Results

Division 1

This week could prove pivotal for championship contenders, Wiveliscombe, as they played two matches on consecutive nights. These matches were against their nearest top-of-the-table rivals, so it was important for Wiveliscombe to gain a points advantage against both opponents. The first match was at home to House Martyns. John Edbrooke was on form and his unopposed maximum earned him the player of the match award. Valuable points started slipping away in the singles where sets were being decided by the minimum margin of two points. Ben Cooper scored 3, with Mike Cooper adding the final singles point. In the doubles the visitors dominated but Wiveliscombe managed 3 points to take their match tally to 16.

House Martyns played consistently throughout with Scott Milton scoring 6. Curtis King also added 6 as he battled to maintain his averages. Matt Lawrence put in a sterling performance with the final 5 singles points. The strength of the visitors’ game was in the doubles, where they scored a maximum. With 26 points for the match, House Martyns had a comfortable victory, raising their league position to second.

Wiveliscombe’s second crunch match of the week was away to Basement Dwellers. The home team was both on form and consistent as Basement Dwellers perceived this as their bid for the division 1 championship. It was the hard-hitting Toby Kerslake that led the evening’s campaign. Toby’s maximum earned him the player of the match award. Mike Vickery just missed his maximum with 8, and Vince Court, and his challenging bat, scored 7. There was nothing to separate the teams in the doubles. With 6 scored this gave Basement Dwellers a comprehensive victory with 30 points.

Wiveliscombe battled hard but, despite some 5-set thrillers, points kept slipping away. John Edbrooke led the way with 7 singles points and David Woodland and Paul Nutkins each scored 3. With no advantage in the doubles, Wiveliscombe ended the match with 19 points. After a hard-fought week, Wiveliscombe rose to third place but appear to have lost their way in the title race this season.

Final division 1 match this week was a foot of the table clash between White Horse and Roy’s Boys. This was not only a close affair but turned out to be a high scoring match due to the number of sets played. For the home side, Ian Rew led the way with an excellent 8 points. David Bryant added a solid 6 and Jamie Robertson completed the singles scoring with another 2. White Horse just missed a maximum in the doubles but, with 8 scored, their total rose to 24 for the match.

Consistency seems to be the watch word this week and Roy’s Boys demonstrated its importance. Di Garner impressed with her pimple play and narrowly missed her maximum. Her 8 points did however win her the player of the match award. Roy Hooper added an excellent 7 and Barry a solid 6 singles points. With a further 6 doubles points Roy’s Boys took a narrow victory with 27 points. The high match scores enabled both teams to close the points gap with the rest of the division.

Division 2

Drifters hosted Allsorts at the Lawns. Drifters never got going and, despite some heroic play, Liz Fletcher was the only contributor to the singles score line with 3 points. Liz then teamed up with Andrew Miles to earn 3 doubles points. Drifters ended their scoring at 6 points after a tough match. There was however some consolation as they rose to second place in the division.

Allsorts were very much on form with all three players - Sifa Vea, Andy Godfrey and Steve Palmer - all scoring maximums. It was the ambidextrous Sifa Vea who was awarded the player of the match award. Allsorts missed their double maximum by a single point to give them a final tally of 35 points for the evening and leaving them at the top of division 2.

Division 1

 Division 2