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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant rouSunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant round 8: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Shannon Bowen, Andrew Cannard 3) d Tankard Dental 4 (Mark Dorman, Nick Dorman, Lee Thomas 1)
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Ljubic, Matt Ljubic, Kate Carmichael 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (Wayne Carmichael 3)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Leon Brown 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Gavin Carmichael, Ed Hung 2, Shane Carmichael 1)
PENNANT TWO:
– Tankard Dental 7 (Ross Humphreys, Josh Carmichael 2, Matt Avers 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Leon Brown 3, Seval Fuat 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Arnold Jago 3, Sony Sefer 2) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Ashley Morrison 2, Cole Keegan, Aidan Moore 1)
– Spanline 6 (Andrew Jones, Geoff Wright 2, Rod Healy 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Peter Midgley, Terry Martin 2)
PENNANT THREE:
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Rod Healy 3, Jol Peters, Jai Green 2) d Fishers IGA 3 (Jeremy Corrin 2)
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Colin Moore 3, Peter Edwards 2) d Bishop Builders 5 (Mick Bacon 2, Callan Humphreys, Brian Hosking 1)
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Karly Leach, Leonie Dunkley, Sam Hensgen 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Alyce Carmichael 2, Peter Mikhaeil 1)
PENNANT FOUR:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Quentin Clark 3, Kim Avers 2) d Sunny Daily 5 (Paulo Reyes 2, Soyel Zahidi, Sue Green 1)
– Fishers IGA 9 (Cambell McKenzie 3, Ben Hosking, Soyel Zahidi 2) d Max Miller Carpets 2 (Kumail Jaffry 2)
Sam Hensgen had the crowd drawn to his every move as he took seconds to sort out the Rubik Cube. He also contributed two vital singles and a doubles to Dunkley Scales 7 – 4 victory over Mallee Bearings in P3.
PENNANT ONE:
The feature of round eight results of the Sunraysia Table tennis winter pennant one competition was that the teams positioned three to six all changed places in what has been an even season. Another feature was that despite being beaten for the second round in succession Fishers IGA have managed to hold top position albeit by a narrow percentage from Dunkley Scales who won their sixth match in a row after dropping the first two games of the season.
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Shannon Bowen, Andrew Cannard 3) d Tankard Dental 4 (Mark Dorman, Nick Dorman, Lee Thomas 1)
Dunkley Scales in this round proved too strong for Tankard Dental on the grand stand court winning 7-4. For Dunkley’s both Shannon Bowen and Andrew Cannard were in top form winning three singles each as well as combining successfully to win the second doubles in straight sets. 
Cannard has had a consistent season and this was the first time he had recorded three singles victories. In his first match of the night after trailing two games to love against the experienced Mark Dorman, Cannard recovered to win an excellent match 8-11 6-11 11-9 11-9 11-9, a really tight affair. Cannard is benefitting from his solid training sessions with hitting partner Darren “Hurricane” Robinson and proving excellent support to his skipper Shannon Bowen as the “dream team” continue to roll on!!!!
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Ljubic, Matt Ljubic, Kate Carmichael 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (Wayne Carmichael 3)
By inflicting the second defeat on ladder leader Fishers IGA, Mallee Bearings advanced to third on the ladder and evened up their win/loss ratio to four wins and four losses. Despite Wayne Carmichael winning three singles for Fishers and participating in both doubles victories his team came up one rubber short on the stage court.
An even display by the Mallee Bearings trio of Mark and Matt Ljubic and team mate
Kate Carmichael who all won two singles enabled their team to record a 6-5 victory over the ladder leader. Matt Ljubic was on fire early against aggregate leader Wayne Carmichael taking the first game and enjoying a slight lead in the second as his forehand was on song. Carmichael as he has so often in the past, managed to draw on his wealth of experience surviving the Ljubic storm to narrowly grab the second and then go on to take the entertaining match 9-11 11-9 11-6 11-4.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Leon Brown 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Gavin Carmichael, Ed Hung 2, Shane Carmichael 1)
After losing four matches on the trot Weightmans Packaging returned to the winners circle defeating third placed Max Miller Carpets 6-5 on centre court. Weightmans skipper Joel Thomas controlled this match winning three singles and keeping his unbeaten record intact. Thomas also combined with team mates Michael Hogarth and fill in Leon Brown to win both the doubles matches which was crucial in the end result.
Brown played his part winning a singles as well. This was a top class five set victory 9-11 11-8 3-11 11-8 11-7 over Shane Carmichael and one of four five setters which took place on the night. Brown will gain some confidence form these victories as he attempts to get his team on track in pennant two.
Weightmans Michael Hogarth whilst not winning a singles was unlucky going down to both Gavin and Shane Carmichael in hard fought five setters. Against Gavin he took the first and second games and in the fourth held a match point before going down in five. Against Shane he trailed two games to love before narrowly going down in the fifth. It was not all doom and gloom for Hogarth as in the first doubles he partnered Joel Thomas to an 11-8 6-11 11-7 11-6 win over the Carmichael brothers which was a crucial result.
PENNANT TWO:
This week the two top teams played off, the two bottom teams played off, and with the two middle teams also playing off, the big winner was Sony Sefer’s Weightmans Packaging side, which joined Spanline at the top of the ladder.
– Tankard Dental 7 (Ross Humphreys, Josh Carmichael 2, Matt Avers 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Leon Brown 3, Seval Fuat 1)
Hard to imagine, but these two teams have only won one game each this season. With quality players in both sides, wins have been hard to come by, with losses mounting up as wins slip by. So this was a big match for both sides, and Tankard Dental made sure of the win with a burst of four victories midway through the contest.
Scores were tied at three rubbers all after six rubbers, Fishers’ courtesy of Leon Brown’s two wins (over Josh Carmichael in four and Ross Humphreys in three); and Seval Fuat in three over Matt Avers.
Tankard Dental had responded with wins by Ross Humphreys over Geoff Peters in four (after losing the first), 
Carmichael and Humphreys the first doubles in five over Brown and Peters 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, and then Carmichael with an easy win over Fuat 8, 5 and 5. Tankard’s then took the next three rubbers – Matt Avers played consistent table tennis to down Geoff Peters 12-10, 11-9, 11-9, Humphreys and Avers got home in a close four setter 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9 over the more experienced pairing of Brown and Fuat, and Humphreys picked up his second rubber with a three set win over Fuat immediately afterwards.
Brown stopped the flood of rubbers with a three set win over Avers, 8, 3 and 7 and Tankards took the last when Carmichael accounted for Peters 9, 6 and 6.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 22 games to 16.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Arnold Jago 3, Sony Sefer 2) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Ashley Morrison 2, Cole Keegan, Aidan Moore 1)
These two teams were only a game apart (5 wins to Weightmans to 4 for Max Millers) before this match and the Max Miller combination of Ashley Morrison, Cole Keegan and Aidan Moore were looking to stay close to the top group of teams with a win.
It was not to be, however, for with a welcome return to top form by Arnold Jago, Weightmans had the win with one rubber to play.
And Jago was in good form too – with three set wins over the improving and talented Cole Keegan and Aidan Moore, added to a four set win over Ashley Morrison 11-7, 11-5, 2-11, 11-8, Arnold was playing as well as ever.
Arnold’s captain Sony Sefer could not complete a double of wins with him; after defeating Keegan and Moore, he fell to Morrison in four sets, after he took the first.
Weightmans made sure of victory with a win in the doubles with Sefer and Jago proving too experienced for Morrison and Keegan. The first three sets were close, in fact the Max Millers pair led 13-11, 10-12, 11-9. But at that point the Weightmans pair took control, taking the last two sets easily 3 and 6.
For Max Millers, Morrison took two rubbers, and Keegan and Moore one each.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 18.
– Spanline 6 (Andrew Jones, Geoff Wright 2, Rod Healy 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Peter Midgley, Terry Martin 2)
The fight between the two teams at the head of the ladder proved to be a headline act.
In a nail-biting contest, Spanline got home 6-5 in the last rubber.
Wins were shared up to the fourth rubber: Andrew Jones had defeated Glen Bell in four sets, and Geoff Wright and Jones took the first doubles against the strong pairing of Peter Midgley and Terry Martin.
Pinnacle Packers had equalized with wins by Martin over Wright in five sets, taking the last two confidently, 6 and 5; and Midgley over Rod Healy who was doubling up, also playing his regular game in Pennant Three.
Spanline then gave themselves some breathing space with wins in the next three contests, the second round of singles: Jones again played well, downing Martin in four sets,
Wright made up for his earlier defeat, and defeated Midgley, to inflict only the second defeat on Midgley for the year, and fill-in Healy proved his worth with a strong four set win over Glen Bell.
With shades of last week, the next three rubbers went to Pinnacle Packers: Midgley and Bell too good for Wright and Healy, taking the win easily 8, 3 and 9; Midgley too strong for Jones, again three sets 9, 7 and 3, and after starting slowly Martin defeated Healy in four 11-13, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9.
That made it five all, with Spanline’s Wright to play Glen Bell for Pinnacle Packers. Wright made no mistake this week, securing the win in three sets.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 24 games to 17.
PENNANT THREE:
Bishop Builders were the big losers after this week’s round of games. After losing to Pinnacle Packers, they dropped from third to fifth on the ladder, and one game out of the four.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Rod Healy 3, Jol Peters, Jai Green 2) d Fishers IGA 3 (Jeremy Corrin 2)
Ladder leaders Weightmans Packaging were not extended in this game, winning in a canter.
With captain Rod Healy again winning his three singles, and teammates Jai Green and Jol Peters two each, the game was won before adding in the three set doubles victory of Healy and Green over Jeremy Corrin and Michael Hensgen.
Such was the ease of the win, seven of the eleven rubbers were decided in three sets, however there were two quality five set matches, and both involved Fishers number three Tom Douglas. 
Douglas played the first and the last rubbers of the night. In the first, against Jol Peters, the game see-sawed back and forth before Peters took the fifth 11-8. The final rubber, against Jai Green, was there for the taking by Douglas, but his game faded badly after the third set. Douglas led 16-14, 12-10, and when he narrowly lost the third 11-13, his opponent tore through him to take the final sets 11-6, 11-3.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 23 games to 16.
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Colin Moore 3, Peter Edwards 2) d Bishop Builders 5 (Mick Bacon 2, Callan Humphreys, Brian Hosking 1)
Only two of the six regular players played this match, with the fill-ins providing a close result.
Both these teams were equal on three wins before this match; Pinnacle Packers have hit a bit of form lately, whilst Bishop Builders have lost their early season momentum.
Ajay Chowdrey and Colin Moore filled in for the absent Rachel and Paul Fitzpatrick – 
Moore, after not having played a game for a couple of seasons, played like he had never been away, scoring three singles wins. Peter Edwards came away with two wins this week – in four sets over Brian Hosking who is a bit match-shy, not playing regularly this year, and later in five sets over Callan Humphreys who gave Edwards a big fright, when he only succumbed in five sets. Edwards and Chowdrey also took the first doubles in four entertaining sets against Humphreys and Mick Bacon 11-7, 12-14, 14-12, 11-6.
For Bishop Builders, Mick Bacon took two singles wins, Callan Humphreys and Brian Hosking one each, and the two fill-ins, Humphreys and Hosking took a well-deserved five set win against the more-fancied pairing of Peter Edwards and Colin Moore 11-9, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 23 games to 21.
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Karly Leach, Leonie Dunkley, Sam Hensgen 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Alyce Carmichael 2, Peter Mikhaeil 1)
Dunkley Scales moved to a secure third spot on the ladder with this win over Mallee Bearings.
After trailing three rubbers to one after the first four rubbers, Dunkley Scales rattled off the next five to secure the win, and then added the final rubber to make it seven rubbers to four.
The side was consistent rather than dominant:
Karly Leach, Leonie Dunkley and Sam Hensgen all took two singles wins – both Leach and Dunkley fell to Alyce Carmichael (subbing for Sabrina Fitzpatrick), whilst Hensgen went down in four sets to Peter Mikhaeil.
Leach and Hensgen took the second doubles for Dunkley Scales in four sets over Mikhaeil and Frania 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8.
For Mallee Bearings, Alyce Carmichael was the best-performed player; Alyce took the two singles rubbers mentioned above, plus her doubles with Mikhaeil. She and Mikhaeil combined well to down Leach and Dunkley in straight sets 11-8, 11-8, 11-9.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 24 games to 20.
PENNANT FOUR:
– Fishers IGA 9 (Cambell McKenzie 3, Ben Hosking, Soyel Zahidi 2) d Max Miller Carpets 2 (Kumail Jaffry 2)
Ladder leader Fishers IGA maintained their undefeated run after eight rounds by defeating Max Miller Carpets 9-2. For the fifth time this season first year player Cambell McKenzie recorded three singles.
His match with opposing number one Kumail Jaffry was a beauty. It went to five and after a close tussle Cambell took the points 11-9 6-11 11-3 4-11 11-8. Both Cambell’s team mates “ice man” Ben Hosking and Soyel Zahidi both won two singles in the big win. Victory in both doubles ensured the ladder leaders had a big night out, the second in Midura in a matter of days.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Quentin Clark 3, Kim Avers 2) d Sunny Daily 5 (Paulo Reyes 2, Soyel Zahidi, Sue Green 1)
This was a close affair and a battle between second and third with third placed Weightmans Packaging winning 6-5 in a thriller against a depleted Sunny Daily. 
Weightmans Quentin Clark was the standout player in this match winning his three singles and partnering skipper Kim Avers to a 12-10 7-11 11-9 8-11 11-8 win over Paulo Reyes and fill in Soyel Zahidi. This is the first time this season Quentin has won three singles and his season is proving very consistent. His skipper Kim Avers won two singles and this win will give them a chance to reach second position on the ladder which includes a much sought after double chance come finals time.
For Sunny Daily Chilean import Paulo Reyes continued his good season winning two singles.
A highlight from this match was the singles between Sunny Daily player Demi Green who was up against her mother Sue who was filling in for Sunny Daily.
This match was played on the main grand stand court in front of many spectators and to complete the family theme the match was umpired under the watchful eye of brother and son Jai Green. In the end it was mum Sue who prevailed 11-8 11-7 11-3 in an entertaining fun match. Well done girls and Jai !!!
