With the domestic table tennis season having commenced a few weeks ago, all of the leading Division 1 players have begun their campaigns, with just players competing in the 2nd Division yet to enjoy any competitive action in the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues to date.
This weekend saw the first off-island action within the British National League structure, as some of Guernsey’s senior players made their season bow in the Senior British Club League – with Guernsey’s Veterans and Juniors also set to compete in the respective Club leagues this campaign.
Guernsey has unfortunately reduced the number of teams it is sending to compete in the Senior British Club leagues this term, with the leading side having dropped out, following a number of seasons competing in the third tier of action within National A.
What was previously the second team continues to compete in the 5th tier of action this time out, with the squad once more contesting action in National C1, with action taking place at the usual Halton Table Tennis Club in Widnes, Chesire, a venue that Guernsey has competed at regularly in this competition over the past decade or so.
With the first team having stepped away from action this season, there are several familiar faces from the second team that continue to spearhead the charge in this Division.
A number of individuals were however unavailable for the opening weekend, which led to spaces for Connor Powell and Kenedy Chepkor to travel away, alongside regulars Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize.
For Chepkor this is his debut in representing the Sarnians in off-Island competition, with him having only been competing regularly in Guernsey for the past few seasons. As a leading Division 2 player, he is one of the few individuals yet to get action underway locally in the Senior leagues.
The opening match was against a Crewe Central team, who are a new addition to the Division. Despite an incredibly tight match which saw 5 of the 9 rubbers go the full 5 set distance, unfortunately Guernsey fell to a 6-3 loss, clinching just 1 of those 5 lengthy encounters. It was Casey that did win the close match, and this was in the opening game of the match, when he overcame Adam Stanway 12-10 in the decider of a see-saw match which saw a further 2 ends settled beyond the regulation 11-point length. He came remarkably close to making an unbeaten start but was ousted in 2 other matches he competed in over the distance.
His other singles match against Crewe’s number 1 and England number 203 Christian Hine saw him leading 2-0 before he was edged out 11-9 in the deciding end, whilst alongside Powell, the doubles was lost 11-5 in the decider to Hine and Stanway, in another match led by the Sarnians 2-0. Bourgaize picked up a 4-set win over Alex Rees but suffered a 5-set loss of his own to Hine, whilst Chepkor dispatched Lucas Clarke in straight sets in the final game of the fixture. Chepkor himself was edged out in 5 sets by Rees in the other game to go the distance.
Saturday afternoon’s match was against one of the host venue teams in the form of Halton TTC 3 and a 9-0 whitewash was incurred. Despite the heavy nature of the defeat, there were some encouraging signs and close encounters present. Chepkor played well against Team GB Paralympic table tennis player Felicity Pickard and was unfortunate to lose in 5 sets, having led 2-0. Chepkor also participated in the other close match alongside Bourgaize, where in the doubles match they were closed out in 5 sets by Brian Hallsworth and James Bartolo.
The team showed absolutely no signs of disappointment from the opening day’s action as Sunday began with a heavy 8-1 victory over a familiar Isle of Man team, who have competed in the same Division as the Sarnians over the past few years. This saw an unbeaten fixture for Casey, Powell, and Chepkor with Chepkor beating Rebecca Bayley in straight sets, as well as earning a walkover against Amit Lanin. Casey needed to battle back from 2-1 down to beat the IOM number 1 Duncan Alexander in 5 sets, whilst he also defeated Mike Tamarov in straight sets in the opener. Powell competed well in this fixture as it saw him beat Lanin in 4 sets and he followed up by dispatching Tamarov in straight sets. Bourgaize fought back well from a 2-1 deficit to overcome Bayley in 5 sets, but he was unable to get past Alexander, who won in straight sets an spared the Manx blushes. The doubles proved to be successful as Whistlers A team-mates Casey and Bourgaize saw off Alexander and Bayley in 4 sets.
The final fixture of the weekend was against venue hosts Halton TTC2, who are currently top of the table following conclusion of the weekend. The match proved challenging and a heavy 9-0 whitewash occurred. Despite the defeat, some of the matches were well contested with 4 of the clashes including sets won by the Guernsey side, with a considerable number lost beyond the 11-point mark.
The results of the weekend see the Guernsey side in 7th place in the Division, although the tightly contested league does not have any team with a 100% winning record and each team has recorded a victory during the opening weekend. There are accordingly just 4 points between bottom and top spot. The Guernsey side has also competed against 2 of the top 3 sides and will be hopeful of a strong showing when they compete against a number of sides in the bottom half of the table in November, when the next round of fixtures is scheduled to take place.
