Division 1
Yet another week of hotly contested top flight fixtures ended with points being dropped by the 2 sides at the summit of the table.
League leaders Lions B were held to a 5-5 draw by Whistlers A, who remain in 3rd spot, 6 points off the top. Garry Dodd led the charge in impressive fashion for the underdogs courtesy of singles wins over Joshua Butler, Olly Langlois and Ryan Bichard, dropping just the single end to Langlois along the way. Mark Pipet chipped in with a much needed straight game win over Bichard, but ultimately it was the crunch doubles fixture that decided the result. Dodd and Pipet combined excellently in the clash against the strong pairing of Butler and Langlois and clinched it in 4 games, despite dropping the opener. It could have been even better for the Whistlers side as their reserve Ryan Gilson led Bichard 2-0 in the final match of the evening. The Lions youngster held his nerve against his junior counterpart though and battled through strongly to take it 11-7 in the 5th.
Lions A missed out on the opportunity to close the gap and remain 3 points adrift after their 5-5 draw against Whistlers B. Just as in the other match, it was the Whistlers side's star player that heavily contributed towards the result. The best female player in the Channel Islands, Alice Loveridge, was on hand to post singles wins over Phil Ogier, Jez Powell and Ben Foss. The previous meeting between Loveridge and Ogier was decided over the full 5 game distance and this was a repeat performance, with Loveridge this time fighting back from 2-1 down to win 3-2. The doubles match was once more of high importance and it was the team of Loveridge and Dawn Morgan that got the job done over Ogier and Foss in 4 games. Morgan herself had produced an excellent result in the opener of the night courtesy of a 4 game win over Foss. Ogier and Powell both secured wins over Morgan and Chloe Le Tissier and Foss came through against Le Tissier in straight games.
Ironic as it may be, the only side to win this week was the side at the bottom of the table, Lions C. Their first victory of the season came via a 7-3 triumph over Whistlers C. Liam Robilliard, Paul Hainsworth and Andre De Carteret all defeated Lawrence Stacey and reserve Matthew Casey in singles action. The combination of Robilliard and Hainsworth defeated Joshua and Lawrence Stacey in the doubles over the course of 4 games. Joshua himself did little wrong and came out on top in all 3 of his singles matches. He needed 4 games to overcome Robilliard and De Carteret and edged out Hainsworth 11-9 in the 5th, having trailed 9-8.
Division 2
Lions F and Lions D continued with their highly impressive starts and each is still yet to drop a point in this campaign.
Lions F still head the way due to the virtue of having a superior games difference ratio and they strengthened it this week due to a 10-0 whitewash for the second consecutive week. Jamie Ferbrache, Luke Bichard and Dan Collenette all beat Brian Ferbrache, Theo Lepp and reserve Rose Powell in singles action. Ferbrache and Collenette overcame the challenge of Ferbrache and Lepp in the doubles and took it in 5, having battled back from a 2-1 deficit in the process.
Lions D were not far off from perfection themselves this week and they were on hand to record their second consecutive 9-1 result, Ravenscroft Panthers A the side to taste defeat. Martin Sarre and Andy Gill experienced undefeated evenings with singles wins over Ben Foote, Juliette Yeaman and reserve Mick Ingrouille. Ian Le Page added wins over Ingrouille and Yeaman but lost to Foote in straight games. The duo of Sarre and Le Page won the doubles match over Foote and Yeaman in 5 games after coming back from 2-0 down.
Division 4
Lions I extended their lead at the top to 4 points and ran out 8-2 winners over Whistlers I this week. Averages toppers Andy and Sue Ferbrache are yet to taste defeat in singles action and they continued this trend with wins over Len Bretel, Joe Le Page and Chris Mcquaigue. They also paired to win the doubles over Le Page and Mcquaigue in 4 games. Lions' reserve Jan Priest added a win over Le Page in 4, but was defeated in 5 by Bretel and straight games by Mcquaigue.
Division 5
The 5th Division continues to mirror the situation in the 2nd in that the 2 sides at the top can only be separated by games difference.
Lions L continue to lead this battle and were comfortable 8-2 winners over Whistlers N this week. Graham Mallett and Derek Cave were unbeaten and earned victories over Leah Moore, Erin De Carteret and Imogen Bishop-White. They also won the doubles over De Carteret and Bishop-White in 5 games. Junior reserve Freddy Walker may have lost to De Carteret and Bishop-White, but he earned himself an excellent straight game win over Moore in his other singles encounter.
Whistlers O battled to an important 7-3 win over 4th placed side Lions K. Junior Ellis Tomlin and Shane Cotter were the star performers and each beat Val Guilbert, Diane Le Page and James Le Tissier. The pair also teamed up to win the doubles in 5 games over Guilbert and Le Page. All Lions players earned wins over James Crocker.
