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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant round 14: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Joel Thomas 3, Michael Hogarth 2, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 1) d Tankard Dental 3 (Nicholas Dorman 2, Mark Dorman 1)
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, John Gray, Kevin Johns 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Gavin Carmichael, Shane Carmichael 2)
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Shannon Bowen 3, Andrew Cannard 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Mark Ljubic 2, Kate Carmichael, Matt Ljubic 1)
PENNANT TWO:
– Pinnacle Packers 7 (Peter Midgley 3, Terry Martin 2, Glen Bell 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Arnold Jago, Sony Sefer, Tony Malycha 1)
– Spanline 8 (Geoff Wright 3, Matthew Burns, Peter Fitzpatrick 2) d Fishers IGA 3 (Leon Brown 2)
– Tankard Dental 6 (Ross Humphreys, Matt Avers, Josh Carmichael 2) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Cole Keegan 2, Ashley Morrison 1)
PENNANT THREE:
– Dunkley Scales 8 (Colin Moore 3, John Fitzpatrick 2, Sam Hensgen 1) d Fishers IGA 3 (Jeremy Corrin 2, Tom Douglas 1)
– Pinnacle Packers 8 (Rachel Fitzpatrick 3, Peter Edwards, Paul Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Bearings 3 (Alan Erskine 2)
– Bishop Builders 6 (Peter Kelly, Jeff Hards 2, Mick Bacon 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Rod Healy 3, Jai Green 1)
PENNANT FOUR:
– Fishers IGA 6 (Cambell McKenzie, Ben Hosking 2, Soyel Zahidi 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Kumail Jaffry 3, Gloria Jago 1)
– Sunny Daily 7 (Paul Reyes, Shirley Whitecross, Sue Green 2) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Quentin Clark 3)
Mick Hogarth has hit form at the right time of the season picking up 2 singles victories and a doubles in Rnd 14 action.
PENNANT ONE:
Following the results of round fourteen matches the pennant one final four of the Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter competition has been decided.
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Shannon Bowen 3, Andrew Cannard 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Mark Ljubic 2, Kate Carmichael, Matt Ljubic 1)
Going into this round Mallee Bearings who were fifth on the ladder needed to defeat second placed Dunkley’s Scales to remain in the finals race. Dunkley’s took a two rubbers to one lead after the first bracket of singles courtesy of Andrew Cannard defeating Matt Ljubic in the first game of the night avenging a loss he had when they last met. Cannard’s team mate Shannon Bowen defeated Kate Carmichael in the third match to give his team the early ascendancy after Mallee Bearings skipper Mark Ljubic had accounted for Arthur Paar.
The first doubles was crucial for Weightmans and in a positive start Mark and Matt Ljubic took it up to Cannard and Bowen however they were unable to sustain this form and it was the Dunkley’s pair who settled to win in straight sets 13-11 11-9 11-9.
Mallee Bearings in the second block of singles fought back taking two of the three matches to then only trail three rubbers to four going into the second doubles.
Mark Ljubic accounted for the in form Andrew Cannard in four sets, this was Cannard’s first defeat in three rounds in what has been an excellent season for him.
Mallee Bearings narrowed the gap when 
Kate Carmichael recovered from losing the first game against Arthur Paar to go on and win 5-11 11-7 11-5 11-3.
The second doubles was now crucial for Weightmans to keep their season on track and in a positive start Mark Ljubic and Kate Carmichael grabbed the first game against Shannon Bowen and Arthur Paar. The second and third were close in this entertaining match with Bowen and Paar grabbing both. Ljubic and Carmichael fought hard to take the fourth in a marathon however it was the Dunkley’s combination of Bowen and Paar who won 9-11 11-8 12-10 15-17 11-7.
This victory gave Dunkley’s a 5-3 lead and Bowen then decided Mallee Bearings fate by defeating Mark Ljubic in straight sets an in affect finishing Weightmans finals aspirations. Dunkley’s went on to win 7-4 and maintain their hold on second position on the ladder.
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, John Gray, Kevin Johns 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Gavin Carmichael, Shane Carmichael 2)
The four match winning streak by third placed Max Miller Carpets came to an end this round, on the stage court, when they were defeated 7-4 by top team Fishers IGA in a match that was controlled by Fishers skipper Wayne Carmichael. Not only did he win his three singles comfortably he also participated in both doubles victories which went to five sets. Two other five setters were critical in the result with Fishers pair John Gray and 
Kevin Johns winning their respective singles matches against Ed Hung in close five set matches. Of the four five set matches in this contest all went the way of Fishers IGA.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Joel Thomas 3, Michael Hogarth 2, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 1) d Tankard Dental 3 (Nicholas Dorman 2, Mark Dorman 1)
In the remaining match, on the grand stand court, fourth placed Weightmans Packaging ensured they would remain in the top four when they accounted for Tankard Dental 8-3. As usual Joel Thomas won his three singles to remain undefeated this season; however it was Thomas’s team mate Michael Hogarth who played a key role for his team in this match with his best results for the season. In his first singles Hogarth started in blazing form against opposing number one Mark Dorman winning the first game before Dorman steadied to grab the next two. Hogarth took the fourth and the fifth was a thriller which went on and on until Hogarth recorded his best victory for the season winning 11-2 6-11 10-12 11-7 16-14.
Hogarth then teamed in the first doubles with Joel Thomas and they defeated Mark and Nicholas Dorman in four sets, Hogarth in his second singles won in straight sets against Lee Thomas and while he went down in five sets against Nicholas Dorman his side by that time had secured victory and Hogarth had played his best table tennis of the season.
PENNANT TWO:
Ladder leaders Weightmans Packaging lose their second match on the trot, Spanline win their first since Round 10, and Tankard Dental continue their good late season form.
– Pinnacle Packers 7 (Peter Midgley 3, Terry Martin 2, Glen Bell 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Arnold Jago, Sony Sefer, Tony Malycha 1)
After a great mid-season winning streak, when they took nine match wins in a row, Weightmans Packaging have gone quiet these last two rounds, losing 8-3 in round 13, and 7-4 in this round.
Not that this was an easy win. There were only two three set contests, and it comes as no surprise that this game was still going well after almost every one else had gone home.
Peter Midgley led the way for the Packers, again taking three singles wins. He had his work cut out against the persistent Arnold Jago, and had to come back from two sets down to get the win. On this occasion he dealt swiftly with Tony Malycha 5, 6 and 2 to get his second, and then had another five set struggle against Sony Sefer. He survived that one too, 13-11, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8 to remain at the top of the aggregate ladder.
Midgley’s number two Terry Martin had a good night with two wins – two wins which was nearly three. Martin defeated Tony Malycha late in the night in four sets after having earlier defeated Arnold Jago in five. His first singles rubber against Sony Sefer, was the one that got away. Martin led 11-6, 11-9, and came oh-so-close to finishing the match in both the third and fourth sets, losing them narrowly 12-14, 10-12 to see Sefer draw two sets all. Sefer with the momentum then took the fifth 11-7 to deny Martin a win he almost had.
Glen Bell troubles everyone he plays, even if the score card shows otherwise. On this night he gave Tony Malycha a run for his money, losing in four, and in the next round he upset Sony Sefer with a great five set win. Bell traded sets with Sefer before taking the fifth 11-9.
The Packers took the first doubles – Midgley and Martin getting the advantage in the fifth, winning 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8.
Not much went right for the Weightmans trio. They each scored one singles win – Sefer over Terry Martin, Jago over Bell and Malycha also over Bell, and Sefer and Malycha over Midgley and Bell in the second doubles when it seemed the Pinnacle Packers would take the match in a canter. They led easily 11-3, 11-5, but Sefer and Malycha bounced back in the final three sets taking them 11-3, 12-10, 11-9.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 26 games to 23.
– Spanline 8 (Geoff Wright 3, Matthew Burns, Peter Fitzpatrick 2) d Fishers IGA 3 (Leon Brown 2)
Spanline, after leading the competition for much of the season, had until this match not won a game for four rounds, and had slipped to third on the ladder.
This win was a bit of a steadier, albeit against the team on the bottom of the ladder.
Geoff Wright took three wins, dropping only one set each to Geoff Peters and Leon Brown. The match with Brown was much anticipated by Brown, as these two have for one reason or another, not played each other all year. Brown started in a hurry, taking the first set 11-3, but that was as good as it got, with Wright taking control to win the last three sets 9, 2 and 9. Matt Burns took two, both in four sets over Peters and Seval Fuat and Peter Fitzpatrick scored wins over these two players also.
That gave Spanline seven rubbers, their eighth came in the first doubles, Wright and Burns downing Brown and Peters in four sets.
Fishers IGA could only amass three rubbers in this contest, the second doubles of Brown and Fuat seeing off Wright and Fitzpatrick in five sets, and Leon Brown defeating Burns and Fitzpatrick.
The match between Brown and Burns was a good a match as you would see anywhere. Both players threw caution to the wind, no safe shots here !! Some fantastic rallying saw the game first go to one player, then the other. Brown took the first set 22-20, and when he led 7-3 in the second set it looked like he had that set, if not the match safely in his keeping. But that was just the start. Burns allowed Brown only one more point in that set to level at one all. Brown took the third 11-9, Burns the fourth 11-7, and seemed to have caused an upset at 10-8 in the fifth, only for Brown to reel off four points in a row to take the match. A truly great spectacle.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 28 games to 16.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Ross Humphreys, Matt Avers, Josh Carmichael 2) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Cole Keegan 2, Ashley Morrison 1)
Tankard Dental will not make the cut for the finals this season, but remain the best performed side since round 10, having won their last four encounters.
Ross Humphreys’ coaching of his young chargers Josh Carmichael and Matt Avers is paying off, and it is a pity the season does not go a bit longer, as this side is troubling, and beating, the rest of the competition.
Each of the Tankard Dental players took two wins: 
Humphreys defeated Aidan Moore and Cole Keegan, Carmichael downed opposing captain Ashley Morrison and Moore, and Avers also accounted for these two players.
It shows how much this sport is as much a mind-game as one of skill. Ross Humphreys could not defeat his opposite number Ashley Morrison. Perhaps it is because they have played each other many times and Morrison has the advantage from those games. However, both the younger players, Carmichael and Avers defeated Morrison – Avers coming back from two sets to one down to take a great win, before Carmichael ran through Morrison in straight sets.
These were the only rubbers the Tankard side won, but it was enough.
Two wins to Cole Keegan (over Carmichael in four and Avers in three), one to Morrison (over Humphreys), and wins in both doubles kept the Carpeters in the contest.
The match was decided in the eleventh rubber with Carmichael defeating Aidan Moore in a very tight three setter. Carmichael refused to allow Moore to take a set, winning 12-10, 13-11, 14-12.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 20.
PENNANT THREE:
The result of matches in this round have now decided who will and who will not play in the finals this season. Only Fishers IGA, sitting fifth could have been a possibility of joining the other four teams, but they lost their chance when they were defeated by Dunkley Scales.
– Dunkley Scales 8 (Colin Moore 3, John Fitzpatrick 2, Sam Hensgen 1) d Fishers IGA 3 (Jeremy Corrin 2, Tom Douglas 1)
Both sides were sporting substitutes for this game; Dunkley Scales had Karly Leach and Leonie Dunkley absent, and were replaced by Colin Moore and John Fitzpatrick respectively. Michael Hensgen was absent from the Fishers IGA lineup and Therese Fitzpatrick subbed for him.
This match marked Fishers’s last chance of making the finals for season 2014. They had to win here to join Dunkley Scales on 24 points, and then hope for a win for themselves in the next round, together with a loss for Dunkley Scales in Round 15 also. Any considerations of what might happen in the future though, were brought to nought as Fishers crumbled to an 8 rubbers to 3 defeat.
Scores were level after six rubbers, but from then on Dunkley Scales took total control of the match.
Three singles wins to Colin Moore set the foundation for this win. Moore also helped his teammates to wins in both doubles – he and Sam Hensgen downing Fishers’ regulars Jeremy Corrin and Tom Douglas in straight sets, and later on he and youngster John Fitzpatrick played a good five setter against Corrin and Therese Fitzpatrick, coming away with the win 11-2, 4-11, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10.
John Fitzpatrick had a good night – in addition to his doubles wins he took two singles rubbers. He dealt with Tom Douglas in straight sets, getting better as he went, 13-11, 11-8, 11-4. His other win was against his sister Therese, who understandably was not going to let her brother get a win without some resistance! Therese played steady table-tennis, but John had too many guns on this occasion and won 11-2, 11-5, 6-11, 11-7.
For Fishers, Jeremy Corrin took two, defeating Sam Hensgen in straight sets, and lucky to get away with a five set win over John Fitzpatrick. Corrin never got the better of the young Fitzpatrick, and was relieved to get the fifth set 12-10.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 27 games to 14.
– Pinnacle Packers 8 (Rachel Fitzpatrick 3, Peter Edwards, Paul Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Bearings 3 (Alan Erskine 2)
In another easy victory, Pinnacle Packers downed Mallee Bearings 8 rubbers to 3. As with Dunkley Scales in the previous match, scores were level after six rubbers, but from that point on Pinnacle Packers took the lot.
Rachel Fitzpatrick put in strong performances in her singles, taking them all. She defeated her mother Sabrina in straight sets, Helen Frania in four, and had a great tussle with Alan Erskine in the final round of singles, winning in five sets.
Rachel was well backed up by her brother Paul and her number two Peter Edwards, both of who took two wins, and both against Sabrina Fitzpatrick and Helen Frania. Paul nearly made it three wins – he led Erskine 12-14, 11-8, 11-6 only for Erskine to move up a gear and take the last two sets.
Erskine was the stand-out player for Mallee Bearings. He defeated Edwards in three sets, and as mentioned Paul Fitzpatrick in five. He and Sabrina Fitzpatrick were a good doubles combination, defeating Rachel Fitzpatrick and Peter Edwards 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 in a match where they were the stronger combination.
The second doubles was closer: Erskine and Frania against the two Fitzpatricks. The Mallee Bearings pair led two sets to one, only for the Fitzy’s to come home strongly in the final two sets 11-8, 11-8.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 27 games to 16.
– Bishop Builders 6 (Peter Kelly, Jeff Hards 2, Mick Bacon 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Rod Healy 3, Jai Green 1)
In the closest game of the round in this grade, Bishop Builders inflicted just the second defeat of the season on Weightmans Packaging.
Solid performances from Peter Kelly (2 wins), Mick Bacon (1) and Jeff Hards (2), set the scene for the win. With a three set win in the second doubles, Bishop Builders joined Pinnacle Packers as the only teams to have downed this side in this competition.
In spite of the loss, Weightmans remain at the top of the ladder (they are still five games clear), and captain Rod Healy picked up another three rubbers for his aggregate tally. He was largely untroubled in doing so, defeating opposing captain Peter Kelly 6, 8 and 9, Mick Bacon 6, 8 and 3, and dropping a set to the consistently improving Jeff Hards.
Only Jai Green could help Healy with singles wins – he just got over the line against Mick Bacon in the second-last rubber to tie the scores at 5-all. Mick will be kicking himself for letting this one get away – he led 12-10, 11-7, then dropped the third set 3-11, almost closed the match out in the fourth, but lost 11-13, and then Green finished him off in the fifth 11-7, A great comeback under pressure.
Those four rubbers plus the first doubles when Healy and Green defeated Kelly and Bacon in four sets was all the minor premiers were to get in this game.
Bishop Builders played well, particularly number three Jeff Hards. Hards took a set from Healy in his first match, then came from two sets to one down against Green to win in five and give his side the lead at that point. His final win was in the match-deciding eleventh rubber. 
With everything to play for, he and Jol Peters slugged it out, with Hards taking the honours 4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 3-11, 11-9.
This win will keep the Builders safely in second spot on the ladder going into the final round.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 21.
PENNANT FOUR:
Top team Fishers IGA and second placed Sunny Daily were both successful this round. Sunny Daily were comfortable victors but undefeated Fishers IGA were given a fright by fourth placed Max Miller Carpets.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Cambell McKenzie, Ben Hosking 2, Soyel Zahidi 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Kumail Jaffry 3, Gloria Jago 1)
Going into this match Fishers were undefeated on fourteen wins while their opponents Max Miller Carpets had only tasted success on two occasions. This was supposed to be a one sided affair however the Carpeters had other ideas and stuck with the top team the whole way.
At one stage the Carpeters took a 5-4 lead when their number one player 
Kumail Jaffry won his third singles when he defeated aggregate leader Cambell McKenzie in four sets and all of a sudden their was a chance of a boilover.
In the next singles fill in for Max Miller Carpets Gloria Jago then was off to a flyer when she grabbed the first two games against Ben Hosking, Hosking comfortably took the third however the fourth was a real ding dong battle eventually won by Hosking 14-12 to level the match. In the fifth it was close however Hosking steadied to win 10-12 7-11 11-3 14-12 11-7 this had been an entertaining contest with the scores now locked at five rubbers all.
In the final game Fishers Soyel Zahidi was able to keep Sonya Shalliker at bay and win 11-7 11-7 11-7 and in doing so he was able to ensure his team maintained their undefeated record with one round to play.
– Sunny Daily 7 (Paul Reyes, Shirley Whitecross, Sue Green 2) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Quentin Clark 3)
In an even team performance Sunny Daily proved too strong against Weightmans Packaging winning eight rubbers to three. For the victors Paulo Reyes won three singles while team mates 
Shirley Whitecross and Sue Green both won two.
The singles contest of the night was played between Sunny Daily skipper Paulo Reyes and Quentin Clark. This was a fantastic five setter, Quentin grabbing the first and then Paulo narrowly taking the second and third, the fourth after trading many fine forehand rallies was won by the barest margin by the fast improving Quentin. In the fifth Paulo, who has had an excellent season, was able to steady and go on and win 6-11 11-9 11-9 12-14 11-4.
