PEN-HOLDER SPECIALIST LIAM CHAN WINS ISLAND SINGLES TITLE

GREYSTONE LLC once again generously sponsored the Island Closed Table Tennis Championships held in the main sports hall at the NSC recently. IOMTTA league players competed for twenty titles over the course of an exciting but long and exhausting day.

There was really good participation particularly at the junior level. This is heartening for the future of the sport. It reflects the efforts that have been put in from the Manx Youth Games through to the how the league has been restructured with coaching concentrated at the NSC, Centre 21 (Copy Shop) and Ramsey Grammar School (Surestrike Ramsey).

With a record which anyone else is unlikely to ever beat, the remarkable Graham McFarlane won the over 60’s championship for the 15^th time and he is also the current holder of the island over 75’s tennis trophy.

Ian Cook a director and the compliance officer in Greystone Trust Company Limited was on hand to present Liam Chan with the trophy for winning the premier event, the Men’s Singles championship. Earlier, Jane Kneale had defeated Maggie Mulhern to take the Ladies title thus denying Mulhern her 10^th win in this event.

During the two week Easter break there are no league matches so next week’s report will focus on the Vets: element of these championships.

Singles – Winner: Liam Chan – ABC Arborists

Sixteen of the top players in the league were split into four groups with the winners and runner-ups progressing to the knock-out rounds. In the first quarter-final Tim Baker, who has been concentrating on coaching at Surestrike Ramsey, exceeded his own expectations to beat Strathy’s Julian Briercliffe in five close sets. Baker did not progress beyond his 0-3 semi-final with Breakaway’s captain Paul Corran who had earlier beaten ABC Arborists’ Mike Tamarov in the second quarter-final.

Foxdale’s Will Bayley lost the third-quarter-final to Top 12 senior and junior title holder Sean Drewry who plays for the current league champions Copy Shop A. Drewry was disappointed that he did not progress to the final of this event; he was blasted out 3-0 in his semi-final with the eventual winner Liam Chan who had chopped-out Strathy’s Hadyn McLarney in their last quarter-final.

Paul Corran had hoped that it would be fourth time lucky in the final but in a marvellous demonstration of pen-holder grip forehand dominated attacking play Chan took the title in straight sets.  

Ladies – Winner: Jane Kneale

IOMTTA chairman Maggie Mulhern who plays for second division team Peel A reached the final and was hoping to hoist her tenth trophy in this event, but Jane Kneale from Copy Shop A had even higher hopes. Kneale who is in the NatWest Island Games squad dominated the final and wound up winning in three fast frames.

Men’s Doubles – Winners: Paul Corran and Hadyn McLarney

Hadyn McLarney won this event last year with Ronan McDonnell who did not participate in the championships this time. Hence, McLarney was happy to team up with Paul Corran who had himself won this event in 2013 with Hadyn’s older brother Mason. It was no real surprise that Corran and McLarney reached the final where they met the Surestrike Ramsey coaching duo Tim Baker and Rhys Yardley. Whilst the games were close the result was a 3-0 win for the former championship holders.

U’18s – Winner: Hadyn McLarney

This championship was decided by a series of round robin matches. Finishing third Peel B’s Sasha Thomas lost to the runner-up Sean Drewry 3/11, 5/11, 6/11. Drewry looked odds-on to win the title having won the first set 11/0 against Hadyn McLarney who needed a hasty strategic break. To his relief, when play resumed, McLarney’s play was much more fluid and he mopped-up the next three legs to win the championship 0/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/7. Drewry was doubly disappointed as he also finished runner-up in this event last year,

U’16s – Winner: Harry Walters

Following the group matches Juan Moore from Travellers D defeated Copy Shop C’s Pedro Cardoso in the first semi-final and Peel B’s Harry Walters ended his team-mate Sasha Thomas’s title tilt in the second semi. Moore and Walters have had some ding-dong battles in the league this season and this title fight was no exception. On this occasion Walters ran-out the winner 11/5 in the last leg.  

U’14s – Winner: Juan Moore

From the four groups the current title holder Juan Moore emerged undefeated to meet and beat the group B runner-up Billy Coulter from Copy Shop to reach the semi-finals. Coulter had beaten Jack Gilbert from the Junior Development squad but lost to Max Walker from Copy Shop. Max went on to meet and defeat Freya Melvin who had emerged as the runner-up in Moore’s group. Jack Craik from Surestrike Ramsey topped group D, but in the quarter-finals he didn’t get the better of Zac Walker who was the runner-up from group C.

Harry Walters was the winner of group C. He had beaten both Alex Yardley and Zac Walker which earned him the right to play Surestrike’s Kerenza Baker who was the runner-up in group D having defeated her club-mates Leon Crowe and Dylan Yardley. Baker had just returned from crewing on the British brig Stavros S Niarchos and so, not surprisingly, was suffering from a bit of motion sickness. Hence, it was Walters who went through to the semi-finals.

Moore reached the final for the second year running by beating Zac Walker and then Harry Walters swept aside Max Walker to set-up a repeat of the earlier U’16 final. This time it was defending champion Moore’s turn to win which he did with a ‘fire-brigade finish’ 9, 9 and 9.  

U’12s – Winner: Zac Walker

Ten players took part. They were divided into three groups and competed on a round robin basis to determine the players who would proceed to the quarter-finals, either directly, or via the play-off round. Group A was won by the eventual championship winner Zac Walker with Dylan Yardley being placed second in the group by beating Sophie Sheard and Ealish Withington.

Group B was dominated by Tyler Hannay who won both his matches. Tiernan Garvey went through as runner-up ahead of Jack Gilbert. Kitty Thomas topped group C and Lily Byrne came second after beating Leon Crowe.

In the first play-off Garvey beat Byrne 8/11, 11/3, 11/0, 11/2. Then we witnessed the longest match of the entire tournament. Yardley scraped through the second play-off 4/11, 11/4, 9/11, 11/8, 21/19 against the irrepressible Kitty Thomas.

Walker whacked Garvey 11/7, 11/5, 11/5 to reach the final where he was to meet Hannay who out-hit Yardley 11/5, 8/11, 12/10, 11/4 in their semi-final. Hannay has come through the Manx Youth Games and Junior Development squad to compete in what promises to be the first of many championship finals. However, Zac Walker, who was the runner-up in this event last year, utilised his greater experience to win the championship 11/5, 11/4, 13/11.

Junior Girls – Winner: Freya Melvin

The eight competitors were split into two groups. Last year’s champion Kerenza Baker (14) topped group A with Libby Quaggin going through as runner-up after beating Lily Byrne and Victoria Watson. In group B last year’s U’12 Singles (Girls and Boys) champion Freya Melvin (12) headed her group with Kitty Thomas making it to the semi-finals with wins over Sophie Sheard and Ealish Withington.

Baker beat Thomas to reach the final where she met Melvin who had quashed Quaggin. This was a repeat of last year’s final and Baker from the second division would have expected to triumph again. However, Baker’s exhausting week at sea gave Melvin an edge to exploit and almost before she knew it Baker was two sets down. To her credit, Baker pulled back the deficit but faded in the final set which was won 11/8 by young Freya Melvin who is also the current holder of the Maria Bubb Trophy awarded to the most promising u’11 player.

DRAFT VETS REPORT - FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY

With a record which anyone else is unlikely to ever beat, the remarkable Graham McFarlane won the over 60’s championship for the 15^th time and he is also the current holder of the island over 75’s tennis trophy.

RESULTS SUMMARY SHOWING 2015 FINALISTS and 2014 WINNERS

·         Maria Bubb Trophy (best u’11)

MALCOLM LAMBERT