A return to action for the leading Whistlers teams in the top flight of the Doric Insurance sponsored senior table tennis league resulted in matching comfortable wins for both teams, with the duo comfortably clear of the chasing pack.
Division 1
Whistlers B hold a single point advantage from their A team and comfortably dispatched 8th placed side Ravenscroft Panthers B 8-2 this week. Lawrence Stacey and Oskar Cleal were unbeaten in singles action, with each dispatching Andy Gill, Micah Cohen and Marli Barker. 2nd Division reserve Craig Dunning added wins over Cohen and Barker in straight sets, but was defeated in straight sets by Gill. Gill and Barker combined to earn a super straight sets doubles win over Stacey and Cleal.
Whistlers A’s 8-2 win came over 6th placed side Lions A. Joshua Stacey and Matthew Casey were unbeaten in the fixture, with each earning singles wins over Liam Robilliard, Matthew Stubbington and Sam Clark. The closest of these clashes was between Stacey and Stubbington, where Stacey needed the full 5 sets to come through. The Whistlers duo also combined strongly in the doubles where they defeated Robilliard and Clark in straight sets. Joseph Bourgaize defeated Stubbington in 5 sets, however he was beaten by Robilliard in straight sets and Clark in 5 sets, which prevented the whitewash.
Lions D remain in third spot following a comfortable 8-2 win over a bottom placed Ravenscroft Panthers A side missing their leading player Nye Matthew. Phil Ogier continues to impress in league action and he enjoyed another unbeaten evening. He defeated Barney Groves, Luke Evans and Division 2 reserve Albie Lihou without dropping a set. Mark Fallaize mirrored this feat with a strong evening of singles wins, however he needed the full 5 sets to get past both Groves and Evans, 11-8 and 14-12 the scores in the deciders respectively. Cameron Powell defeated Lihou in straight sets and also teamed well with Ogier in the doubles match, where they defeated Groves and Lihou in straight sets. Groves and Evans prevented the whitewash due to their consolation straight sets singles wins over Powell.
Lions B remain 4th following their 7-3 win over a 6th placed Lions C side missing Paul Hainsworth and Connor Powell. Alex Robinson enjoyed another dominant evening which saw straight sets singles wins obtained over Caden Brouard and reserves Scott Romeril and Ian Le Page. Jamie Ferbrache defeated Brouard and Le Page in straight sets, whilst Ollie Sparks added a fantastic 5 set win over former Islands Men’s Singles champion Romeril in Romeril’s first match in a few years. Robinson and Ferbrache combined well to dispatch Romeril and Brouard in straight sets in the doubles match. For the defeated Lions side, Brouard defeated Sparkes in straight sets, whilst Le Page defeated the same player 11-8 in the deciding 5th set. Romeril showed his form was returning as the night went on due to his comfortable straight sets win over Ferbrache.
Division 2
Whistlers C are top of the table by a single point, albeit they have played a match more than their main title rivals Whistlers D, who have won all 6 matches so far this season.
Whistlers C earned a 7-3 win over 4th placed side Lions F this week. Kenedy Chepkor led the way strongly with singles wins over Andy Ferbrache in 5 sets as well as straight sets wins over Brian Ferbrache and reserve Jonah Ingrouille. Martin Sarre added wins over Ingrouille in 4 sets and Brian in 5 sets, whilst Paula Le Ber fought back from 2-0 down to edge out Ingrouille. The doubles was won by Chepkor and Sarre over Andy and Brian in straight sets. For the defeated side, Andy beat Sarre and Le Ber in straight sets, whilst Brian overcame Le Ber in 4 sets.
Whistlers D may have made it 6 consecutive wins and maintained their 100% wining start, however they faced their toughest test to date and only narrowly edged past Whistlers E 6-4. Kay Chivers was a key reason for the success as it saw her unbeaten. Crucially this included a straight sets win over Mark Pipet in the match opener, just his second defeat of the season so far. Her other wins came over Matthew Board and Darren Sarre in straight sets. Craig Dunning defeated Board and Sarre in straight sets, however he was defeated by Pipet in 4 sets. Chivers and Dunning teamed to win the important doubles clash against Sarre and Board in straight sets to seal the win. All of the E sides players earned singles wins over 3rd Division reserve Ken Falla.
Division 3
Ravenscroft Panthers E remain top of the table with a single point cushion, however they had their closest match of the season thus far and edged past a third placed Whistlers F side 6-4. Averages leader Shaun Mosley was key to the result as he was unbeaten in the fixture. He defeated Sekao Nwako in 5 sets, as well as straight sets wins over Rolands Tracums and Maija Hansen. Steve Martin added wins over Tracums in straight sets and Hansen in 4 sets and crucially he combined with Mosely to win a pivotal doubles clash over Nwako and Hansen. The Whistlers duo led this key clash 2-0, before the Panthers pair stormed back to clinch it in 5. All of the Whistlers players defeated Olivia Gilbert in singles action, whilst Nwako added a further 5 sets win over Martin.
Division 4
Lions K emerged as narrow 6-4 winners in the top of the table clash against Lions I, a result that sees them head the table with a single point advantage, with the Lions I side down in third spot, 2 points adrift. Val Guilbert was important to the outcome of the match as she won all of her singles matches against Rose Powell, Fred McLellan and Samuel Sherward. Whilst her wins came over Powell and McLellan in 4 sets, her victory over Sherward in the final match of the night was hard fought. Facing a 2-0 deficit it looked like the match was heading to a 5-5 stalemate, however she battled back well, taking the final 3 sets 11-9, 11-9, 11-6. The other individual solely responsible for the victory for the league leaders was reserve Mike Corbin. Corbin was also unbeaten in singles action and he did so impressively, without dropping a set. All of the I side’s players defeated Diane Le Page in singles action, whilst Sherward and McLellan earned a nice 4 set win over Guilbert and Le Page in the doubles rubber.