SENIOR LEAGUE 2023-24 WEEK 16
Division 1

 

The three-way fight for the top flight crown of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues looks set to go to the wire, with just 5 weeks of action remaining.

Whistlers A returned to the top of the table this week and lead defending champions Lions A by a single point and Lions B by 2 points. Both Lions side do however have a game in hand on the league leaders.

Whistlers A returned to the top courtesy of a strong 7-3 win over a 4th placed Lions C side back to full strength. Recently crowned Channel Islands Senior Top 12 winner Joshua Stacey led the way with an unbeaten evening. He was impressive during straight sets wins over Jez Powell and Charlotte Casey, but needed to be near his best against Phil Ogier, in an encounter in which he edged the decisive 5th set 11-9. Joseph Bourgaize had a good evening of his own and it saw him defeat Charlotte in straight sets, before earning an impressive 4 set win over Powell in the final match of the night. Matthew Casey concluded the win when he beat his sister Charlotte in straight sets and he also teamed up well with Bourgaize to earn an excellent 5 set win over Ogier and Powell in the doubles match, despite having trailed 2-0. For the defeated Lions side, Ogier beat Casey and Bourgaize in straight sets, whilst Powell defeated Casey in straight sets.

Lions A picked up what is incredibly the first 10-0 whitewash of the season within the first Division, over a weakened Lions E side that was missing Paul Hainsworth. Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Matthew Stubbington were all in good form and defeated Andy Gill, Connor Powell and reserve Ian Le Page in singles action. Butler and Stubbington won the doubles match against Gill and Powell in straight sets.

The final match of the week saw Whistlers B continue their strong run, a 6-4 win over Lions D moving them onto level points with Lions C in 4th. This result makes it a run of 5 unbeaten, with just 1 draw within the last 5 matches. Despite their victory, the plaudits of the night went to Lions man Ryan Bichard, as he produced a great display and was unbeaten in singles action. This was most prominent during his hard fought 5 set win over Lawrence Stacey. Bichard had battled well to open up a 2-1 lead when he edged the 3rd set 14-12, but Stacey powered through the 4th set 11-3 to set the stage for a tight finish. Tight it was indeed, but once more Bichard managed to navigate his way through another close set and he concluded proceedings 13-11. His other wins came against Mark Pipet in 4 sets and Shelby Timms in straight sets. Unfortunately for him, his side were not quite able to pick up sufficient wins to secure anything from the fixture. Sam Clark battled past Timms 12-10 in the deciding set, but was beaten in 4 sets in the final match of the night by Pipet. Steve Ozanne also came very close, but narrowly lost to Timms in 5 sets. The doubles was another key match and it saw Stacey and Pipet squeeze past Bichard and Clark in 5 sets. Stacey and Pipet steered their team to win the due to each beating Clark and Ozanne in singles action.

Division 2

Whilst still at least a few weeks away from being mathematically over, Whistlers E look to be comfortably on track to taking the title. They hold a huge 7 point lead at the top after they defeated title rivals Lions F 7-3 this week. Averages leader Craig Dunning returned to top form with an unbeaten evening. He overcame Ellis Tomlin, Caden Brouard and James Crocker without dropping a set and he also combined with Tim Le Page to earn a straight sets doubles win over Brouard and Crocker. Junior Oskar Cleal had a strong evening which saw him defeat Crocker in straight sets as well as an excellent 5 set win over Tomlin, in a match which the Lions player had led 2-1. Le Page extended the margin of victory thanks to his 4 set win over Crocker. Brouard was the best performer for the beaten Lions outfit as he defeated Cleal and Le Page in 4 sets, whilst Tomlin also overcame Le Page in 4 sets.

Division 3

The battle for the title continues to race on as Ravenscroft Panthers B and Lions J keep winning.

The Panthers side lead by a single point and they avenged the 5-5 draw which occurred last time during their match with their E side and comfortably won 8-2. Barney Groves was the player of the night as he was the only to remain unbeaten. He defeated reserve Micah Cohen in straight sets, Hollie Jenkins in 4 sets and in the final match of the evening managed to battle back from 2-1 down to defeat Alex Paul in 5 sets. Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin added wins over Jenkins and Cohen in singles action and then combined to defeat Paul and Jenkins in straight sets in the doubles match. Paul played very well to earn a 5 sets win over Mosley and a 4 set win over Martin.

The Lions side were slightly more emphatic this week as they brushed aside Whistlers F 9-1. Aiden Ozanne, Luke Evans and Andy Ozanne all defeated Matthew Board, Darren Sarre and Seb Jennings in singles action. The Whistlers side restored some pride thanks to an excellent 5 set doubles win for Board and Sarre over Aiden and Evans in 5 sets. The match was very close and it saw the victorious duo fight back from 2-1 down to win the final 2 sets 11-9. All sets were won by a small 2 point margin, including the second and third sets which were both shared 14-12.

Division 4

League leaders Lions O maintained their 3 point advantage at the top following a heavy 9-1 win over Bribar C. Lionel Jones and Katy Collenette each defeated Keira Eldridge, Ella Le Ber and Isla Bretel in singles action and they also teamed up to win the doubles match against Eldridge and Le Ber in straight sets. Reserve Cheryl Wingrave added wins over Le Ber and Bretel in 4 sets, but she was defeated in straight sets by Eldridge, which prevented the whitewash.
Author: via Guernsey Table Tennis Association
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