Table Tennis: Guernsey celebrates major titles in Channel Islands clashes

Monday 29 April 2024

The Channel Island Championships and Inter-Insulars were a resounding success for Guernsey.

Against the visiting Jersey contingent, the Sarnians came away with the major titles in all of the blue riband CI individual events as well as the Men’s and Women’s Green and Margaret trophies, topped off with reclaiming the sought after Aggregate trophy.

CI Championships Finals Night

The action kicked off on Friday evening at the GTTA centre and despite a slow start, the local players managed to take 11 of the 20 titles on offer, including the prestigious Big 5.

Star player Garry Dodd was heavily involved as he successfully defended three titles with ease. Alongside Joshua Butler he competed in the first round of matches against Miguel Freitas and Ian Lambert in the Men's Doubles. They were in control from the first point until the last and other than a close second set score of 15-13, dominated proceedings with a straight sets win.

It was a similar story in his next match, where he retained the Mixed Doubles title alongside Alice Edwards with relative ease. The Jersey opposition was Green and Margaret Trophy representatives in the form of Leon Pierre and Freya Allaway, however Dodd and Edwards were never troubled and cruised to a straight sets win.

The pair's final matches of the evening were within the flagship Men's and Women's Singles clashes and assured performances were put in here too.
Dodd was up against Pierre and was in ruthless form from the offset, clinching the first three sets for the loss of just eight points. Pierre played his part in the fourth set, however Dodd was in complete control and closed it out 11-8 to win his third consecutive and 10th overall CI Men's Singles title.

Edwards on the other hand was chasing CI title number nine in the Women's Singles and did so in style courtesy of a straight sets win over Jersey's youthful champion Esther Lewis.

The final blue riband event saw a perfect ending for Kay Chivers and Juliette Yeaman. The duo who had done so well to win the Island title from an unseeded position continued their fantastic run with a solid performance to complete the clean sweep of Men's and Women's CI titles. Their opponents in the final were youngsters Lewis and Ella Devlin and despite the encounter being hard fought, Chivers and Yeaman were always in front and comfortably won the sixth game 11-5 to complete a solid 4-2 win. The close part of the match was in the middle as it saw consecutive 12-10 game shared by both pairs during sets four and five.

Outside of the victories in these five events, Phil Ogier was the next player with the most success as he picked up two titles strongly. His first came in the Over 40's Open Singles where he won his fifth CI title in this category. His opponent in the final was the tricky Ian Lambert, who played some strong table tennis in moving Ogier around the table and executing some excellent short touches. Ogier played well though and never let his opponent get close and won in straight sets.

His next title came in the Over 50's Open Singles where his first venture yielded the CI title. Long time adversary Eugene Ellis was his opponent in the final and the pair have shared many a classic over the years. Ogier was however not to be moved here and his strong form continued into this match and he stormed through in straight sets during the final session of the evening.

The strength of Jersey's Junior players has been good in recent years and once more they came away with the large majority of the titles. That is all apart from one of Guernsey's most promising young players, in the form of 11-Year-old Luke Evans. Evans has made significant improvements to his game over the season and he had far too much for his opponent Evan Ness in the Under 11 Open Singles final. The first set was the closest at 11-8 and he motored through the remaining three sets to take what is surely the first CI title of many to come.

Chivers picked up a second title on the night as her eighth Over 40's Women's title came over Irene Billet-Masters emphatically for the loss of just 13 points.
The final title claimed by Guernsey players competing was a popular one and also the best match of the night as it saw Jamie Ferbrache and Andy Gill clinch the Over 40's Open Doubles crown in seven sets against the already beaten Men's Doubles team of Freitas and Lambert. The Guernsey duo looked strong when leading 3-1, however the visiting pair took the next two sets, including edging a tight sixth 12-10 to put the busy GTTA centre ready for a tense finale. In the end though the strong topspin strokes from Ferbrache and Gill were too much and they closed out the deciding end comfortably 11-5.

The 11th and final CI title went to Guernsey's Terry Trustum by walkover. This was due to his opponent in the Over 70's Open Singles, Frank Bougeard, disappointingly not travelling over to compete in the CI final.

Of the titles to not go Guernsey's way, Oskar Cleal came the closest to victory in the Under 18 Boys Singles. He was playing well to lead John Le Fondre 2-1, however Le Fondre fought well to win the next three sets and close it out in six.

A number of other titles were won by representatives of Jersey's Green and Margaret trophy teams.

Chris Morshead's defensive style was too much for Paul Hainsworth as he cruised to a straight sets win in the Restricted Open Singles, whilst Green debutant Alfie Sutherland likewise had too much in the locker for Cameron Powell and won the Under 21 Open Singles comfortably in straight sets.

Freya Allaway sprung a surprise in the Under 18 Girls final as the underdog won a very close game against Shelby Timms in straight sets. The second and third ends in particular could have gone either way with 14-12, 15-13 scores deciding them.

Oscar Karwowski had too much firepower for Aiden Ozanne in the Under 13's Open Singles and won in straight sets, while the unorthodox style of William Cornthwaite saw him oust Ozanne in straight sets in the Under 15 Boy's Singles final.

Cornthwaite also teamed with Le Fondre to win the Under 18 Open Doubles title against Cleal and Cameron Powell. The Guernsey duo levelled up proceedings at 1-1 before the Jersey pair romped through the next three sets.

The final junior event to go the way of the visitors was the Under 15 Girls Singles title where Esther Lewis soundly beat Keira Eldridge in straight sets.

Jersey's final trophy of the evening was also their only title of the night within the Veteran's categories. Eugene Ellis and Mark Pipet have had many a clash over the years and last year Pipet roared back from 3-1 down to take the Over 60's Open Singles title out of the grasp of Ellis in a classic. On this occasion however it was Ellis who levelled up the CI title count in this event on three each, by virtue of his five-set victory.

Inter-Insulars

Pictured: Ryan Bichard.

The curtain closing Green and Margaret Trophy matches were contested in tandem on adjacent tables on Saturday.

Guernsey clinched both trophies and in the process also reclaimed the desired Aggregate Trophy in style, by the score of 72-58.

The story could however have been rather different, and the Green Trophy encounter was one which swung dramatically the way of the Sarnians from just after the middle part of the match.

Jersey had come out of the blocks strongly and put the team of Joshua Stacey, Lawrence Stacey and Ryan Bichard under pressure.

After conclusion of the first five matches, Jersey led 4-1 after a number of surprise results had ensured they were in pole position to regain the trophy. Guernsey did not however read this script as they stormed back to win the final five matches.

Pierre had competed for Jersey in the Green Trophy match for the last few seasons and was yet to pick up a win. He was the catalyst for the strong start made due to his contribution of two wins. He was first up against Lawrence and saved set points en route to taking the opener 13-11. Lawrence looked assured after winning the next two ends for the loss of just five points, however a good start to the fourth enabled Pierre to eventually seal it 12-10 with a strong backhand counter topspin and force the decider.

Stacey made a good start to the critical deciding end and led early and followed this up to lead 9-8. Pierre showed good composure to restore parity at 9-9 and then controlled the following point excellently with some strong blocks. Stacey saved the first match point with strong attacking topspin strokes and despite a Stacey timeout, was able to secure the perfect start for his side when Stacey hit a backhand topspin off the end of the table.

Debutant Sutherland was up next, and he produced the goods to extend the Jersey lead. He comfortably won the first set 11-4, but Joshua looked to be back in control when leading the next 7-1.

Sutherland battled back to edge it 11-9 and put himself just one set away from a big win. Joshua held his nerve well with good serves at 9-9 to edge through 11-9, however in the end this merely delayed things. Joshua again fought hard and came back from 5-1 to lead 9-8, but an uncharacteristic missed forehand topspin gave Sutherland the boost he needed to seal it 11-9 following another missed forehand topspin from Joshua.

Up next was Guernsey's own debutant Bichard in against Jersey chopper Morshead. Bichard himself had only learnt that he was playing around 48 hours prior due to an injury to Ben Foss, which meant the reserve had to step into the hotseat.

Morshead is probably the hardest match you could have to start the evening with; however Bichard showed no signs of nerves and was unfortunate to be edged out 11-9 in the opener. He continued to play in a positive and sensible manner and battled back well from 6-4 to win the second 11-7. Morshead regained control when winning the third 11-4, leaving Bichard with it all to do. But do it all he did. He found himself 6-4 down after a tremendous defensive point which saw Morshead retrieve multiple strong forehand topspin strokes. A timely timeout was called at 5-7 by coach Jez Powell and this was pivotal in Bichard's success.

A match point was saved well at 10-9 and four points later a decider was on the cards after he had clinched it 13-11. The final set was close, but Bichard led for the most part. He rounded off a terrific performance 11-8 following a strong backhand topspin.

If it was hoped this would be a momentum changer then this was not quite it as Pierre stepped on to impressively defeat Joshua in four sets. Morshead then added a straight sets win over Lawrence to put the Jersey side firmly in control at 4-1.

Cue the turning point of the match, the Doubles rubber. Jersey were firmly in pole position in the tie at this stage and when Pierre and reserve Freitas opened up a 2-0 lead against Joshua and Lawrence, things looked really ominous. A positive third set of 11-7 was the catalyst for the turnaround as the fourth was then clinched 11-8.

There was however time for more drama in the deciding set. A 10-8 lead saw a successful Jersey timeout and soon it was all square at 10-10. Ultimately it was two Freitas errors from this point which enabled Guernsey that particularly important foothold back into the match.

Bichard was up next and despite a weak start, he comprehensively defeated Sutherland in 4 sets to continue his dream debut.

The next match was a classic attack versus defense affair as it was Joshua against Morshead. Just like his clash against Bichard, Morshead started stronger and was in command when leading 2-1. Just like that prior affair, it was a close fourth set which turned the match around. The entire set was point for point and critically Stacey retrieved a ball on the wide forehand at 9-9 and then concluded it with a strong forehand topspin into the Morshead forehand. From here he was always ahead and he sealed his first win of the night 11-5 to bring the game back level at 4-4.

The penultimate match of the night pitted the two unbeaten singles players, Bichard and Pierre, something that would not have been predicted by many at the start of the night.

The first set was pivotal, and Bichard showed superb composure and fight to bounce back from 8-4 down to seal it 12-10, having saved a set point at 10-9 thanks to a thunderous forehand topspin return. Pierre comfortably won the second 11-4, but this only spurred man of the match Bichard on to increase his level as he stormed through the following two sets for the loss of just six points and put his side on the brink of a famous comeback victory.

Lawrence was on for the win against Sutherland and both players were desperate to pick up their first individual win of the night. Sutherland started strongly by taking the opener 11-9, but Stacey responded with a pair of comfortable 11-7 ends. The concluding set had it all and it saw a set point missed by Sutherland at 10-9 when Stacey blocked a forehand excellently down the line. That was the chance gone for Sutherland as Stacey hit an explosive forehand winner followed by a backhand into the net by Sutherland, concluding a super tie.

The Ladies Margaret Trophy was significantly less dramatic as Guernsey stormed to a comfortable 8-2 victory.

Chivers spearheaded the charge due to her straight sets wins over Allaway, Lewis and Hilary Le Cornu, whilst she also teamed with Paula Le Ber to beat Allaway and Lewis in five sets. Le Ber and Timms played their part strongly also as each only lost one singles match each. Timms let a 2-1 lead slip against Lewis and lost 11-6 in the decider, whilst Le Ber was beaten in four sets in the final match of the night by Allaway.

The overall Aggregate Trophy success may have been concluded during the evening, however the majority of the work to achieve this was naturally during the busy morning and afternoon sessions.

Across the remaining 11 team matches, five were won by Guernsey and two were drawn.

As a theme from the prior night's CI Finals, Guernsey were victorious in each and every Veteran's match.

The most emphatic of these was in the Over 60's where a 10-0 whitewash was achieved. The strong team of Mark Pipet, Kay Chivers and debutant Craig Dunning all had far too much for Martin Tupper, Rob Blackmore and Dave Le Clerq and won most games comfortably. The closest match saw Pipet fight back from 2-1 down to beat Blackmore over the distance.

The Over 70's team of Gary Wilcocks, Terry Trustum and Keith Opie were dominant and won 8-2. Le Clerq was the only player to have any joy as he edged past both Wilcocks and Opie in five sets.

The Over 40's and Over 50's clashes against Jersey were super affairs, with both edged 6-4 by the Sarnians.
First up in the morning session was the Over 40's and it saw excellent performances from Phil Ogier and Jamie Ferbrache. Each player earned good wins over the tricky Eugene Elliis, Ian Lambert and Miguel Freitas. Ferbrache's feat was even more the sweeter as he trailed both Ellis and Freitas 2-0 before storming back to win each in five. Alongside Ogier this was very nearly repeated in the doubles, however Freitas and Lambert pinched the deciding end 12-10. Steve Ozanne was unlucky not to add to the tally as he lost out to Freitas in five sets in the match opener.

All players in the Over 50's contributed to the success. Ogier and Jez Powell earned singles wins against Lambert and Blackmore, whilst they also combined strongly to beat Ellis and Lambert in straight sets in the important doubles match. Andy Gill was the player to secure the decisive sixth win and he did this in the match opener when he beat Blackmore soundly in four sets. Ellis saved some of his best table tennis of the weekend for this fixture as he beat Ogier in five sets as well as Powell and Gill in four sets.

Despite not picking up any team wins in the Junior categories, the Sarnians did a lot better than last year and this shows the improvement being made.
The closest matches saw 5-5 draws the outcome and the Under 11's Open was a fantastic showcase of the youngest stars of the Channel Islands.

Luke Evans showed his class once more with an unbeaten match. He won all of his singles, dropping just the single set to Evan Ness in the process. In the doubles alongside Isla Bretel, a vital five set win was achieved, despite having trailed 2-1, with the final set being closely won 11-9. It was however Thea Cummins that produced the goods during her excellent four set win over James Cleverly in the opening game of the match. She came remarkably close to securing a win for Guernsey in the final match. Leading Rory Quinn 2-1, the fourth set was a humdinger and it saw a match point at 12-11 that was saved by a strong Quinn backhand. Quinn eventually edged it 15-13 and then went on to take the deciding end 11-7.

The other match to end as a stalemate was the Under 18 Boys – another fantastic game which finished not long before the evening matches started, with six matches needing the deciding fifth set to obtain a winner. Jersey got the better of these with four sealed and this was important to them salvaging a draw, even though in practice it was Guernsey who did so, by winning the final two matches. Barnaby Groves and Cameron Powell both excelled by beating Kevan Moreira and Jack Le Blond, with

Groves coming close to a trio of wins, losing out to Cornthwaite in five sets. Oskar Cleal earned the other win when he beat Le Blond in 4 sets in the final game of the match. He was very unfortunate not to add any other wins as he lost to both Moreira and Cornthwaite in five sets.

The Under 13's came close but were just edged out 6-4. Aiden Ozanne was the best performer here as he beat Jonty Porter in 4 sets and Ella Devlin in straight sets. Luke Evans added a win over Devlin in straight sets and he also teamed with Ozanne to win the doubles over Porter and Oskar Karwowksi in 4 sets. Luca Sidaner competed well but was unable to earn a victory.

In the Under 15 Boys an 8-2 loss was incurred, despite the first two matches being won. Ozanne and Groves made the perfect start when they beat Theo De Poerk and Callum Allaway in four and five sets respectively, but no further success could be earned. A number of 4 set losses were incurred by Groves, Ozanne and Oskar Cleal in the remaining rubbers.

The Under 18 Girls were defeated 8-2 in a match where Jersey fielded 2 Margaret Trophy players. Shelby Timms was the sole player to taste success as she avenged her prior evening's CI final defeat when she beat Freya Allaway in 5 sets. She also beat Esther Lewis in five sets. She was surprisingly beaten in the match opener by Ella Devlin, despite leading 2-0. Sian Craig and Emily Gavey fought well but were unable to secure any wins, with Craig coming close during a five set loss to Devlin, 11-9 in the decider.

The heaviest defeat for the Sarnians came in the Under 21 Open, however it was arguably Jersey's strongest side outside of the Green as it contained two Green players in the form of Leon Pierre and Alfie Sutherland, as well as Under 18 Boys Champion John Le Fondre. Despite the brush, Caden Brouard, Connor Powell and James

Crocker all gave a good account for themselves and played some strong table tennis. Brouard came the closest to a win but was edged in five sets by Le Fondre and he also competed well against Pierre and Sutherland. He took a set off Pierre and led Sutherland in two sets and was unfortunate to lose both 12-10, 13-11.

The final scheduled event was the Restricted and it saw success and disappointment at the same time. It was successful in the fact that the Guernsey team of Ryan Bichard, Paul Hainsworth and Liam Robilliard took the trophy via a 10-0 walkover, but was disappointing that these players did not have the opportunity to contest the inter-insular match, due to Jersey being unable to field a team.

Pictured top: Garry Dodd.