reardon with Soham's points coming from Martin Freeland who beat Maria Boulton in straight games and Clive Woollard who also beat Boulton but was pushed all the way before coming out on top 14-12 in the fifth game. This defeat has left Soham struggling in the bottom two with relegation looming. Junior Harris Ryder secured his first win in this division whilst playing up for St Georges II against NCI I with a 12-10 success in the fifth game against Paul Wood although NCI ran out winners 7-3. Another treble from Mirek Pazdzior and two wins each for Dave Rowell and Reno Phyo enabled Impington to beat Cambridge I 8-2.

In division two a first ever win by Ray Allen over Roger Fensom and two wins by Terry Edwards against Fensom and Yvette Hooks could not prevent Over II losing out 7-3 to their first team for whom Pat Amps was in good form winning three singles. Matt Allen was the unlucky player for Over II as he broke his bat in the warm-up and had to play with a borrowed one, consequently losing all three of his games. Three wins by Alan Fitzgerald saw St Ives III beat league leaders Impington II 6-4 for their first defeat of the season. Impington's points came from Toney Comiskey and Bob Pettit with two wins each but with Jan Hryca returning from a business trip they should secure the seven points needed to secure top spot in the division from their remaining two games. Impington III beat Cambridge III 8-2 with maximums from Helen Arnold and Jeff Catlin whilst Tracey Sambrook had an off night and was beaten by both Jim Reary and Marc Meunier. St Georges III drew 5-5 with RCG Stapleford to ease their relegation worries thanks to two wins each from Mark Lillyman and Rob Pownall although neither could overcome Nigel Bates who won three for the visitors. A maximum from Kelvin Mitchell enabled NCI II to beat NCI III 7-3 in their local derby.

Sawston beat Impington IV 6-4 with Yao Shi's maximum proving the difference between the sides, a result that does not help either of them at the foot of division three. St Ives IV managed to overcome Soham III 7-3 with three wins from Paul Pilson and two from Greg Zieba whilst Over III easily beat CIBA 9-1 with Ian Francis and Owen Davies both recording maximums.

In division four two of the promotion hopefuls, Impington V and Cambridge V met in a top of the table clash which turned out to be an anti-climax with Cambridge winning easily 9-1. Nilesh Patel and Kwok Kee Chan won three each for Cambridge whilst Anna Bridge beat Jim Carswell for Impington's sole victory.

RESULTS

Div 1
Impington I 8 Cambridge I 2
Haverhill I 8 Soham I 2
St Georges II 3 NCI I 7
Soham II 5 St Ives II 5
St Ives II 3 St Georges I 7
St Ives I 2 St Neots 8

Div 2
Over II 3 Over I 7
NCI II 7 NCI III 3
Impington III 8 Cambridge III 2
St Ives III 6 Impington II 4
St Georges III 5 RCG Stapleford 5

Div 3
CIBA 1 Over III 9
Sawston 6 Impington IV 4
Soham III 3 St Ives IV 7

Div IV
Impington V 1 Cambridge V 9
St Georges V 10 Bassingbourn 0
St Ives V 9 Impington VI 1
Over IV 10 St Georges VI 0

20 Mar 2011

St Neots visited Haverhill I in division one and came away with a comprehensive 9-1 victory with their only reverse coming when Tony Reardon beat Daniel Fielding in four games. The result means that with one match remaining St Neots cannot be caught at the top of the league and they will be crowned champions for the first time thus ending St Georges' five year winning streak. Relegated St Georges II had new player, Arron Self to thank for two wins as they went down 7-3 at home to St Ives I whilst St Ives II lost by the same score at home to Impington I. Dave Rowell secured a maximum for Impington including beating Reaun Wlliams in the only five game encounter of the night and Reno Phyo also won two for the visitors with Williams winning his other two singles for the home team.

In division two Impington II also secured the title with one match to spare by whitewashing St Georges III 10-0 a result that leaves St Georges in a perilous position third from bottom. Over I strengthened their position in second place when they beat NCI III 8-2 with maximums from Roger Fensom and Yvette Hooks whilst Tony Whiting and Syd Dunster both beat Ray Allen for NCI's points. Alan Fitzgerald with another maximum proved the difference between the two sides as St Ives III came away with a 6-4 victory against Cambridge II.

Haverhill II consolidated their position at the top of division three with an emphatic 10-0 victory over St Georges IV but Priory with a game in hand could still catch them after coming away from St Ives IV with a 7-3 success. Cambridge IV with two wins each for Mike Fricker, Doug Cowling and Jon Chapman beat bottom team Sawston 7-3 but none of them could cope with youngster Yao Shi who had an excellent night for Sawston. Ian Boggie was in fine form as his maximum, including inflicting a rare defeat on Owen Davies, enabled Soham III to beat Over III 6-4.

Over IV remain favourites to clinch the fourth division crown despite narrowly losing 6-4 to Bassingbourn when they came up against an in form Derek Fuller with three wins and two from Val Parkes. Impington V look set to finish third following their 8-2 win over two man St Ives VI whilst St Georges VI beat NCI Iv 6-4 in a closely fought match with Juan Matilla-Rodriguez winning three for the victors.

RESULTS

Div 1
St Neots 9 Haverhill I 1
St Ives II 3 Impington I 7
St Georges II 3 St Ives I 7

Div 2
Cambridge II 4 St Ives III 6
Impington II 10 St Georges III 0
Over I 8 NCI III 2

Div 3
Cambridge IV 7 Sawston 3
Haverhill II 10 St Georges IV 0
Over III 4 Soham III 6

Div 4
St Ives VI 2 Impington V 8
Bassingbourn 6 Over IV 4
St Georges VI 6 NCI IV 4

28 Mar 2011

With St Neots already crowned champions in division one it was something of an anti-climax when they visited second placed St Georges in their final match of the season. Owing to injury St Neots only had two players but with Shaun Murray and Julian Tee both winning two singles and combining to win the doubles they still managed to draw 5-5 although Tony West did win two singles for the hosts. Soham I had a much needed 8-2 win over their second team with maximums from Martin Freeland and Andreas Elia plus a brace from Tony Everitt which is probably enough to ensure their first division status. Haverhill I entertained St Georges II and despite three wins by Arron Self the home side triumphed 7-3.

In division two three wins by Jeff Catlin were not enough to prevent Over I from winning 6-4 at Impington, a win that virtually ensures they will gain promotion in second place. NCI II's 7-3 victory against Cambridge II means that they have escaped relegation by one point as, despite a good performance by Mark Lillyman with a maximum and two each wins each by Rob Pownall and Dave Oates in St Georges III 8-2 victory also against Cambridge II, they have fallen short of safety by one point. Tony Whiting played well with three wins for NCI III in their 5-5 draw with RCG Stapleford but they are still destined for the drop.

Haverhill II consolidated their position at the top of division three with an 8-2 victory at Sawston with Gracjan Sen winning three whilst Yao Shi won Sawston's points when beating Andy Driver and Peter Driscol. Priory had a 10-0 walk over against Over III, a result that leaves them just seven points behind Haverhill with a game to play.

In division four Over IV clinched the title with a 10-0 whitewash against Impington VI whilst fellow promotion hopefuls Cambridge V were held to a 5-5 draw by St Ives VI.

RESULTS

Div 1
Haverhill I 7 St Georges II 3
Soham II 2 Soham I 8
St Georges I 5 St Neots 5

Div 2
St Georges III 8 Cambridge II 2
Over II 3 Impington II 7
NCI II 3 Impington III 7
Cambridge II 3 NCI II 7
NCI III 5 RCG Stapleford 5
Impington III 4 Over I 6

Div 3
CIBA 7 Impington IV 3
Sawston 2 Haverhill II 8
Priory 10 Over III 0 w/o
St Georges IV 4 St Ives IV 6

Div 4
Cambridge V 5 St Ives VI 5
Over IV 10 Impington VI 0

19 Apr 2011

Cambridge & District Table Tennis League Handicap Final

The Cambridge League drew to a close with the final of the Handicap Cup played at Fulbourn between last seasons runners up, Impington III from Division Two, and Cambridge V from the fourth division. Impington took an early 2-0 lead with wins by Jeff Catlin (Handicap +4) in two straight games over Jim Carswell (+7) and a tense and close encounter between Tracey Sambrook (+9) against Kwok Kee Chan (+13) which Sambrook won 31-29 in the third game. Nilesh Patel (+12), who was arguably given a generous handicap,then got Cambridge back in the game with a straight games win over Helen Arnold(+9) before Sambrook restored Impingtons lead to 3-1 with a well earned victory over Carswell. Patel then brought Cambridge back to 2-3 by beating Catlin in three games but Arnold then restored Impingtons lead to 4-2 with another staright games success over Chan. Cambridge then staged a fightback and with Patel gaining his third win of the evening against Sambrook and Carswell recovering from a set down to beat Arnold in three games the match was squared at 4-4. It was then left to Catlin to overcome his handicap deficit which he did with some style to beat Chan in straight games.

Impington III (L to R, Helen Arnold, Tracey Sambrook and Jeff Catlin)

Cambridge V (L to R, Jim Carswell, Kwok Kee Chan and Nilesh Patel).