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The race for the top flight title of the Doric Insurance senior leagues remains close, but the league leaders now have a two point cushion from their nearest rivals.
Whistlers A regained the lead at the top last week and they extended that to two points, following another victory and another result going their way.
The Whistlers side had a tough clash with a seventh placed Lions E side, but managed to just do enough and snuck past 6-4.
The result was largely thanks to an unbeaten evening of singles action for Joshua Stacey, as he inflicted just the second singles defeat of the season on averages leader Ben Foss, in four sets. He also beat Matthew Stubbington in four sets and Charlotte Casey in straight sets.
Matthew Casey and Joseph Bourgaize added straight sets wins over Charlotte, while the duo teamed in the pivotal doubles clash to earn success over Stubbington and Charlotte in five sets. The match was a tight one and it saw the Lions duo leading the deciding end 4-1, before they fell to an 11-6 defeat. For the Lions side, both Foss and Stubbington earned singles wins over Matthew and Bourgaize.
Lions C and Whistlers B find themselves two points adrift due to their 5-5 stalemate this week. Lawrence Stacey was the main man in this fixture as he went unbeaten in singles action. He defeated Ryan Bichard, Dan Collenette and Connor Powell, for the loss of just a single end to Collenette in the process. Oskar Cleal defeated Powell in four sets and Morgan beat the same player in straight sets to secure the draw. For the Lions side, Bichard and Collenette each dispatched Morgan and Cleal in singles action in straight sets and they also combined strongly to win the doubles rubber over Stacey and Cleal in four sets.
Lions B moved up into joint fourth spot after they earned their first 10-0 whitewash of the season, bottom placed Ravenscroft Panthers A on the wrong end. Phil Ogier, Jamie Ferbrache and Steve Ozanne each defeated Nye Matthew, Barnaby Groves and reserve Ben Foote in singles action. The closest match saw youngster Groves leading Ozanne 2-0 in the final match of the night, however Ozanne used his experience to fight back impressively, taking it 11-6 in the deciding fifth end. The doubles was won by Ogier and Ozanne over Matthew and Groves in straight sets.
The final match saw an excellent comeback from sixth placed side Lions A, as they stopped the strong form of fourth placed side Lions D, battling through 6-4. The D side had been on a run of four consecutive wins and looked in a strong position to continue their run, while leading 4-2. The A side however held strong and battled back well from a few positions of deficit during the fixture to take the spoils.
Joshua Butler was crucial to the victory as he was unbeaten in singles action. He defeated Paul Hainsworth, Jez Powell and Craig Dunning, dropping just single sets to Powell and Dunning in the process. Liam Robilliard was the man to get the final victory of the night, when he dispatched Powell in four sets, but more importantly he battled back strongly to edge past Dunning in five sets. Dunning had led the early stages of the deciding end and then held a match point at 10-9, but Robilliard held firm and took it 13-11.
The final win came from Sam Clark, who also battled back impressively to deny Dunning a win. Dunning led the deciding end of their five set encounter 4-1, but Clark gradually built his way back into contention and played well to secure it 11-8. For the beaten Lions side, Hainsworth battled back from 2-0 down to defeat Robilliard in the match opener and also defeated Clark in straight sets. Powell defeated Clark in straight sets, whilst he also combined with Hainsworth in a five set doubles win over Butler and Clark.
Lions F are outright leaders of the 2nd Division for the first time this season. They have been on a strong run of form which saw them pick up their sixth consecutive win of the season this week. The 7-3 victory over Ravenscroft Panthers C gives them a single point lead at the top. Joint averages leader Caden Brouard continues to show his quality, with victories being obtained over Peter Vivian and reserves Xavier Ingrouille and Micah Cohen, the latter individuals having been competed against last week by the Lions side too. James Crocker defeated Vivian in five sets and Ingrouille in four, while Jonah Ingrouille defeated Vivian in four sets. The doubles was won by Brouard and Jonah over Vivian and Xavier in straight sets.
Ravenscroft Panthers D continue to dominate the Division and their hefty seven point lead was maintained after they defeated Whistlers F 8-2 to make it 16 wins from 16. Micah Cohen was unbeaten as he defeated Keira Eldridge, Sian Craig and Emily Gavey. Shaun Mosley and Steve Martin added wins over Craig and Gavey, but each was defeated impressively by Eldridge, in five and four sets respectively. The doubles was won by Cohen and Martin over Eldridge and Craig in four sets.
Lions K have a single point lead at the top and also have a game in hand on their nearest rivals. They ran out 8-2 winners over Bribar A this week. Val Guilbert and Rolands Tracums were both unbeaten in singles action. Guilbert beat Noah Nicolle in four sets as well as both Fred McLellan and Samuel Sheward in five sets, while Tracums beat all Bribar players in straight sets, except for Nicolle, whom he needed to battle back from 2-0 down before coming through in five sets. Diane Le Page added a five set win over Nicolle in the final match of the night, but she lost to McLellan in four sets and Sheward in five. The doubles was won by Tracums and Guilbert over Sheward and Nicolle in straight sets.
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