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Whistlers B and Lions C are the sides in pole position at this very early stage of the season, after each picked up impressive wins in the latest round of Doric Insurance league action.
The Whistlers side is officially top of the table, due to their superior games difference ratio and this was helped by a crushing 9-1 win over a severely weakened Lions A side, absent of their leading players Joshua Butler and Liam Robilliard.
Lawrence Stacey and reserve Mark Pipet were unbeaten in their singles matches against Sam Clark and reserves Luke Evans and Cameron Powell, although Pipet did need to battle back from 2-1 down to get past 11-year old Evans, with the youngster having beaten him in Division 2 action just six nights prior.
Dawn Morgan added a four set win over Evans and a straight sets win over Powell, however she was defeated in the match opener by Clark. This did not look likely when she led 2-0, however Clark fought strongly and pinched the final two ends narrowly, 12-10, 14-12. The doubles was won by Stacey and Morgan against Evans and Powell.
Lions C's victory was extremely hard fought, but it was an excellent 6-4 triumph over the side tipped to be one of the favourites for the title, Whistlers A.
Ryan Bichard played a huge part in the win, as he was unbeaten in singles action. This was however a tough test for him. His first match was one of the hardest as a 17-15 loss in the third set of his clash with Matthew Casey saw him 2-1 down. He played well from this point and stayed composed to roll through the final two sets by matching 11-5 scores. His next match was against Josh Stacey and despite leading 2-1, was forced to another deciding set. Once more he was the stronger player in the latter stages and took it 11-5. His final match of the night saw him drop the third set to Joseph Bourgaize, before storming through the fourth 11-5 once more, to complete a successful evening.
Dan Collenette and Connor Powell contributed to the remaining three rubbers, but once more these were hard fought and all of them went the distance. Collenette looked in cruise control after taking the first two ends against Bourgaize for the loss of just seven points, but the Whistlers player stormed back to a deciding leg. It was a close one, but Collenette held firm and took it 11-8.
Collenette was in a similar boat to Bichard during his clash with Casey, as a tight 13-11 outcome in the third set to Casey, saw him 2-1 down. He also played well and navigated the remaining ends 11-9, the fifth most impressive as he trailed for the most part of it.
Powell picked up a victory in the first match of the season, but this one was even more important. He had never defeated Bourgaize before this and after winning the first set, this was followed by defeat in the next two sets, for the loss of just three points. Despite the apparent momentum for Bourgaize, Powell turned it round and edged the fourth 12-10. The nervy fifth was taken 11-7 by the younger player. For the defeated Whistlers side, Stacey was a comfortable straight sets winner over Collenette and Powell, whilst Casey dispatched Powell in straight sets in the final match of the night. Stacey and Casey won the doubles match against Bichard and Collenette in four sets.
Lions D are the only other unbeaten side left in the Division and they recorded their first victory of the season, courtesy of a 7-3 win over Ravenscroft Panthers A.
Paul Hainsworth and Jez Powell were unbeaten over the course of the evening which sealed the points. Hainsworth needed to battle back from 2-1 down to overcome Nye Matthew in five sets, whilst he also beat Barney Groves in straight sets. Powell defeated Matthew in four sets and Groves in straight sets.
There was misfortune for Andy Gill during his clash with Powell, as despite the left-hander leading 2-0 and with a couple of match points in the third set, he failed to take these and Powell pinched it 15-13. Powell was comfortably leading the fourth set 7-1, when Gill injured his arm, forcing him to concede the match. This also meant that Hainsworth gained a win via walkover against him, as their match was due to follow that one. Hainsworth and Powell had earlier combined strongly to defeat Gill and Groves in straight sets in the doubles game. All of the Panthers players picked up their first wins of the season thanks to victories over Craig Dunning.
The final match of the week saw a first victory of the season for Lions B, who heavily defeated a Lions E missing star player Ben Foss, 9-1. Phil Ogier and Steve Ozanne were each on hand to defeat Matthew Stubbington, Charlotte Casey and reserve James Crocker in singles action, although Ogier trailed Stubbington 2-1, before claiming the remaining ends 11-9, 12-10. The B side had a reserve of their own in the form of Ellis Tomlin. Tomlin beat Crocker in 4 sets and Casey in straight sets, but was beaten in straight sets by Stubbington, which prevented the whitewash. Ogier and Ozanne won the doubles over Stubbington and Casey in straight sets.
Whistlers D lead the way by a single point at the top and are the only side left to have won all of their matches so far this season. They defeated Lions G 7-3 this week, despite an unbeaten evening of singles action for Andy Ferbrache. This included the first defeat of the season for Kay Chivers, with Ferbrache winning impressively over four sets. His other matches were also hard fought and he needed to overturn 2-0 deficits in both, with matching 11-8 scores in the concluding fifth ends against both Keith Opie and reserve Ken Falla. Chivers, Opie and Falla were on hand however to win the remaining singles matches against Brian Ferbrache and Ollie Sparkes to make sure of the win. The doubles was won by Chivers and Opie over Andy and Brian in straight sets.
The surprise result of the week saw one of the title favourites, Whistlers C, held to a 5-5 draw by Ravenscroft Panthers C, in a result that could have been worse, with two key five set matches going in their favour. The Whistlers side were missing one of their key players, Kennedy Chepkor, which hindered them, but it was still a match on paper that the Whistlers side looked favourites to win.
The Panthers side took full advantage of the missing Chepkor and each of Marli Barker, Albie Lihou and Peter Vivian dispatched reserve Shane Cotter in straight sets. Barker played some super table tennis to overcome Le Ber in straight sets, whilst Lihou also fought back well from 2-1 down to earn the scalp of Le Ber. The young Panthers duo came ever so close to winning the doubles rubber against Le Ber and Tim Le Page, which would have seen their side victorious. They fought back bravely from 2-0 down, before being edged over a titanic deciding end 17-15. Vivian also came close to adding the decisive 6th rubber in the opening match of the night. He extended Le Page to five sets, before falling 11-6 in the deciding set.
The battle of the unbeaten sides ended as a comfortable 7-3 win for Ravenscroft Panthers D against Ravenscroft Panthers E. Micah Cohen is one of just two players remaining with a 100% average and he narrowly held onto this in this fixture. After winning the first two sets against fellow junior Xavier Ingrouille comfortably, he lost the next two 12-10, 13-11, despite leading the fourth 10-7. He did hold it together in the decisive 5th end though and claimed it 11-6. His other wins came over Vikki Stacey and Richard Wellfair in straight sets. Shaun Mosley added wins over Stacey in straight sets and Ingrouille in 4 sets, whilst Steve Martin edged past Wellfair in five sets. The doubles was won by Cohen and Mosley over Ingrouille and Stacey in five sets. For the defeated Panthers side, Ingrouille and Stacey both ousted Martin in five sets, while Wellfair picked up an excellent four set upset win over Mosley.
The youthful Ravenscroft Panthers G side are top of the table and have won all four of their matches so far this season. This week they earned their second 10-0 whitewash result of the season, Whistlers I on the wrong end of the scoreline. Isla Bretel, Olivia Gilbert and Thea Cummins all defeated Shaun Evans, Steph Evans and Connor Osbourne in singles action. Gilbert and Cummins won the doubles match against Steph and Osbourne in straight sets.
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