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Things have tightened up at the top of Division 1 in the table tennis Doric Insurance Senior Leagues.
Joint league leaders Whistlers B and Lions C had only lost one of their seven opening fixtures, however both were defeated this week.
The results still see them with a single point gap from the third placed side and a two point gap from the sides in fourth and fifth.
Whistlers B are still officially top as they have a superior games ratio by a few matches, however they were beaten for the second successive week, this time 8-2 at the hands of fourth placed side Lions B.
They were however missing their influential number one Lawrence Stacey, which made the heavy defeat less surprising, given he has only lost three singles matches in the league all season.
Phil Ogier and Jamie Ferbrache were in dominant form as each defeated Dawn Morgan, Oskar Cleal and Division 2 reserve Kennedy Chepkor. Ogier dropped just a single set to Morgan in the process, while Ferbrache needed four sets to get the better of both Cleal and Chepkor. The duo combined well in the doubles where they dispatched Morgan and Cleal in four sets. Steve Ozanne beat Chepkor in four sets, however he was beaten by Morgan in straight sets and Cleal in four sets.
Lions C were embroiled in a close match against the in-form side of the Division, sixth placed side Lions A. Despite starting the season with four straight defeats, the defending champions are starting to to purr and this tight 6-4 victory continues them on their unbeaten run of four matches, which includes three victories.
The form of the 2015 Island Men's Singles champion Joshua Butler has proved key to their strong form, with him second in the averages, with just two singles defeats to his name. He made it five consecutive matches without losing a singles match this week, with another strong evening of performances. His best win came in the final match of the night to seal the points for his side, a strong 3-1 win obtained over the 2024 Green Trophy hero Ryan Bichard. His other wins came against Dan Collenette in four sets and Connor Powell in straight sets.
Liam Robilliard has also been playing some strong table tennis and he added matching four set wins over both Collenette and Powell and was unlucky to lose out to Bichard in five sets in a match he led 2-1. The final win for the victorious side came when Sam Clark defeated Powell in straight sets.
For the defeated Lions side, Bichard and Collenette defeated Clark in straight and five sets respectively, whilst they also combined to edge past Butler and Clark 12-10 in the deciding fifth end of the doubles clash, in which they saved three match points from 7-10 down.
Whistlers A moved to just a single point behind the leading duo after they cruised to a 10-0 whitewash over a bottom placed Ravenscroft Panthers A side missing Nye Matthew. Joshua Stacey, Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize all picked up wins over Barnaby Groves and reserves Ben Foote and Juliette Yeaman in singles action, with only junior Groves picking up sets during four set losses to Casey and Bourgaize. The doubles was won by Casey and Bourgaize over Foote and Yeaman in straight sets.
Lions D remain in fifth place after defeating seventh placed side Lions E 6-4. Despite the victory, none of the D side could get close to averages leader Ben Foss, who retained his 100% singles record. Foss was in strong form during singles wins over Jez Powell, Paul Hainsworth and Craig Dunning, dropping just a single end to Powell in the process.
The E side were missing Matthew Stubbington, however 2nd Division reserve Caden Brouard played well and earned an excellent four set win over Powell in the final match of the night.
The D side were however able to mop up the remaining matches, with all players defeating Charlotte Casey and Hainsworth and Dunning adding wins over Brouard in four sets and straight sets respectively. The doubles rubber proved to be important and it saw Hainsworth and Dunning battle past Foss and Casey in four sets.
League leaders Whistlers D secured a 7-3 win over Ravenscroft Panthers B this week and maintained their single point advantage at the top. Henri Whitehorne was the unlikely player of the match as he was unbeaten during wins over Brandon Ferbrache in straight sets and both Foote and Yeaman in five sets, in both cases where he needed to fight back from 2-0 down.
Kay Chivers added wins over Ferbrache in four sets and Yeaman in straight sets, but she was shocked in straight sets by Foote in the final match of the night, an excellent scalp for the Panthers man. Keith Opie added a further win over Yeaman in straight sets, but he lost to Foote in five sets and Ferbrache in four sets. The doubles was won by Chivers and Opie over Ferbrache and Foote in straight sets.
It was lucky 13 for title bound Ravenscroft Panthers D, as their 13th consecutive win saw them remain with a huge seven point lead from their nearest rivals. The 9-1 victory over St Pauls B was comfortable for the team of Micah Cohen, Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin over Rob Vile, John Wills and Brian Le Cras, with Vile the only player to pick up any sets on the night. He did so superbly though as it saw him earn an upset four set win over Mosley.
Lions K have a two point lead at the top after their 7-3 win over Lions L and a defeat for their closest title rivals.
The 7-3 win for the unbeaten K side saw reserve Lionel Jones and Rolands Tracums unbeaten as each defeated Helen Barker, Ella Le Ber and reserve Derek Cave in singles action. Val Guilbert added a four set win over Le Ber, but was beaten by Cave and Barker in straight sets. The doubles was won by Barker and Le Ber over Tracums and Guilbert in four sets.
The youthful Ravenscroft Panthers G are now in second position and level with Lions M, whom they inflicted a first defeat of the season on this week, courtesy of a narrow 6-4 win. Thea Cummins and Isla Bretel each defeated Rachael Sharp and Katy Collenette in singles action, while Olivia Gilbert added an important straight sets win over Collenette in the final match of the night to secure the victory.
The doubles had been an important rubber and it saw Bretel and Guilbert come through a close four setter over Karen Brouard and Sharp. For the beaten side, Brouard was unbeaten, dropping just a single set to Cummins in the process, whilst Sharp edged past Gilbert in five sets.
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