Results

There was a hotly contested  ‘foot of the table’ clash when Roy’s Boys hosted Drifters. For the home side, Barry and Roy Hooper claimed all the team’s singles points. Both scored maximums, with player of the match being awarded to Barry. There was less success in the doubles, with only 3 added. A total score of 21 points for Roy’s Boys proved sufficient to gain a narrow victory and improve their position in the league table.

Drifters played steadily and consistently all evening. Both Andrew Miles and Dave Smith scored 4 singles points apiece, with Crispin Barber adding the final 3. Liz Fletcher was the doubles specialist for this match and her experience enabled Drifters to prevail with 6 points. Final score for Drifters – 17 points.

It was an all Alcombe affair when Last Chance Saloon took on last year’s league winners, Basement Dwellers. After a slower than expected start to their season, Last Chance Saloon were looking to improve their averages and rise up the league table. Instead they met on-form opponents who managed to restrict the home team’s scoring ability. Curtis King led the scoring with 4 and Paul Rees and the ambidextrous Sifa Vea each added 3 singles points apiece. The doubles followed the same pattern with only 3 points gained. At closing time Last Chance Saloon ended their session with 13 points.

Basement Dwellers pressed their advantage throughout, with maximums scored by Vince Court and the hard hitting Toby Kerslake, with Vince receiving the player of the match award. Kerry Manicom completed the singles scoring with a valuable 2. Basement Dwellers were dominant in the doubles and added 8 more points. This gave a convincing win for Basement Dwellers with a total of 28 points.

Shooting Stars entertained current league leaders, Gnomads. The home team put up a good fight against their on-form visitors but failed to find the finish required to win individual sets, with no fewer than eleven sets being decided by the minimum two point margin. Shooting Stars’ singles points came from Geoff Williams 4, Robin Arkel 3 and Martin Shoots 2. This week there was a slight improvement in Stars’ doubles play which yielded the final 4 points. Shooting Stars ended the evening with 13 points.

Gnomads played consistently well throughout, enabling them to win the close sets. Martin Rant won the player of the match award for his maximum, with Derek Mayal adding 8 and Nigel Foster the final 7 singles points. With a maximum in the doubles, Gnomads’ final tally rose to 33 to keep them at the top of the table.

It was over the hill for Wiveliscombe when they travelled across Exmoor to challenge Hawks. This was always going to be a  tough home match for the division 2 junior team, who were up against past division 1 champions. That said, the junior team rose to the occasion and played the best match of their table tennis careers to date. Captain Mark Scyner led the way with an excellent 7 points. Alfie and Nathaniel Southam had exceptional results too, with 4 and 3 points respectively. Two valuable doubles points were added, giving Hawks a final score of 16 for their hard work, elevating their position in the league table.

Wiveliscombe were taken by surprise by the standard of their opponents’ play and needed to hit top form to secure the match. David Woodland was awarded player of the match for the only maximum of the evening. Paul Nutkins scored 8, and Eamon Farrelly, making his debut appearance, added 6 singles points. A maximum in the doubles gave Wiveliscombe the victory with 32 points.

League Table