There was a really good contingent of Newton Abbot players taking part in the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League’s Early Season Tournament at the Torbay Leisure Centre on Sunday 4th Nov. Out of the 33 entrants 19 play for the club, with several of the others regular attendees at our club sessions.
Three events take place during the day, the main event is the handicap Singles for the Collins Cup, there is a handicap doubles, and the Excell hard bat challenge rounds off the day.
Despite some hefty handicaps on the better players in the Collins Cup, they generally progressed through the rounds. Newton Abbot players who won through the first group stage were, the current holder of the cup, Kevin Nicholls, Jon Cheung, Lauren Loosemore, Andy Tyrrell, Dan Webster-Hall, Pete Sercombe & Curtis Sage. With only one player from each group progressing to the semi-finals, just Andy Tyrrell & Lauren Loosemore made it through and they were pitched against each other, Lauren winning through. Nicholas Shipley won the battle of the twins in the other semi-final. Congratulations to NA Condors’ Lauren Loosemore as she comfortably won the final 11-8, 11-7, 11-2.
Newton Abbot TTC were well represented at the latter stages of the plate competition as N A Eagles’ Jim McIvor beat NA Kestrels’ Dale Fabian in a really close final 11-8, 11-9, 9-11,6-11, 11-9.
Three of the four finalists being Newton Abbot players. The Newton Abbot pairing of Pete Sercombe and Louis Wilshire fought their way to the final but could not overcome Andrew Connor and Lauren Loosemore who took the title, winning 13-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8.
Turning the clock back to the days of hard bats and scoring up to 21 the final event was the Excell hard bat challenge. This one not handicapped except for the fact that those players that generally rely on spin to win, could struggle. Or maybe not! as the Buzzard’s Kevin Nicholls, disappointed at not retaining his Collins Cup, proved he had a lot more to his game than spin (I knew that anyway!). Again Newton Abbot were well represented as the competition slowly developed. Some terrific competitive matches took place, none more so than Martin Dilkes’s effort against eventual winner Kevin Nicholls in one semi-final. The other semi-final featured Newton Abbot pair Dan Webster-Hall and Andy Tyrrell, with Dan just edging that one. In a terrific final Kevin’s consistency proved too much for Dan as Kevin took the title 21-16, 21-14. NA Hawks’ Doug Morgan won the Hard bat plate competition.
Thanks to all the helpers who assisted in making the day run smoothly.
