Results from the top-flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues this week has opened up the title race nicely, with 3 sides in with a strong chance of taking the spoils with just 6 weeks of fixtures remaining.
The form of prior league leaders Whistlers A continued to suffer during their re-arranged fixture against a 3rd placed Lions B side on Monday evening, who took the fixture comfortably 7-3. The impact of this 3rd consecutive loss of the season for the Whistlers side was that the Lions side moved top of the table due to having a stronger games ratio by just 2 single matches. The Lions side started the season weakly and were only in 5th spot following the first 3 matches. They are however in a rich vein of form and have won their last 4 matches. In this clash it was averages leader Ben Foss who continued to demonstrate his strong from and was a key factor in the result. He has not lost a singles match in the league since November and extended the winning streak to 20 after another strong evening. He started with a straight sets win over Matthew Casey before seeing off the challenge of Josh Stacey and Joseph Bourgaize, each in 4 sets. He also combined well with Jamie Ferbrache in the doubles rubber where they defeated Stacey and Bourgaize in straight sets. Nye Matthew had a very strong evening of his own as he posted a straight sets win over Bourgaize and a 4 set win over Casey, whilst Ferbrache also enjoyed singles success on the night when he beat Casey in straight sets. For the defeated Whistlers side, Stacey beat Matthew in straight sets and Ferbrache in 4 sets, whilst Bourgaize fought hard to edge Ferbrache 11-9 in the 5th set of their tight clash.
The Lions side then followed up on this strong result with a narrow 6-4 win over a 6th placed Lions D side that they had lost to in the opening match of the season. Foss once more was unbeaten in singles action, although he needed to battle back from 2-1 down to Ryan Bichard to win in 5 sets. His other wins came against Steve Ozanne and Sam Clark in straight sets. Ferbrache was in good form during this fixture and he enjoyed just his second singles maximum of the season. The pick of the wins was his straight sets win over the higher ranked Bichard, but he also battled back from 2-1 down to defeat Clark, as well as overcoming Ozanne in straight sets. All of the D side players earned consolation victories over Matthew, whilst Bichard and Ozanne edged the tight doubles match against Foss and Ferbrache in 5 sets.
The Whistlers side matched the result of their title rivals as they edged past bottom placed side Lions E 6-4 this week. Joshua Stacey was key to the outcome as he was involved in 4 of the 6 matches won by his side. He started with a straight sets win over Connor Powell before crucially coming through a tough test against Paul Hainsworth in 5 sets. He finished his evening of singles action off by ousting Andy Gill in 4 sets to ensure his side got over the line. He also teamed with Casey in the important doubles match where they beat Hainsworth and Gill in straight sets. The other wins for the victorious side came from Casey and Bourgaize, as each managed to overcome Powell in straight sets. For the beaten side, Hainsworth and Gill both defeated Casey and Bourgaize in singles action, with matching 4 and straight sets wins over the duo respectively.
These results have worked in the favour of defending champions Lions A, who are a single point behind, but with a game in hand on their title rivals. The side of Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Matt Stubbington now need to win their remaining fixtures to retain the title.
5th placed side Whistlers B continued on their resurgent run, with a strong 7-3 win over a weakened Lions C side missing Jez Powell. The Whistlers side is now unbeaten in 4 matches and produced a strong team performance this week, with all players contributing equally. Lawrence Stacey, Mark Pipet and Shelby Timms all defeated Charlotte Casey and 2nd Division reserve Brian Ferbrache in singles action. The closest of these matches saw Timms fight back from 2-1 down to Ferbrache before winning in 5 sets. The doubles was won by Stacey and Pipet over Phil Ogier and Casey in 4 sets. For the beaten side, Ogier was in great form as it saw him return a maximum against his opposition. The best of these wins came in his opener against Stacey and saw him win in 5 sets. This was Stacey's first singles defeat in league action since the start of December, following a strong run of 15 straight wins.
Whistlers E extended their lead at the top to an impressive 5 points after their narrow 6-4 victory over Whistlers C. Despite the win, it did see averages leader Craig Dunning lose his second singles match of the season. Martin Sarre was the sole player to have beaten Dunning prior to this fixture when they played in November and history repeated itself here. He once more won in 4 sets and also beat youngster Oskar Cleal in 5 sets during the match. Nephew Stuart Sarre and Paula Le Ber beat Tim Le Page in singles action, but they could not find any more wins to gain anything from the encounter. Cleal and Dunning won against Stuart and Le Ber in singles action, whilst Le Page's best performance came in the match opener when he beat Martin in straight sets. The doubles was a key match and it saw Dunning and Cleal beat Martin and Stuart in 4 sets.
Ravenscroft Panthers C and Lions J continue to deal blows to their opposition as each producing crushing 10-0 wins this week.
The Panthers side is unbeaten at the top and leads by a single point and they cruised past Whistlers H, with just 2 sets dropped. Barney Groves, Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin all defeated Darren Sarre, Seb Jennings and reserve Shaun Evans in singles action. The doubles was won by Groves and Mosley over Jennings and Sarre in straight sets.
