Results

Division 1

History was made this week in both divisions with some exciting results.

In division 1 there was a shock defeat for Wiveliscombe to their visiting neighbours, Roy’s Boys. The teams were neck and neck throughout and in the final analysis there were no fewer than 10 deuce sets. For the home team Ben Cooper led the way with 7 points. Dennis Buckingham put in a sterling performance for his 6, and the singles were rounded off with 4 points scored by Mike Cooper. The doubles were closely contested, with the hosts prevailing with a score of 8. Wiveliscombe ended the evening with 25 points meaning that they will need to exploit all opportunities in later matches if they are going to have a realistic chance of regaining their crown this season.

Roy’s Boys kept the pressure on their opponents all evening. It was Di Garner who provided a dazzling display with her pimples that managed to bamboozle the home team. The result was an excellent maximum and the player of the match award for Di. Barry Hooper was also on form and missed his maximum by just one point. Roy Hooper concluded the singles tally with a solid 4 points. With 6 doubles points gained, Roy’s Boys had an historic victory with 27 points helping them climb higher in the division 1 table.

Records show that this is the first victory for Roy’s Boys against Wiveliscombe for perhaps 20 years or more.

Current second placed Basement Dwellers were looking to claw back some of the lead of their visitors, Gnomads. Throughout the singles all the Basement Dwellers’ team members played consistently. Paul Rees was the star performer this week with an excellent 8 points and was well supported by the hard-hitting Toby Kerslake with 7. Vince Court’s hard bat was perhaps a little too challenging this week, but it did score 6 points. With 6 doubles points added, Basement Dwellers completed their victory with 27 points.

Gnomads provided stubborn resistance and captain, Martin Rant, was on top form with the only maximum of the match to earn the player of the match award. Nigel Foster was restricted to 4 this week, with Derek Mayall adding the final 2 singles points. A further 4 doubles points meant Gnomads ended the evening with 19 points – sufficient for them to retain their leadership of division 1.

Division 2

Another close-fought Minehead derby took place when Allsorts challenged Minehead Breakaways. The ambidextrous Sifa Vea was the standout player for Allsorts with 7 points, earning him the player of the match award. Steve Palmer added a solid 5 and Mike Lawrie opened his account for this season with the remaining 3 points. Barbara Parker was the doubles specialist for the evening, helping the team to 5 doubles points. Final score for Allsorts – 20 points.

Although there was nothing between the scores of each team throughout the match Breakaways seemed to have the edge with their consistency. Both Andy Berry and Kerry Manicom scored 7 points apiece and Arnould Guilliard added the final 3 singles points. Breakaways got the better of the doubles with 6, giving them a win with a total of 23 points.

Drifters got their season underway when they entertained Hawks. Andrew Miles led the way for the home team with a fine 7. Liz Fletcher added the remaining singles points with 6. Jim Styles made a welcome return to competitive table tennis and helped Drifters to get the better of the doubles play. With 6 scored the match total for Drifters was 19.

Hawks play continues to improve as the junior members gain experience. Captain Mark Scyner scored a maximum for the player of the match award. History was however in the making as Alfie Southam scored an excellent 6 – missing out on several sets by the narrowest of margins. Nathaniel Southam had his best singles result of his career so far with 5 valuable points. Doubles specialist for the evening was Tom Lawrence.

History was again being made as Tom won his first 4 doubles points for the team. With a final score of 24, Hawks recorded their first league victory. Well done!....

Tables  

Division 1 

 Division 2