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Sunraysia Table Tennis Summer Pennant results Round 1: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 1) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Matt Ljubic, Ed Hung 2, Ashley Morrison 1)
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Rick McMeekin 3, Geoff Wright, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Mark Ljubic, Kevin Johns 2)
– Tankard Dental 7 (Nicholas Dorman, Kate Carmichael 2, Cole Keegan 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Andrew Cannard 3, Lee Thomas 1)
PENNANT TWO:
– Tankard Dental 6 (Matt Avers 3, Peter Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Terry Martin 2, Brendan Alderton, Karly Leach 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Reece Kurrle 3, Seval Fuat 2, Kumail Jaffry 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Geoff Peters 2, Arnold Jago 1)
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Aidan Moore 2, Andrew Alderton, Peter Edwards 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Tony Malycha 3, Rachel Fitzpatrick 2)
PENNANT THREE:
– Fishers IGA 7 (Soyel Zahidi 3, Mick Bacon 2, Soyel Zahidi 1) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Paul Fitzpatrick 2, Quentin Clark 1)
– Pinnacle Packers 7 (Peter Mikhaeil 3, Cambell McKenzie 2) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 2, Helen Frania, Stephan Ljubic 1)
Rick McMeekin returns for the 2014 Summer Pennant.
PENNANT ONE:
The Summer pennant has commenced with seventeen teams taking part over three grades. This competition has allowed several players to advance grades with some of the senior players resting from this competition. Good luck to all…….
The feature of the results in the three pennant one matches was that each team who were victorious were able to win both doubles in what is a crucial component of the game.
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Rick McMeekin 3, Geoff Wright, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Mark Ljubic, Kevin Johns 2)
Max Miller Carpets with a solid 7-4 victory, on the grand stand court, over Mallee Bearings have taken the lead on the ladder by percentage. The Carpeters number one player Rick McMeekin, returning after a break from the game, showed his class winning three singles as well as participating in two straight set doubles victories.
Team mates Graeme O’Neill and Geoff Wright both won an important singles each; 
Graeme is returning to competition for the first time since winning the winter premiership in 2013. He placed extreme pressure on Mark Ljubic in their match winning the first two games before “the five set king” recovered to win an entertaining match 9-11 9-11 11-7 11-9 11-3. Team mate Wright has been promoted to pennant one on the back of leading his team to a pennant two premiership in the recently concluded winter competition
For Mallee Bearings both Ljubic and Kevin Johns won two singles each
– Tankard Dental 7 (Nicholas Dorman, Kate Carmichael 2, Cole Keegan 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Andrew Cannard 3, Lee Thomas 1)
Tankard Dental started the season well defeating Fishers IGA 7-4 on the stage court. Fishers were without skipper Wayne Carmichael who is off cruising the high seas and he was replaced by Andrew Cannard.
The Tankard trio of Nicholas Dorman, Kate Carmichael and Cole Keegan won two, two and one singles respectively. They are the youngest team in the competition by far and will be a handful for most teams despite their lack of experience.
Keegan has been promoted from the winter pennant two competition and in this match he played a key role. Against the seasoned campaigner Arthur Paar, Keegan recovered from a two game deficit to win 9-11 7-11 11-7 13-11 11-4. He later combined with skipper Dorman in the second doubles in an outstanding match defeating Andrew Cannard and Lee Thomas 9-11 11-9 5-11 14-12 14-12 a marathon match. Fishers fill in Andrew Cannard was his teams’ best performer winning three singles.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 1) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Matt Ljubic, Ed Hung 2, Ashley Morrison 1)
In the final match, which took place on centre court, Weightmans Packaging narrowly defeated Dunkley’s Scales 6-5. For Weightmans 
Gavin Carmichael led the way winning three singles and participating in both doubles victories. For Weightmans Peter Midgley was promoted from pennant two as was Ash Morrison for Dunkley’s.
In the final match of the night they fought out a lengthy five setter with Morrison narrowly taking the points 11-7 7-11 11-6 10-12 11-9 to make the final score line a little more respectable
The second doubles virtually decided the match with Carmichael combining with Peter Midgley to outlast Matt Ljubic and Ash Morrison 10-12 14-12 11-2 11-13 12-10 a match which could have gone either way.
Dunkley’s were best served by both Matt Ljubic and Ed Hung who won two singles each.
PENNANT TWO: –
Three close games kicked off the start of the 2014 Summer Pennant. All matches saw the same score – 6-5. Three players who have not played for some time, Andrew Alderton, Brendan Alderton, and Reece Kurrle are welcome additions to the line-ups. Added to these three are a further five players (Karly Leach, Brian Hosking, Jeremy Corrin, Rachel Fitzpatrick and Peter Edwards) from Pennant Three and another (Kumail Jaffry), making a big jump from Pennant Four.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Matt Avers 3, Peter Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Terry Martin 2, Brendan Alderton, Karly Leach 1)
For this first match, Mallee Bearings were without their captain, Josh Carmichael. Terry Martin subbed for Josh and steered his team to within one game of a win.
It was Tankard Dental’s captain, 
Matt Avers who was the difference between the two sides. Avers took three singles wins including a game-making three set win over Martin in the ninth rubber. These two finished only a couple of percentage points apart on the recent Winter Pennant Aggregate (Martin higher), but Avers has continued to improve, and on this occasion, after a close first set, dominated, winning 11-9, 11-5, 11-6.
Peter Fitzpatrick, Tankard’s number two contributed two solid wins. He downed Karly Leach 11-8, 11-4, 17-15, just as Leach was getting into the swing of things, and in the last round of singles another three set win over Brendan Alderton. In between, he and Avers combined well to take the first doubles rubber against Martin and Alderton.
Two singles wins from Martin (against Brian Hosking in three and Fitzpatrick in four), and one each from Alderton and Leach (both defeating Hosking), made up four of Mallee Bearings five rubbers. Their fifth rubber came in the second doubles – the only five set contest in this game. Martin and Leach won a very even contest against Avers and Hosking 8-11, 11-7, 1-11, 11-8, 11-9.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 15.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Reece Kurrle 3, Seval Fuat 2, Kumail Jaffry 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Geoff Peters 2, Arnold Jago 1)
Weightmans Packaging took a keenly contested match against Fishers IGA. Returning player, Reece Kurrle bagged three wins, evergreen 
Seval Fuat two, and Kumail Jaffry, up from Pennant Four took one.
Kurrle let his intentions be known in the opening game, downing Arnold Jago in straight sets 9, 8 and 8. He continued on in that fashion against Jeremy Corrin, defeating him 3, 6 and 4, and in the last round of singles did the same against Geoff Peters, 9, 5 and 9. Seval Fuat got his money’s worth in this match; he downed Arnold Jago in four sets 11-8, 11-8, 13-15, 13-11 and later another four setter against Jeremy Corrin 11-6, 11-13, 11-3, 11-7. Jaffry took the important game against Jeremy Corrin. Corrin recently played in Pennant Three, Jaffry in Pennant Four, and an indication of Jaffry’s improvement can be seen in the scoreline. Jaffry proved too strong in the end, winning 11-9, 14-12, 10-12, 4-11, 11-6.
After losing to Kurrle in the opening rubber, Arnold Jago never really recovered. In the second round of singles he was downed by old foe Fuat in four sets, and took a face saving three set win over Jaffry in the eleventh rubber when the contest had been decided.
Fishers IGA Geoff Peters was this team’s best performed player, taking two wins. In a good start to the season, he saw off Fuat in a tough five setter, and kept his side in the contest with another five set win in the second round of singles, against Jaffry.
Both doubles contests went to Fishers – Jago and Peters just outlasting Fuat and Kurrle in a five setter, and later Jago and Corrin, after dropping the first set to Kurrle and Jaffry, recovered to win 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 25 games to 19.
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Aidan Moore 2, Andrew Alderton, Peter Edwards 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Tony Malycha 3, Rachel Fitzpatrick 2)
In the closest game of this Pennant, Max Miller Carpets defeated Pinnacle Packers. The Packers were without their number two, Glen Bell, replaced by Jol Peters for this match. The Packers nearly stole the match, but their inability to take one of the doubles contests cost them.
Tony Malycha scored three wins (over Peter Edwards and Andrew Alderton in four sets), but the third was much more difficult. He had a great tussle with Aidan Moore, finally getting the win after five sets. Malycha had great support from his number three Rachel Fitzpatrick. Rachel blew Alderton and Edwards away in three sets each, and let Aidan Moore know that she meant business, taking a set from him in his four set win over her. Those were the only rubbers the Packers could get, but the signs are there that this could be a team to watch.
Having said all that, Max Miller Carpets took the win; Aidan Moore getting two singles wins, Andrew Alderton and Peter Edwards one each. Both doubles fell to the Carpeters, Moore and Alderton playing themselves in against Malycha and Fitzpatrick, winning 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9. Later Moore and Edwards disposed of Malycha and Peters in three sets 11-7, 11-5, 12-10.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 20.
PENNANT THREE: –
Pennant Three has attracted five teams for this Summer Pennant, and so one team will have a bye each week. Both games played this week ended with a 7-4 scoreline, and both matches featured five five-set contests.
– Pinnacle Packers 7 (Peter Mikhaeil 3, Cambell McKenzie 2) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 2, Helen Frania, Stephan Ljubic 1)
Peter Mikhaeil got his team off to a good start in this competition, taking three singles wins and helping secure both doubles. Of the five five-set rubbers in this game, Mikhaeil played in four of them. Not sure what the message is there, but Peter certainly had plenty of opportunity to hone his game in this contest !! He just got home against Helen Frania 12-10 in the fifth in his first singles, had it easier in the second round with a three set win over junior player Stephan Ljubic, and after trailing two sets to one, came from behind to defeat Sabrina Fitzpatrick in the third singles. Both doubles, as mentioned, went to his side; Mikhaeil and Cambell McKenzie downed Fitzpatrick and Frania in a close five setter, and later he and newcomer Grant Stone had a confidence boosting win against Fitzpatrick and Ljubic in a tight five set contest.
Cambell McKenzie, fresh from the Winter Pennant Four competition scored two singles wins, and both in three sets, the first against Helen Frania, and later Stephan Ljubic.
For Weightmans, Sabrina Fitzpatrick was her usual reliable self. Her first match was against Cambell McKenzie, and after working each other out, Sabrina came away with the win 11-9, 2-11, 11-6, 6-11, 16-14. She followed that up with a three set win over Grant Stone in the second round of singles.
Both Helen Frania and Stephan Ljubic also defeated Stone, giving Weightmans four rubbers for the game.
As stated, the margin was 7-4 at the end, but the games give a better indication of the closeness of the match. In winning, Pinnacle Packers amassed 23 games, but Weightmans were not disgraced, as in losing they toted up 20 games.
– Fishers IGA 7 (Soyel Zahidi 3, Mick Bacon 2, Soyel Zahidi 1) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Paul Fitzpatrick 2, Quentin Clark 1)
Fishers got off to a good start in this competition – captain Mick Bacon, Soyel Zahidi and Shirley Whitecross downed the Mallee Bearings trio of Paul Fitzpatrick, Quentin Clark and recent Pennant Four Grand Final Winner Sonya Shalliker.
However, it was not the captain who starred for Fishers. Mick Bacon was upstaged by the rapidly improving Soyel Zahidi. 
Zahidi took three singles wins in this match, and with Bacon, the first doubles. Soyel had a great tussle with Paul Fitzpatrick in his first singles. Leading 11-6, 11-7, he got rolled by Fitzpatrick in the next two sets 6-11, 3-11 and was in danger of having the match snatched from him. Unfortunately for Paul he could not maintain the pressure, and Soyel got home 11-7 in the fifth. His other victories, over Clark and Shalliker, were much easier, both in three sets.
Likewise, Mick Bacon took wins over Clark and Shalliker, also in three sets apiece. The doubles were shared, with Fishers taking the first. Zahidi and Bacon had to come from two sets to one down to get the win, against Fitzpatrick and Clark.
For Mallee Bearings, captain Paul Fitzpatrick continued his good form from the Winter Competition, where he was the winner for the best Number Three in the aggregate. Paul played two five set matches, losing to Zahidi in the first, and outlasting Mick Bacon later on in the final round of singles. In between, he defeated Shirley Whitecross to get his two singles wins.
Quentin Clark took a singles win – this also against Shirley Whitecross in the first rubber played.
After losing the first doubles, the Mallee Bearings team had better luck in the second. Fitzpatrick and Shalliker played a very entertaining match against Mick Bacon and Shirley Whitecross and came away with the win after a very close fifth set, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 6-11, 13-11.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 25 games to 18.
