The commencement of the second rotation of fixtures in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior leagues resulted in some close matches, particularly for the league leaders.
Division 1
League leaders Whistlers B took full advantage of the extra fixture played than title rivals and defending champions Whistlers A last week. Their victory over Lions C this gives them a solid 3 point advantage at the top, however aside from their 5-5 stalemate with Whistlers A, this victory was hard fought and saw them pushed to 6-4 for just the second time this season. Lawrence Stacey proved to be key to the narrow win over the 7th placed Lions side as he contributed strongly with 3 important singles wins. He defeated Paul Hainsworth and Connor Powell in 4 sets and Caden Brouard in straight sets. Oskar Cleal is having a strong season so far, which has seen him win 2 singles matches a week and this continued here with 2 more key wins. He started off strongly by dispatching Powell in straight sets, however his following encounter with Brouard was pivotal in the outcome of the match. Brouard looked strong when leading 2-1, however the younger Whistlers player fought well and managed to come through 11-7 in the deciding set. The league leaders are fortunate to have a number of strong reserves to call upon and Division 2 averages leader Craig Dunning showed his quality with a strong straight sets win over Powell to secure the win. For the Lions side, Hainsworth defeated both Cleal and Dunning in straight sets, whilst Brouard battled well to oust Dunning 11-8 in the deciding 5th set of their clash. The doubles was won by Hainsworth and Brouard over Stacey and Cleal in 4 sets.
Lions B closed the gap to second position to just 3 points following a hard fought 6-4 win over a 5th placed Lions D side. The fixture was significant in that it saw a battle between the 2 leading players in the Division 1 averages, Phil Ogier from the D side and Alex Robinson from the B side. Their meeting earlier in the season saw Ogier battle back from a 2-0 deficit to win over the 5 set distance. On this occasion the scenario was reversed, with Robinson storming back strongly from 2-0 down to win in 5 sets. The result sees Robinson top of the averages with just that single defeat to Ogier, with Ogier close behind with just 2 singles losses to his name. Robinson followed up on that strong victory by defeating Mark Fallaize and Cameron Powell in straight sets, whilst he also teamed with Jamie Ferbrache to maintain their 100% winning doubles record for the season, dispatching Ogier and Fallaize in straight sets. Ferbrache played well during straight sets wins over both Fallaize and Powell to secure the win. All of the D side earned wins over Ollie Sparkes, whilst Ogier added a further 4 set win over Ferbrache in the opening game of the night.
Lions A moved into 4th position after squeezing past an 8th placed Ravenscroft Panthers B side 6-4. Liam Robilliard led the way strongly for his side courtesy of wins over Micah Cohen, Andy Gill and Marli Barker, dropping just a single set to Barker in the process. Sam Clark fought back excellently from 2-0 down to defeat Gill and also defeated Barker in straight sets. Robilliard and Clark teamed to win the important doubles match over Cohen and Gill in 4 sets to secure the points. For the Panthers side, all players picked up wins over Division 2 reserve Ian Le Page, whilst Cohen added a further 4 set win over Clark.
6th placed side Lions E recorded a strong 8-2 win over bottom placed side Ravenscroft Panthers A in the final match of the week. Jez Powell and Steve Ozanne starred with unbeaten evenings, however each was tested en-route. Powell needed the full 5 sets to get past both Nye Matthew and Barney Groves, coming back from 2-0 to defeat Groves, whilst he also dispatched Luke Evans in 4 sets. Ozanne needed to fight back from 2-1 down to edge past Evans 13-11 in the deciding set, whilst his wins over both Matthew and Groves came in 4 sets. Mark Fenwick defeated Evans 15-13 in the 4th end of their clash, but he was defeated by both Matthew and Groves in matching 4 set defeats. The doubles was won by Ozanne and Fenwick in 4 sets in a match where all sets were incredibly settled by identical 12-10 scores.
Division 2
The hotly anticipated top of the table clash between Whistlers C and Whistlers D did not disappoint, with Whistlers D maintaining their 100% winning start in a tight tussle. Despite this fact, the C side are top of the league by a single point, as they have played 2 extra matches. The C side were missing Paula Le Ber, however they were fortunate to be able to call upon a strong reserve in the form of Stuart Sarre. In the end though Dunning proved to be the main man of the night as his unbeaten evening directly contributed to 4 of the 6 rubbers won by the victors. He defeated Martin Sarre in 5 sets sets, Kenedy Chepkor in 4 sets and Stuart in straight sets. He also teamed with Kay Chivers in the crucial doubles rubber, where they edged past Martin and Chepkor in 5 sets. Chivers herself earned straight sets wins over Chepkor and Stuart to seal the win. For the defeated Whistlers side, Martin played well during a 5 set win over Chivers and like his team-mates, all earned wins over the D side’s reserve Sekao Nwako.
Division 3
Ravenscroft Panthers G returned to the top of the table following a strong 8-2 win over 4th placed side Ravenscroft Panthers F, although they have played a game more than title rivals Ravenscroft Panthers E, who had a ghost week. This victory saw Phil Harris continue his strong debut season. He sits second in the averages and he was unbeaten in this fixture. Following straight sets wins over Richard Wellfair and reserve Asher Cohen, he was embroiled in a tough 5 set clash with upcoming junior Isla Bretel. Bretel edged a tight 3rd set 12-10 to lead 2-1, however Harris showed his quality by cruising through the final 2 sets for the loss of just 6 points. Junior Thea Cummins matched the feat of Harris by battling back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat fellow junior Bretel, whilst she also beat Cohen 3-0. She was on track for an unbeaten evening of her own when leading Wellfair 2-0, however the F side player fought back well to win in 5. Reserve Will Davidson defeated Wellfair in 5 sets and Cohen in straight sets, but was defeated in straight sets by Bretel. Harris and Cummins won the doubles over Bretel and Wellfair in straight sets.
Division 4
Lions K hold a strong 3 point advantage at the top following their emphatic 9-1 win over 7th placed side Bribar B. Val Guilbert and reserve Roy Woodcock each defeated Morgan Finn, Noah Finn and Perran Lomax in singles action. Diane Le Page added wins over Lomax and Noah, whilst she also teamed with Guilbert to edge past Morgan and Noah 11-9 in the deciding 5th set of a closely contested doubles clash. Morgan prevented the whitewash thanks to his strong 4 set win over Le Page.