Whistlers Table Tennis Club have secured the Division 1 senior league title with two matches to spare.
They had not won the title for five years, but took the crown after yet another 6-4 victory.
Their ability to secure close victories has been a critical element to their success, with eight matches won by the score of 6-4 from their last 11 fixtures. They have lost just once, in the second match of the season.
Their latest win came against a sixth placed Lions D side.
Joshua Stacey’s form has been another key factor in their success and he currently sits second in the averages, having lost just five singles matches all season. This fixture was no exception as once more he led his team strongly. He was ruthless in singles action, where wins were obtained over Paul Hainsworth, Jez Powell and Craig Dunning, for the loss of just a single end to Hainsworth in the process.
It was, however, his involvement in the doubles which was critical to the title success. Alongside Matthew Casey they looked to be in absolute control when leading Hainsworth and Dunning 2-0, however the Lions pair roared back and forced a decider following some strong play. The deciding end was closely contested, but it was the Whistlers duo that concluded proceedings 11-8 in the pivotal clash.
While Stacey has been instrumental in their success, Casey has also excelled this season and has had one of his better seasons in the top flight over the past few years. He once more secured two critical wins and this commenced with his best win of the season, a four set victory over the higher ranked player, Hainsworth. He made no mistakes in his next match against Dunning and won in straight sets to ensure the win was obtained. For the defeated Lions team, all players earned wins over Joseph Bourgaize, albeit Powell needed to fight back from a 2-0 deficit before winning over the full five set distance, 14-12 the score in the deciding end in which Powell brilliantly saved a match point after a strong forehand topspin return from Bourgaize. Powell additionally secured a strong four set win over Casey.
The battle for the runners-up spot is now in the spotlight, especially following the results this week. Whistlers B had led nearest rivals Lions C and Lions B by two points, however they tasted a surprise defeat this week, while both Lions sides won. The result is that all sides have identical points, with just two fixtures remaining.
The defeat for the Whistlers side was a surprise result as it came 7-3 against a bottom placed Ravenscroft Panthers A side that had picked up points on just a single occasion before this encounter. Nye Matthew, Barnaby Groves and Andy Gill made sure of the unexpected result with singles wins over Oskar Cleal and reserve Kennedy Chepkor. Groves and Gill were also on hand to earn a super four set doubles win over Lawrence Stacey and Cleal. Averages leader Stacey won all of his singles matches, although he did need to withstand a comeback from Groves in the final match of the night. Having led 2-0, Stacey was clawed back well by the youngster, before the more experienced player came through the decider 11-7.
Lions B are now mathematically in second spot, as they have the strongest games difference ratio across all three sides. They ran out strong 7-3 winners over a fifth placed Lions A side missing Joshua Butler this week. Phil Ogier was the player of the match as he defeated Liam Robilliard in four sets as well as Sam Clark and reserve Caden Brouard in straight sets. Steve Ozanne added wins over Brouard and Clark in four sets and he also combined with Ogier to defeat Robilliard and Clark in four sets in the doubles rubber. Jamie Ferbrache added a further four set win over Brouard. For the beaten Lions side, Robilliard earned straight sets wins over both Ferbrache and Ozanne, whilst Clark did well to overcome Ferbrache in four sets.
Lions C’s tight 6-4 win over seventh placed side Lions E kept them in the hunt. The fixture included an excellent rare victory for Ryan Bichard over Ben Foss, which came in four sets. Bichard also defeated Charlotte Casey and reserve James Crocker in straight sets. Dan Collenette beat Casey in four sets and Crocker in straight sets, whilst it was Connor Powell’s four set win over Casey that secured the victory. For the defeated Lions side, Foss overcame both Collenette and Powell in straight sets, Crocker fought back excellently to earn a five set upset win over Powell and Foss and Casey were strong straight sets winners in the doubles match against Collenette and Powell.
Division 2
Results were not as expected this week, which have had implications in the title race, which looks set to go down to the final match of the season.
Lions F’s single point lead at the top looked to be reduced as they were held to a surprise 5-5 draw by an inspired 5th placed Lions H side, however at the same time, main title rivals Whistlers D were ousted 6-4 by Whistlers C, a result that sees the Lions side with an increased two point advantage.
The draw for the league leaders was largely due to an inspired evening for Cameron Powell. Powell has been in a rich vein of form over the past few weeks and he excelled in this fixture due to an unbeaten evening of singles action. Most impressively was him inflicting just a third singles defeat all season on averages leader Caden Brouard. Brouard had led 2-1, but Powell showed great fight and ended up edging a tight fifth set 11-9 to emerge victorious. His other wins came over James Crocker in straight sets and Jonah Ingrouille in 4 sets. The result was secured due to a fightback from 4-2 down by the H side and the winner of the other two matches in the second half of the fixture was Mark Fenwick. Fenwick was a strong straight sets winner over both Crocker and Ingrouile, with him only having lost to Brouard in five sets earlier in the fixture, in a game he had led 2-1.
Whistlers D’s defeat to their C side mathematically keeps them in with a chance of securing the runners-up spot as they are just two points behind the D side. The result came due a strong team performance in which all players contributed to the victory. Kennedy Chepkor and Paula Le Ber each earned singles wins over Keith Opie and Henri Whitehorne, with Le Ber’s win over Whitehorne being the closest, an 11-9 5th set triumph. Martin Sarre’s return to action has been important for the Whistlers side and he secured a straight sets win over Whitehorne as well as teaming with Chepkor to earn a key four set doubles win over Kay Chivers and Keith Opie.
All eyes will be on next week as it sees the leading sides, Lions F and Whistlers D clashing in the penultimate week of the season.
Division 3
Ravenscroft Panthers D are now just two weeks away from completing a perfect season.
Their lead was extended to a whopping 11 points after they defeated second placed Ravenscroft Panthers E 7-3.
Averages leader Micah Cohen and Shaun Mosley were both unbeaten thanks to singles wins over Xavier Ingrouille, Richard Wellfair and Vikki Stacey, with Mosley needing the full five sets to get the better of both Ingrouille and Wellfair. Steve Martin added a four set win over Wellfair, but he lost to Stacey in four sets and Ingrouille in five sets.
The doubles rubber was won by Stacey and Ingrouille over Cohen and Mosley in a peculiar set of scores. Cohen and Mosley cruised through the first two sets for the loss of just eight points before Ingrouille and Stacey turned it around by winning the final three sets by matching 11-8 scores.
Division 4
Like Division 2, this is expected to go down to the wire and likely the last match of the season.
Lions K’s slender single point lead was just about maintained after they narrowly edged past 4th placed side Lions L 6-4. Val Guilbert and Rolands Tracums each earned singles wins over Ella Le Ber and Frank Coppolo, as well as teaming to win the crucial doubles rubber over the same duo in four sets. Diane Le Page was the player to obtain the key sixth win, when she defeated Coppolo in four sets. Reserve Derek Cave impressed with wins over all Lions K players, dropping just a single set to Guilbert in the process. Le Ber also battled past Le Page in five sets, 11-9 the score in the deciding end.
The youthful Ravenscroft Panthers G side are in a good position with two fixtures to go as they will meet the league leaders in the final match of the season. They also narrowed the games ratio gap significantly via a 10-0 whitewash over Whistlers I. It could still come down to this factor in deciding the title depending on results over the final two weeks. The brush this week saw Thea Cummins, Isla Bretel and Olivia Gilbert victorious over Connor Osbourne, Shaun Evans and Steph Evans. Cummins did need five sets to defeat Osbourne, whilst Gilbert needed to fight back from 2-1 down to defeat Shaun. The doubles was won by Cummins and Gilbert over Osbourne and Steph in four sets.