Division 1
Lions C remain at the top of the 1st Division by a single point following a narrow 6-4 win over Whistlers B, who are currently rooted to the foot of the table.
The close result evidences the balance of teams this season, in which most matches have been settled by just the odd individual match.
Lions A returned to winning ways and they too overcame their opposition 6-4, Lions B the side on the wrong end of the scoreline. Joshua Butler spearheaded the charge with singles wins over Luke Bichard, reserve Liam Robilliard and Ryan Bichard, the latter being the only player to take an end. Dan Collenette earned an impressive 4 set win over Ryan and he also teamed up well with Butler during a 4 game doubles win over the Bichard brothers. Ben Foss added the final win when he beat Luke in straight games in the final match of the night, however he had a tough night at the office which included a straight game defeat by Robilliard and a surprise 4 set loss to Ryan. Luke came out on the top in his clash with Collenette and the entertaining encounter ended with a narrow 11-9 outcome in the 5th.
Whistlers A took advantage of the loss for Lions B and moved into 3rd spot, with a third 6-4 result of the week, their C side the defeated opposition. Garry Dodd continues to look untroubled in local action and he cruised once more to singles wins over Lawrence Stacey and reserves James Rabey and Corey Brouard without dropping an end. Mark Pipet beat Brouard and this feat was matched by Ryan Gilson. Gilson was also on hand to combine with Dodd during a straight game doubles win over Stacey and Rabey. The young lefthander has experienced a tough introduction to top fight table tennis, but this match contained his best performance. He led Stacey 2-0 and 5-3, before the in-form Stacey rallied back to win in 5. Rabey too had an excellent night which included a straight game over Gilson and more impressively a straight game scalp of Pipet.
Division 2
Lions D and E are still unable to be separated and both sides continued to motor past their opposition this week.
The D side still crucially have a game in hand on their title rivals and they were 7-3 victors over Whistlers E. Jamie Ferbrache heads the averages having lost just twice and he contributed to another 3 singles wins on the night. He beat Ken Falla 3-0 and Charlotte Casey 3-1, but he needed to come back from 2-1 down to get the better of Ian Fitchet over the 5 game distance in the final match of the evening. Reserve Terry Trustum battled past Fitchet in 5 and also defeated Falla in 4, however he lost in 4 to Casey. Ian Le Page picked up the crucial 6th rubber when he beat Casey and he also teamed with Ferbrache during a 4 set doubles triumph over Fitchet and Casey. He was unfortunate not to add further wins to his tally as he lost to Fitchet in 5, despite having led 2-0 and he was defeated by Falla in a tight 4 set encounter.
The E side also recorded a 7-3 win over a strong Whistlers D side, despite an unbeaten evening of singles matches for Kay Chivers. The highly decorated Island player beat Luke Le Tissier in 5, Mike Lucas in 4 and Carl Le Tissier in straight games. That was as good as it got for her side though and she narrowly lost out in the doubles clash alongside Keith Opie to Luke and Carl over 5 ends. Each of the Lions players were then on hand to record wins over Opie and reserve Len Bretel.
Division 3
Whistlers G are beginning to run away with the Division after they extended their lead at the top once more. They now hold a 4 point advantage ahead of their nearest opposition and they won 7-3 over Whistlers I this week. Ellis Tomlin continues to show his superiority over the rest of the Division and the junior player with a 100% singles record powered forward with wins over James Crocker, Matthew Board and Miles Bishop-White. Tom Hagerich has also impressed and he sits in 3rd position of the averages after matching Tomlin's feat of singles wins on the night. The duo also teamed to win the doubles over Board and Bishop-White over 4 games.
Division 4
To Follow.