W/C 13/11/23
Div One:
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A relegated their club mates from the B team after whitewashing them despite some very good matches. Steve Hill came closest in trying to stop the 10 nil defeat by taking Garry Reed all the way and only losing in a fifth end tie-break, 4-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 14-16.
The first set of the evening between John Sherlock and John Palmer when Astor A hosted Shopfitting By SWS B was almost an exact repeat of the last set from the first half, as a close set of 5 games took place. As in the first time around, Sherlock found himself just falling short in the last game, with Palmer taking the win 11-9. The set of the evening was the battle between Astor's Tony Maestri and SWS's Gary West. Maestri countered West's attacking play by moving away from the table and counter hitting, with some unbelievable shots being played by both players. Having been 6-9 down in the third game, Maestri recovered to steal the game 12-10 and then took the lead in the fourth, however West then returned the favour, eventually taking the game 13-11. With another 9-11 loss in the 5th end, Astor ended the evening with only 2 points to show from an evening of very close table tennis.
Shopfitting By SWS A travelled to play Crafthole A and had along evening with all but one set not going to the fourth games and two sets going to the fifth end with SWS coming out 7-3 winners. All of the Crafthole’s players beat different opponents where Shirley Luckhurst beat Jan Walaszkowski 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, Iain Oxenham beat Colin Mitchell 11-5, 11-2, 7-11, 15-13 and Mike Cookson beating Dan Kayes 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Div Two:
A very good match with only 2 games going to 5 games was played out between Astor B and Woodland Fort B in a drawn match. The hero of the night for Astor was Chris Tucker scoring a maximum. The longest match saw Fort’s Norman Hall beating Tony Powlesland 11-6, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C turned on the style beating Shopfitting By SWS C 9-1 in a top of the table clash although Chaddy did have Glenn Delaney from Division three playing for them. The sole point came when Steve Foster beat Chris Dyson 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 14-16, 11-4. Another close match saw Chaddy’s Chris Dunn defeat Steve Tyler in five games winning a fifth end tie-break 11-8, 11-9, 11-13, 9-11, 12-10.
Lee Mill’s visit to Crafthole B is the longest journey in the league but only just failed to secure the draw losing 4-6 for their troubles. Crafthole’s Martin Hynes, Holly Davis and Rui Barreto all claimed braces.
Div Three:
Woodland Fort C outclassed their B club mates 10 nil, after already securing promotion. The best match saw Dave Wyatt excel himself again after last week’s maximum, by taking Ralph Stone to 5 games and pushing him all the way losing the 4th game by 17-19.
The final match for the 1st part of the season saw Woodland Fort D lose a tight encounter 4-6 to Astor D who had Richard Searle guesting for Astor D from his Fort B team. Steve Harvey obtained a maximum for Astor. The closest match was between Fort’s Nigel Aston and Nick May with Aston prevailing after 5 ends 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 12-10.
Div Four:
Chaddlewood (Marjon) D did their promotion hopes no harm by beating Horrabridge 8-2 with maximums from John Chadwick and Mike Chapple. David Wilson won his singles match for Horrabridge beating John Dodd and then partnering Crispin Jordan to win the doubles.
Bottom of the Division, Astor F suffered their fifth whitewash of the season at the hands of Ivybridge B thus securing Ivy’s promotion to Division Three. Ivy’s and the league youngest player came from nil-2 down to defeat one of the leagues newest players Paul Eaton 4-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.
Re-arranged Match Results:
Div 1: Shopfitting By SWS B 7 v Crafthole A 3
Div2: Astor B 4 v Crafthole B 6
Div 2: Shopfitting By SWS C 7 v 3 Crafthole B
Div 3: Woodland Fort B 7 v 3 Woodland Fort D
Adjudications:
Div 3: Ivybridge A 3 v 0 Woodland Fort B
Div 3: Woodland Fort B 0 v 5 Astor D
Div 4: Horrabridge 4 v 6 Astor E
W/C 06/11/23
Div One:
Despite the one sided nature of the result between Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A and Astor A it was an entertaining affair with some cracking play from all players despite Astor A being whitewashed. A special mention must go to Chaddy’s Sam Bruty who returned to form with a vengeance after a disappointing evening last week playing an affective mix of defence and attack. The only match going to 5 games saw Bruty overcome John Sherlock 15-13, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3.
In a relegation battle Crafthole A beat Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B 6-4 (which was the same score from their first encounter). Chaddy’s Travis Foster, playing his first league match of the season, took a maximum only losing one end to Iain Oxenham. Seven of the sets went to the fourth game with Crafthole winning 5 of them in a great evening.
Mike Griffiths returned to the triples league playing for Shopfitting By SWS A and won all his matches in four ends helping his team to a 6-4 victory. Colin Mitchell was unlucky losing three tie-breaks 10-12 to SWS’s B Mike Briggs. Briggs also lost in five ends to Jan Walaszkowski in a very close match 12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Div Two:
Shopfitting By SWS C played Astor B for double points due to an earlier postponement and won 6-4 thanks to a maximum from Steve Tyler. Some close encounter ensued with Astor’s Chris Tucker beating Trevor Mole 11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-9 and then Steve Foster 10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6. This was backed up by Martin Fowler beating Mole 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8.
The star of the evening between Crafthole B and Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C was Steve Hugh winning all 3 of his games in only 10 ends. The turnaround of the match was when Crafthole’s Rui Baretto was 0-8 down to Chris Dunn in the 4th end and pulled it back to win 11-8 to give Crafthole the lead 4-3. The match ended in a 5-5 draw which reflected a good competitive match.
A good friendly match could have been a draw if Lee Mill had more luck in the fifth ends. The Millers Richards Smaridge got his usual maximum taking all the points for his team in the 3-7 loss to Woodland Fort A. He will be sorely missed over the next month as his will be unavailable for selection.
Re-arranged Match: Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C 7 v 3 Astor B
Re-arranged Match: Lee Mill 3-7 Crafthole A
The trip to Lee Mill from Crafthole (the longest distance in the league) was well worth it for the visitors with them securing a 7-3 victory. Rui Barreto of Crafthole A scored a maximum with him winning some very close games. There was a mixture of some easy victories for both teams and a few closer games, but a good competitive match with some excellent play
Div Three:
It was a clean sweep of sets for Woodland Fort C (Glenn Delaney, Graham Cooksley and Ralph Stone) over visitors Ivybridge A with only three matches going to the fourth game. The most intriguing match of the evening happened to be the doubles where Stone and Delaney played Alan Davis and Mike Chapple with fort winning all three tie-breaks 16-14, 14-12, 12-10.
With Jake Neilson of Astor C delayed the match against their club mates Astor D started with the C team only having 2 players. It started badly for them with Martin Fowler losing the first match to Steve Harvey, but with the arrival of Neilson (3) they won the remaining matches. It was a good result for the C team, although many games were quite close it's not often that you see an 18-16 game. All games played in a good spirit and an enjoyable match.
Re-arranged Match:
Astor D 2 v 8 Woodland Fort C (Ralph Stone 3, Graham Cooksley 3).
Re-arranged Match:
An Inter-club encounter played in good spirit between relegation threatened Woodland Fort D and promotion hopefuls Woodland Fort C went to form with the C team winning 8-2, Glenn Delaney and Ralph Stone achieving maximums. Nigel Aston (C team) prevailed in a tight match against Graham Cooksley 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 and with Peter Andrews won the doubles against Stone and Delaney 12-14, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 for Fort D.
Div Four:
No results.
W/C 30/10/23
Div One:
A relegation battle was due to take place between Astor A and Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B but unfortunately Astor could only field two players due to family health problem and therefore suffered a 2-8 loss, with Steve Garlick getting the two points in a great evening of table tennis. Shaun Gilbert took a maximum for Chaddy.
Again in the match with Shopfitting By SWS A and Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A, SWS could only field two players and both Colin Mitchel and Dan Kayes managed to get a solitary point each against the Divisional leaders beating Sam Bruty. However the best and closest match all season saw Garry Reed get the better of Kayes with all five ends going to tie-breaks 10-12, 15-13, 12-10, 12-14, 1210.
Div Two:
There was a very good match with 3 games going to 5 sets when Astor B hosted Lee Mill. The hero of the night for Astor was Martin Fowler (playing up from the C team) who won all 3 games narrowly beating Richard Smaridge in the 5th end 11-9, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7.
Crafthole B seem to be hard done by, as in some of their matches the other teams have had to call on other players from different clubs and although they have many players signed on for themselves are struggling to field a full strength team. This week Shopfitting By SWS C had to call on Trevor Mole to help out and all three players took braces and the doubles, thus winning 7-3.
An enjoyable but hard fought night of table tennis ensued, with Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C prevailing at the end of the evening beating Woodland Fort A 6-4. All of Chaddy’s Chris Dyson’s (2) games going to five sets with the fifth to Jon Goodfield ending a nail biting 17-15 match in favour of Goodfield.
Re-arranged Match:
Woodland fort A 6 v 4 Lee Mill.
Div Three:
Astor C proved too strong for Woodland Fort D winning the match 9-1 with maximums by Jake Neilsen and Andy Watmore who was playing up from his D team. Nigel Aston took the sole set for Fort D against Trevor Mole in a very tight encounter 12-10, 8-11, 7-11, 12-5, 11-6 although receiving more than his fair share of luck with nets and edges! John Cobbledick for Fort played well in taking Watmore to 4 ends.
Div Four:
Bottom of the table Astor F (Kieran McGarry, Dave Nash and Jewel Vittle) lost 0-10 to Chaddlewood (Marjon) D in straight games except for all but one game were Nash managed to take an end off Mike Chapple 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-13.
Meanwhile, Astor E (Ken Chambers 3, Rob Jenkins 3) beat Horrabridge 8-2 with Crispin Jordan the points for his Horrabridge. The toughest match saw Chambers defeat Jordan 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4.
W/C 23/10/23
Div One:
All three matches in this division ended in 7-3 score lines.
A table clash saw Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A come out as winners in a very competitive but good spirited match. Mike Briggs played well for Shopfitting By SWS B in beating both Garry Reed and Sam Bruty in straight sets with Gary West winning the other game for SWS. Sam Bruty can consider himself a little unlucky to lose to West in 3 sets, which included two deuce game defeats.
Shirley Luckhurst (3) was the player of the night as Crafthole A reversed their first half result in their match against Astor A with a 7-3 win. Luckhurst showed her all round ability, beating Tony Maestri (2) by employing an open attacking style, then reverting to deep defensive play to beat Steve Garlick. The set of the evening was Astor’s John Sherlock playing against the attacking strokes of Mike Cookson. Having been overwhelmed 1-11 in the first game, Sherlock found himself 1-8 down in the second and it looked like being a fairly straightforward win for Cookson, but then Sherlock's defence started to come into play, and he recovered to win the game with an incredible 19-17. With Cookson having to try and play through the chop, and Sherlock making some very good point saving shots, the final result was very close with Cookson edging the set 13-11, 12-10 in the final two games.
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B had Steve Hill to thank for taking two points in the singles and one in the doubles with Travis Foster in their 3-7 loss to Shopfitting By SWS A were jan Walaszkowski took a maximum.
Div Two:
A very long evening played with great banter ensued between Shopfitting By SWS C and Woodland Fort A with five matches all going to the fifth end. Shopfitting By SWS’s Steve Tyler went up against Brian Luscombe for his maximum and it was nip and tuck all the way, with Tyler taking the fifth end 11-7. All in all, the draw was a fair result on the night.
Astor B travelled to Crafthole B and came away with a slender 6-4 victory with no maximums from either club players. Astor’s Les Cole had to retire in his first match against Holly Davis (2) with an elbow injury but returned later in the evening to defeat Martin Hynes by playing steady strokes.
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C (Chris Dyson, Chris Dunn and Steve Hugh) beat understrength Lee Mill 8-2 with the Millers Mark Chapman beating Dyson and then partnering Ann Warren for the doubles win.
Rearranged Match: Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C 6 v 4 (Two player) Woodland Fort A.
Div Three:
Ivybridge A suffered a whitewash at the hands of visiting Woodland Fort D with Nigel Aston, Barry Oliver and Peter Andrews obtaining all the points. The closest match saw Oliver lead Alan Davis 2 nil only for Davis to draw level at one stage and Oliver then managed to win the final end 11-7.
Div Four:
Chaddlewood (Marjon) D were coasting at 6-2 thanks to a maximum from Mike Chapple but Astor E won the remaining two sets to make the score line a more respectable 6-4. Astor Dave Harding was unlucky throughout the evening losing to matches in five ends, even just losing to Chapple 11-7, 5-11, 6-11, 11-7, 5-11.
W/C 16/10/23
Div One:
Gary West of Shopfitting By SWS B played his first match of the season and took a maximum albeit with two matches going to the fifth end helping his team win 7-3. Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B’s Steve Hill secured a brace by unexpectedly beating Mike Briggs in straight games 11-7, 11-8, 11-6. The whole evening was played with a great sporting attitude even with Shaun Gilbert serving off the table to return a point to John Palmer after Gilbert won the previous point after hitting the net after a good rally.
Shopfitting By SWS A beat Astor A 9-1 with Steve Garlick stopping the whitewash by beating Colin Mitchell 11-4, 11-9, 11-5. Astor’s Tony Maestri was unlucky not to gain a point for his team after losing both five end matches against Dan Kayes and Mitchell.
Crafthole’s Shirley Luckhurst took both of Crafthole A’s points in their 2-8 defeat to top of the table Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A. Luckhurst beat Sam Bruty 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 and then after came from 2 nil down to beat Garry Reed 6-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 but it was Glyn Price who was man of the match winning a maximum.
Div Two:
There was a very closely contested match with 3 games going to 5 sets between Astor B and Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C. The match between Chris Tucker and Steve Hugh swung both ways particularly in the 5th end which Chaddy’s Hugh won 11-2, 7-11, 1-11, 18-16, 11-2. Astor’s Martin Fowler was unlucky losing 2 of his games in the 5th end, but the hero of the night for Astor B’s was Les Cole who claimed a maximum.
There were some epic struggles during the evening with Woodland Fort A’s Jonathan Goodfield hoping against hope he could turn the tide in the third end against Shopfitting By SWS C’c Steve Tyler (3) only to lose at the final hurdle 7-11, 5-11, 17-15, 11-6, 8-11. A more decisive doubles resulted in Fort levelling the score 5 all.
Rearranged Match:
Crafthole B’s Rui Baretto fought hard for his maximum with two 5 game matches against Norman Hall and Jonathan Goodfield of Woodland Fort A. Goodfield and Hall took Holly Davies (3) and Baretto to a deuce in another 5 ends to win a much needed point in the doubles but still lost 3-7. An enjoyable evening was had by all, with Martin Hynes commenting favourably on the choice of biscuits!
Div Three:
A maximum from Steve Harvey and the doubles with Nick May (2) helped Astor D to an 8-2 win over Ivybridge B. The match was closer than the score line suggests with 4 matches going to the fifth end with Astor winning 3 of them. This loss for Ivybridge cements their position at the foot of the table.
Abel Hernandez of Woodland Fort B had not lost a game yet this season but was struggling with an elbow strain and as a result suffered two losses to Astor B’s Trevor Mole and to Jake Neilson but a lot of the matches were tighter then the result suggests. Astor’s Martin Fowler had a good comeback against Dave Wyatt having lost the first two games he fought back for a good win in the fifth 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-3.
Rearranged Match:
Despite the emphatic score line of 9-1 to Astor D against Woodland Fort D there were some hard fought games throughout the evening and some high quality play. Being 9-0 ahead going into the doubles Astor D were going for a clean sweep but Nick May and Steve Harvey were unable to overcome Pete Andrews and Nigel Aston losing in the fifth game 8-11,7-11,11-5, 11-9, 8-11.
Div Four:
Ivybridge B exacted their revenge on Chaddlewood (Marjon) D with precision and steady placed play, to emerge victorious; but match of the evening goes to Ivy’s Toby Spencer. Against the accurate and fast forehand of Ben Kelsey, young Spencer found himself trailing 2 games, and 9-8 down in the third but found his aim; with some cracking forehand battles between Kelsey and Spencer, the underdog fought back to take the set and secure the match for Ivybridge 6-4.
Bob Steele played his first match of the season for Astor E against their F club mates but newcomer Dave Nash stopped him from getting a maximum 6-11, 11-8, 8-11, 7-11 taking his teams solitary point of the match.
W/C 09/10/23
Div One:
Leaders Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A played their club mates from the B team and despite a 9-1 win in favour of the A team (and current league leaders) the B team put up a brave fight with four matches going to the fifth game. Shaun Gilbert was denied two of the matches losing both 11-9 in the fifth whilst Steve Hill beat Sam Bruty 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5 in a very defensive game. Glyn Price and Garry Reed both secured maximums in an entertaining evening.
Shopfitting By SWS B’s Mike Briggs and Mark Weymouth both took maximums in their 7-3 victory over Astor A. After SWS’s John Palmer and Astor’s John Sherlock both lost their previous two matches of the evening they squared up to each other and the game disappoint. Sherlock took the first two ends 11-8, 12-10 but lost the next 6-11. With everything to play for Palmer just clinched the match with two tie-break wins 13-11 and 12-10.
Div Two:
Bryn Ford of Shopfitting By SWS C won his first match of the season beating Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C Chris Dyson in straight games and was unlucky not to beat Tau Manonge in five games 6-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-13. His team mate Steve Foster claimed his first maximum of the season and helped secured a 7-3 victory.
Despite a 9-1 victory to Astor B over Woodland Fort A, there were no less than 9 tie-breaks played. The closest game was between Fort’s Norman Hall and stand-in Martin Fowler with Fowler winning from being 2 nil down 10-12, 7-11, 14-12, 11-8, 14-12. The only match Fort won was the doubles, with Hall and Brian Luscombe beating Fowler and Les Cole 12-10, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7.
Div Three:
Nigel Aston of Woodland Fort B was involved in two absorbing encounters when taking on his club mates from Fort C. Aston being 2-1 up against Steve Cooksley lost the final two end 8-11 and 1-8 and then against Ralph Stone again found himself 2-1 only to lose again 7-11, 9-11. There was an equally absorbing encounter over 5 games between Cooksley & Abel Hernandez which saw Hernandez triumph in the 5th game by 16-14. Fort C however took the last three matches to win 6-4.
Div Four:
A rearranged match saw Astor D win 6-4 against Ivybridge B this was a hard fought contest with the final result in the balance going into the doubles. Astor’s Rob Jenkins was fortunate to win his 3 singles matches being taken to 5 games by an in-form Chris Hollins and 4 games by young Toby Spencer. Ivy’s Alan Spencer did whitewash Dave Harding in one of his game but this was his only point for his team. The doubles was also very close with Astor winning 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 to clinch the victory.
The bottom of the table clash saw the seasoned match experience of Ivybridge B (Chris Collings, Alan Spencer and Toby Spencer) shine through as they rained on the underdogs winning 10 nil, but Astor F never gave up and showing extreme resilience taking a set in the doubles to prevent a clean set sheet. Astor’s Dave Nash was unlucky losing two tie-breaks 10-12.
There were many close matches when Chaddlewood (Marjon) D visited Horrabridge with many going to 5 games. Chaddy's Adam Forshaw caused problems for almost all of the Horrabridge team with his seemingly unreadable serving, but the final score line was very generous to Horrabridge 9-1. Chaddy’s John Dodd suffered a duck but lost two matches in a fifth end tie-Break 10-12.
W/C 02/10/23
Div One:
A bottom of the table clash saw Crafthole A beat Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B 6-4 but it was Chaddy’s Shaun Gilbert who won man of the match taking a maximum with some brilliant defending after being pushed all the way by the Crafthole players. Gilberts match against Shirley Luckhurst (2) took 42 minutes last season but this time Gilbert won 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 in only 14 minutes.
In Chaddlewood A's 9-1 win over Astor A, Sam Bruty had the hardest time of the evening, with a number of tie breaks and two very close 5 games sets against Astor’s Steve Garlick and Tony Maestri respectively. In the set against Garlick, Bruty was fighting the net, with Garlick managing 5 almost unplayable net-drops in one game alone. Bruty managed to overcome the odds, winning the set 15-13, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7. He then had to repeat the effort against Maestri, with another very close 5 game set with two tie breaks, finally edging the set 11-9 in the final end. With another 10-0 result looming, the doubles proved to be the strangest set of the evening, with each team being very dominant over their opponents at one particular end. With the changeover at the half way point in the 5th end, the advantage was passed to the Astor pairing of Maestri and Garlick, who managed to squeeze out their team's sole point of the evening, winning the final game 15-13.
When Shopfitting By SWS A played their club mates from the B team the match was somewhat disrupted by the other matches being played nearby. This effected Mike Briggs (B team) concentration slightly, although Briggs would be the first to admit he wasn't at his best all night. Mark Weymouth managed a maximum after coming from 2 down to beat Dan Kayes and thus secured the B teams 6-4 win.
Div Two:
In a reverse fixture Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C beat Crafthole B 7-3 with defender Steve Hugh taking a maximum but young Holly Davis (2) put up a great fight causing three tie breaks but lost to Hugh 4-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-13.
Div Three:
Club match rivalry ended honours even at 5-5 when Woodland Fort D played Woodland Fort B with Fort D forcing the draw after winning the last 3 sets from 5-2 down. Abel Hernandez (Fort B) achieved a maximum (and remains unbeaten) dropping only 1 game while Mike Willis had an exhausting evening playing 19 ends in his 4 sets. Some exceptional hitting by Peter Andrews (Fort D) enabled him to defeat Richard Searle 11-4, 11-3, 11-5.
Div Four:
Although Astor F lost 0-10 to Horrabridge, Kieran McGarry did manage to win a game in two of his matches plus one in the doubles, showing his standard of play is much improved into his second season for Astor.
W/C 25/09/23
Div One:
After only three weeks, three points separate the top three teams in Div One.
A sporting manner nearly came unstuck when Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A’s Glynn Price played Shopfitting By SWS A’s Colin Mitchell. With Price leading 2 games to 1, he found himself 10 nil up in the fourth game and using the ‘unwritten rule’ of not whitewashing opponent Price sportingly gave Mitchell a point, but then somehow Mitchell went on to level the game at 10-10. However going into the tie-break points, Price did succeed winning 14-12. Along with a maximum from his team mate Garry Reed Chaddy won 7-3.
Tony Maestri of Astor A took a maximum but came out on the losing side 4-6 to Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B. His toughest match saw him come from 2 nil down against Shaun Gilbert to eventually win the next three ends 11-6, 13-11, 14-12.
The first match of the night was looking good for Mark Weymouth of Shopfitting By SWS B but Ian Oxenham (Crafthole A) came back strong in the 3rd & 4th games and a rare serving error in the 5th by Weymouth gave Oxenham the chance to win the set with his serve giving Crafthole an unexpected point. Another close game saw Mike Briggs (SWS) battle it out against Shirley Luckhurst, this time Briggs ended up serving at 9-9 in the 5th which gave him the advantage to take the set with his strong backhand serves. A close enjoyable game saw SWS win 9-1.
Div Two:
No matches played this week.
Div Three:
With 8 games going to at least 4 sets, it was very close throughout when Woodland Fort C eventually ran out winners 8-2 over visitors Astor D. This in part thanks to an excellent first maximum of the season from Glenn Delaney.
Delaney then played up for Fort B against Ivybridge A and won 2 matches. Fort came from 2-4 down at one stage but then won all the remaining games to win 6-4. Ivy’s Jeremy Willcox got his money’s worth of Table Tennis and all his matches went to five games, winning two of them.
Despite Astor C beating Woodland Fort D 8-2 the match was a lot closer than the score might suggest with no less than 7 tie-breaks throughout all the matches. Astor’s Martin Fowler took a maximum winning two tie-breaks himself in a five ends against Nigel Aston 4-11, 13-11, 12-10, 5-11, 11-5. Fowler then had another epic battle against Pete Andrews and won the first two ends 11-6, 11-5 but then lost 9-11, 9-11. In the final end Fowler almost whitewashed Andrews beating him 11-1. Astor now find themselves one point behind leaders Woodland Fort C.
Div Four:
Chaddlewood (Marjon) could only field two players against Astor F but still managed to win all their matches finishing the game 7-3.
W/C 18/09/23
Div One:
A superb night of table tennis with extremely high standards took place between Shopfitting By SWS B and Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A. Mark Weymouth’s (2) game with Glynn Price (Chaddy) was very close with Weymouth winning 12-10 in the 5thgame but Weymouth’s winning point was by a net and edge which was doubly lucky. The doubles saw Weymouth and Martin Parnell lead 5-1 in the 5th game but Tony Sweet (3) and Price managed to recover to win the game 11-8 and win the match 6-4.
Another great performance from Jan Walaszkowski and Dan Kayes, both taking maximums saw them defeat Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B 8-2. The longest game saw Colin Mitchell win 20-18 over Russ Keith but despite this Mitchell lost in 5 games.
Crafthole A called on Holly Davis to play up but unfortunately came up a little short in two matches against Astor A. From being 2-nil up against Tony Maestri (3), Davis lost the 3rd game to a 13-15 tie-break and then the next two games. Davis had a topsy-turvy match against John Sherlock (returning to the league after missing last season), but against lost in 5 games 3-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 6-11.
Div Two:
With Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) C struggling to raise a team they called on Steve Tyler and Glenn Delaney to partner Steve Hugh in their match against Lee Mill and managed to come away with a 7-3 win thanks to Tyler’s maximum even though Richard Smaridge was 2-nil up Tyler won the next three games to take the point 10-12, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-7.
Div Three:
Astor D took on Woodland Fort B and the match went to and fro to begin with but Fort came out on top with a strong finish. Astor needed the doubles to draw but in a close set Fort were the stronger with Abel Hernandez getting a maximum and helping win the doubles with Mike Willis.
Thanks to a maximum from Nigel Aston, Woodland Fort D managed a draw against Ivybridge A but against Alan Davis had to come from 1-2 down to win the remaining games 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8. Alan Spencer (Ivybridge) played up for Ivybridge in his second match of the week and secured a brace.
Div Four:
Adam Forshaw of Chaddlewood (Marjon) unfortunately twisted his ankle badly during the match against Astor E’s Richard Avent and had to retire injured and on top of this Chaddy only had two players and lost the match 2-8.
A confident first win of the season for young Toby Spencer of Ivybridge B against new-comer Richard Drew (Horrabridge) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 helped Ivybridge to the narrowest of wins against Horrabridge 6-4. The score could have also been different if it wasn’t for a maximum by Ivy’s Chris Collings.
W/C 11/09/23
A new Table Tennis season brings different challenges with a new league format. This season we have four divisions with 6 teams in each division and promotion and relegation twice within the full season giving teams more opportunity to compete against different players. Along with this, players are now permitting to play for more than one club (with exceptions).
Div One:
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) A got their season off to a winning start with a 9–1 win over Crafthole A. Mike Cookson took the point for Crafthole with a battling straight sets win over Sam Bruty which saw 2 games won at deuce. Bruty teamed up with Garry Reed for the doubles and got his revenge over Cookson, winning in straight sets, including an epic 19-17 third set.
With Dan Kayes and Jan Walaskowski (SWS A) admitting to not having touched a bat since the end of last season, Astor A started the evening feeling confident of scoring a few points, but ended the evening wondering how they failed to record even a single point, losing the match 0-10. Steve Cookson had a 5 game battle against Jan Walaszkowski, with Walaszkowski coming out on top 11-6 in the final game. Steve Garlick lost 9-11, 9-11, 7-11 to Colin Mitchell and then later couldn't finish off the tie breaks against Dan Kayes, losing 10-12, 8-11, 10-12. Although the match result was one sided, the games were predominantly competitive.
Chaddlewood (Molyneux Assoc) B expected a close match but Shopfitting By SWS B (Mike Briggs, Martin Parnell and Mark Weymouth) turned up with different players than expected and despite some close games lost 0-10.
Div Two:
SWS C played Lee Mill in a spirited match. Richard Smaridge of Lee Mill obtained his maximum but had to come from 5-7 down in the 5th to beat Steve Tyler. Ann warren took SWS's Steve Foster and Steve Tyler to 5 sets with some great hitting. At 4-5 down SWS C needed the doubles for a draw and the two Steve's took on Richard Smaridge and Mark Chapman but lost 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11 securing a 6-4 for the Millers.
Crafthole B and Woodland Fort A both only had two players available for this match and Crafthole’s Holly Davis and Martin Hynes both started with maximums despite the best efforts of Norman Hall who lost in the 5th end tie break to Davis 10-12, 11-9, 1-11, 11-9, 13-15. The doubles match was a topsy-turvy match with Fort winning the first two ends 7 and 8 only for Crafthole to win the next two ends 9 and 7. Despite Crafthole’s come back they lost form to and were defeat 5-11 in the final game.
Div Three:
Woodland Fort C called on Chris Collins of Ivybridge B to help out (as players this season can play for more than one team) and picked up 2 points for his efforts whilst using new rubbers for the first time. Barry Oliver of Fort D team faced his old team mates and pushes them all the way. In a thrilling match Fort’s Glenn Delaney lost by 2 points over 4 sets to Pete Andrews and then went on to win by 6 points over 5 sets against Nigel Aston. Fort’s Graham Cooksley secured a maximum, two in straight sets. The win for Fort in the doubles made for an overall win by 8 to 2.
Ivybridge A will struggle this phase of the season after losing their best player, but Crispin Jordan, guesting from Horrabridge overcame Astor D's Andy Watmore in a tight 5 game match. Alan Davis did manage to win in straight games against Astor's Nick May. There were some close matches but Astor showed the difference in standards between the old 2nd and 3rd divisions.
Div Four:
Newcomer to the league David Nash (Astor F) made a very impressive debut by beating experienced Dave Harding (Astor E) in straight sets 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 proving practice is the key to improvement. His team mate Paul Eaton also making his debut gave a good account of himself, but nerves got the better of him losing all his matches but only lost 8-11, 9-11, 8-11 to Harding. Although it was a 9-1 defeat for Astor E against their Club mates Astor E it was a very entertaining match.
The cob-webs blown away as Chaddlewood (Marjon) D met Ivybridge D, The bridgers were prey to Adam Forshaw’s deceptive left hand serves and John Dodd's accurate fast placement of the ball, to crush the underdogs 7-3. If was a great hard-fought match with determination, frustration, edges and good humour all-round.