The two leading Whistlers sides having already completed their scheduled fixtures, Lions C had the chance to regain points in Division 1 of table tennis’ Doric Insurance Senior League.

Lions C duly did this and are now level on points with Whistlers B in second, but still a hefty five points behind the league leaders, Whistlers A. 

An 8-2 victory over Ravenscroft Panthers A was achieved by the Lions side this week in a fixture where Ryan Bichard and Daniel Collenette were each unbeaten.

Individually the pair defeated Nye Matthew in four sets, with Collenette defeating Barnaby Groves in four sets and Andy Gill in straight sets and Bichard picking up a four set win over Gill and a straight sets win over Groves. 

In the doubles they combined to overcome Groves and Gill in four sets. Reserve Caden Brouard added a narrow five set win over Gill, however he was defeated in straight sets by Matthew and four sets by Groves, which prevented the whitewash.

The battle between the two Lions sides in joint fourth spot ended in a 7-3 win for Lions B over a Lions D side missing Jez Powell. 

Phil Ogier was the player of the night as he was unbeaten in singles action. He defeated Paul Hainsworth in four sets and reserve Ollie Sparkes in straight sets, but his toughest test came against Craig Dunning in a match where he needed to battle back from 2-0 down to win over the full distance. 

Jamie Ferbrache and Steve Ozanne each picked up singles wins over Dunning and Sparkes to secure the victory. For the defeated Lions D side, Hainsworth beat Ferbrache in four sets and Ozanne in straight sets, whilst the doubles rubber was won by Hainsworth and Dunning over Ogier and Ferbrache in straight sets.

The final top flight match of the week saw sixth placed side Lions A edge past seventh placed Lions E, 6-4. 

The fixture saw a welcome return from averages leader Ben Foss, who was unbeaten in singles action for his E side. He dispatched Joshua Butler, Liam Robilliard and Sam Clark, dropping just a single set to Clark in the process. Matthew Stubbington added a five set win over Clark, however the E side just fell short in finding any further victories to get anything from the fixture. 

Stubbington came close in his clash with Robilliard, who fought back from 2-1 down to win the decider 12-10, whilst Foss and Charlotte Casey led Butler and Clark in the doubles clash 2-0, before the victors fought back to win in five. Each of the Lions A side’s players defeated Casey in singles action, whilst Butler added a further singles win over Stubbington in four sets to secure the points.

Division 2

The advantage at the top for league leaders Lions F was extended to two points this week, following a surprise slip-up by second placed Whistlers D.

The league leaders made no such mistakes in their clash with Ravenscroft Panthers B as they secured their matching best victory of the season, a heavy 9-1 triumph. Caden Brouard and James Crocker were both unbeaten on the night as each defeated Ben Foote, Juliette Yeaman and reserve Richard Wellfair. 

This was not straight forward as Brouard and Crocker each needed the full five sets to get past Foote, with Brouard edging the deciding end 11-9, and Crocker the decider 11-8. Crocker was also in trouble against Wellfair when trailling 2-1, before he raised his level significantly and won the final two sets for the loss of just four points. 

Jonah Ingrouille defeated Wellfair in straight sets and Yeaman in four sets, but he saw Foote fight back from 2-1 down in their clash to win in five sets, a result which spared the blushes for the Panthers side. The doubles was won by Crocker and Ingrouille over Foote and Yeaman in four sets.

The Whistlers side were held to a 5-5 draw by foruth placed side Lions G in a result which could have been much worse. 

The Lions side came flying out of the gates and led 4-0. Andy Ferbrache was the catalyst for this due to his excellent four sets win over Kay Chivers in the match opener and his four set win over Keith Opie prior to the doubles rubber. Brian Ferbrache battled back well from 2-1 down to defeat Opie in five sets, while Ollie Sparkes impressed with an emphatic straight sets win over Henri Whitehorne. 

Sparkes followed up with another quality four set win over Opie, however the decisive sixth win just eluded the Lions side. Andy Ferbrache came mightily close to concluding proceedings in the penultimate match of the night, however he could not quite put away Whitehorne. He led 2-1 before the younger player edged the final two sets 11-9, 15-13. Brian also came close to defeating Whitehorne, with the Whistlers player fighting back from 2-1 down in that encounter too, to win over the distance.

Division 3

Ravencroft Panthers D are likely to become the first Divisional champions next week. They hold a commanding nine point lead and have won all 23 of their fixtures contested this season. 

They secured their record seventh 10-0 whitewash of the season this week, with Whistlers F drubbed for the third time in meetings between these sides this season. Micah Cohen, Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin all defeated Kiera Eldridge, Sian Craig and reserve Jan Priest in singles action, whilst Cohen and Mosley beat Eldridge and Craig in four sets in the doubles match.

Division 4

Lions K maintained their three point lead at the top after earning a comfortable 8-2 win over Whistlers J. Rolands Tracums and Val Guilbert were unbeaten, with each individual earning wins over Marion Carre, Sandra Sebire and reserve Jovi Aquino. They also won the doubles over Carre and Sebire in straight sets. Diane Le Page added a five sets win over Aquino, however she was beaten in straight sets by both Carre and Sebire.