With just two weeks of fixtures remaining, no title has been decided across any of the four Divisions in Guernsey’s Doric Insurance sponsored senior table tennis leagues.
Division 1
The champagne was put on ice for defending champions Whistlers A as their first loss of the season leaves them needing a further point from their final 2 fixtures to retain their crown.
Having gone 21 matches without tasting defeat, this was served to them by a 3rd placed Lions B side including 2 reserves. The damage was however done by averages leader Alex Robinson, who continued his superb season, with another encounter in which he contributed to 4 wins. In singles action his best win came against Joshua Stacey.
Having led 2-0, he weathered a fightback which saw Stacey win sets 3 and 4 for the loss of just 8 points, recovering strongly to breeze through the deciding end 11-4. His other wins came over Matthew Casey in straight sets and Joseph Bourgaize in 4 sets.
The victories put him on the brink of clinching the Division 1 averages honours, with this being achievable as early as next week, where he competes against the side at the foot of the table, Ravenscroft Panthers B. In the doubles he teamed with Ryan Bichard, where they earned a strong 4-set win over Stacey and Casey. Bichard was the player to secure the other crucial wins and both came over the full 5-set distance. He romped through the deciding set against Casey 11-2, but needed to fight back from a 2-1 deficit during his encounter with Bourgaize, sealing the final 2 tight sets 11-9, 11-8. He came very close to a trio of wins, but fell 11-8 in the deciding set to Stacey. All of the Whistlers players picked up consolation singles wins over Ian Le Page.
Whistlers B just about kept themselves in the title picture after earning a slender 6-4 win over a 4th placed Lions A side, in a fixture which saw no player unbeaten. It looked to be plain sailing for the victors after they stormed into a 5-0 lead, however a strong finish from the Lions side kept them on their toes, the Whistlers side only finally securing victory in the penultimate clash of the night. For the Whistlers side, Lawrence Stacey and Oskar Cleal were responsible for 5 of the rubbers. They each defeated Sam Clark over 4 sets, with Cleal earning an excellent straight sets win over Liam Robilliard, with Stacey beating Stubbington in 3 close sets. The duo teamed well in the doubles, overcoming Stubbington and Clark in straight sets. Mark Pipet was the player to secure the final rubber, ousting Clark in straight sets in the match opener. For the Lions side, Robilliard bounced back well from his initial loss to record 2 fine victories. His first saw him dispatch Stacey for the second consecutive occasion, this time a 4-set win recorded over the higher ranked player. His final win came over Pipet in straight sets. Stubbington also enjoyed a strong evening which saw him fight back from 2-1 down to defeat Cleal over the full 5-set distance, whilst he also beat Pipet in straight sets.
7th placed side Lions C won for the 3rd week in a row as they edged past a weakened 6th placed Lions E side 6-4. Paul Hainsworth continued his strong run of form and made it 12 singles wins in a row, defeating Steve Ozanne, Mark Fenwick and reserve Lee Luscombe without dropping a set. Connor Powell impressed in the match opener with a straight sets win over Fenwick, whilst he also defeated Luscombe in straight sets, whilst Caden Brouard also beat Luscombe in straight sets to secure the points. For the defeated Lions side, Ozanne bounced back from 2-1 down to edge out Powell in 5 sets, whilst he also beat Brouard in 4 sets. Fenwick battled past Brouard 12-10 in the deciding 5th end, whilst Ozanne and Fenwick teamed to defeat Hainsworth and Brouard 14-12 in the 4th set of the doubles clash.
Bottom placed side Ravenscroft Panthers B picked up points for just the 5th time this season after holding their A side to a 5-5 draw. Nye Matthew has enjoyed a strong season for the A side and he was unbeaten in singles action in this fixture. He beat Micah Cohen and Marli Barker in 4 sets and Andy Gill in straight sets. Barnaby Groves defeated Barker in 4 sets and Gill in straight sets to secure the draw. For the B side, all players defeated reserve Juliette Yeaman, however Barker needed to fight back from 2-0 down to get over the line. Cohen earned a strong straight sets win over Groves in the final game of the night to seal the point, whilst the duo of Gill and Barker did well to overcome Matthew and Groves in 4 sets in the doubles clash.
Division 2
Despite the title not being won yet, Whistlers D need to win just 3 individual matches out of the 20 they have left to win the title. This is because they have a 4 point lead from Whistlers C, with a far superior games difference ratio.
With their match for this week having already been contested, it was down to the C side to see if they could mathematically keep the title race alive and they just about managed this, squeezing past 7th placed side Lions G 6-4. Kenedy Chepkor starred with singles wins over Ian Le Page, Alexis Aquino and reserve Ella Le Ber, dropping just a single set to Le Page in the process. Paula Le Ber added wins over Aquino and Ella in 4 and straights respectively, whilst Martin Sarre defeated Ella in straight sets to secure the points. Le Page impressed during matching 5-set wins over both Paula and Sarre, whilst Aquino added a nice 5-set win of his own over Sarre. The doubles saw a surprise result as Aquino and Ella shocked Paula and Sarre in a 5-set win.
Division 3
Whistlers F came out on top in the top of the table clash with Ravenscroft Panthers G and now hold a 2-point advantage at the top. They have however played a match more than both Ravenscroft Panthers E in 2nd and Ravenscroft Panthers G in 3rd, 3 points adrift and will be keen spectators in the clash between the 2 Panthers sides next week, knowing that their final match of the season with the Panthers E side is likely to decide the title.
Their win this week over the G side was achieved 6-4, in a fixture which saw Sekao Nwako unbeaten. He defeated Phil Harris in 4 sets and Thea Cummins and Mark Windsor in straight sets, teaming with Maija Hansen in the doubles to overcome Harris and Cummins in 4 sets. Hansen was the player to secure the other key rubbers, beating Cummins in straight sets and more importantly, Windsor over the full 5-set distance. For the beaten Panthers side, all players defeated Rolands Tracums, whilst Harris added a 4-set win over Hansen in the final game of the night.
Division 4
Lions K moved back to the top of the table by a single point, albeit they have played a match more than Ravenscroft Panthers H, who are heavy favourites to win the title.
The Lions side kept their hopes alive with a strong 8-2 win over Lions L. Mike Corbin was the best performer of the match as he defeated Keil Butt, Sam Bewey and Andrew Butt in singles action. Val Guilbert and Diane Le Page each beat Bewey and Andrew, whilst they also combined to beat Keil and Andrew in 4 sets in the doubles clash. For the beaten Lions side, Keil earned an excellent straight sets win over Guilbert and a 5-set win over Le Page in a match which he had trailed 2-0.