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Sunraysia Table Tennis Summer Pennant results Round 3: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Matt Avers 2, Kate Carmichael 1, Gavin Carmichael 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Mark Dorman 3, Matt Ljubic 2)
– Exposed Signage/ Apparel 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Ed Hung 1, Leon Brown 1) d Mallee Bearings (Rick McMeekin 2, Jackson Tung 2)
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3,Leslie Ncube 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Mark Ljubic 2, Nicholas Dorman 1)
PENNANT TWO:
– MJM Automotive 9 (Sony Sefer 3, Terry Martin 2, Ajay Chowdry 2) d Pinnacle Packers 2 (Peter Midgley 2)
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Reece Kurrle 2, Andrew Jones 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (John Gray 3, Seval Fuat 1, Brendan Alderton 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Lee Thomas 3, Connor Lavery 2, Andrew Alderton 1) d Bishop Builders 3 (Peter Bishop 2, Josh Carmichael 1)
– Tankard Dental 7 (Arthur Paar 2, Tony Malycha 2, Rod Healy 2) d Mallee Meats 4 (Ashley Morrison 3)
PENNANT THREE:
– Mallee Meats 8 (Sam Hensgen 3, Quentin Clark 3) d Dunkley Scales 3 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 1, Kim Avers 1, Shirley Whitecross 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 9 (Huseyin Ismail 3, Karly Leach 2, Daniel Griffiths 2) d MJM Automotive 2 (Mick Bacon 1, John Fitzpatrick 1)
– Fishers IGA 6 (Kerry Wallace 3, Ross Douglas 1, Steve Tsivoglou 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Michael Hensgen, Stephan Ljubic 2)
The battle for the P3 Aggregrate race with team-mates Sam Hensgen and Quentin Clarke locked in at the top of the Aggregate (both undefeated).
PENNANT ONE:
The feature of round three matches in the Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter pennant was the role played by two of the youngest players in the competition. Both Matt Avers and Leon Brown won five set matches when their respective teams Weightmans Packaging and Exposed Signage/Apparel were locked at five rubbers all with their opponents.
Both Avers 14 and Brown 20 are first year players in pennant one earning their stripes after consistent performances in lower grades. Avers in particular has made a rapid improvement and has spent time this year in Melbourne being coached by leading Victorian coach Bruce Carter.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Matt Avers 2, Kate Carmichael 1, Gavin Carmichael 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Mark Dorman 3, Matt Ljubic 2)
Avers’ team Weightmans Packaging in this round were off to an excellent start against Max Miller Carpets leading three rubbers to one courtesy of Avers defeating the more fancied Matt Ljubic in a titanic five set struggle in the first match of the night. Later Matt Ljubic a youngster himself at 17 and in his second pennant one season was to later help turn the match around by defeating opposing number one Gavin Carmichael in a tremendous five set struggle.
Young Ljubic has often troubled Carmichael and he proved too consistent for his much more experienced opponent winning 11-8 9-11 10-12 3-11 13-11 a great effort. Ljubic later defeated Kate Carmichael in another five set struggle to level the match at five rubbers all. It was at this point that Matt Avers recovered from a two game deficit to defeat seasoned campaigner Kevin Johns in yet another five set match to give Weightmans the points.
For Max Miller Carpets apart from Ljubic winning two, skipper Mark Dorman won three singles but it was the Carpeters inability to win a doubles which was really costly in the end
– Exposed Signage/ Apparel 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Ed Hung 1, Leon Brown 1) d Mallee Bearings (Rick McMeekin 2, Jackson Tung 2)
Exposed Signage/Apparel scored their second win in three rounds with a narrow 6-5 win over Mallee Bearings. Early they raced to a four rubbers to two lead however their opponents fought back steadily to level at five rubbers all. In an even contest Joel Thomas won three singles for the victors while the doubles were shared. With his side 4-5 down 
Jackson Tung won his second singles when he defeated Ed Hung in a five set tussle. Leon Brown then stepped up to defeat Michael Hogarth in five sets. His 11-8 11-8 6-11 3-11 11-9 win was a thriller and a confidence boost for a young player feeling his way in pennant one.
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3,Leslie Ncube 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Mark Ljubic 2, Nicholas Dorman 1)
In the remaining match Fishers IGA continued their undefeated run by defeating Tankard Dental 7-4. In an even display Fishers trio
Wayne Carmichael, Leslie Ncube and Graeme O’Neill won three, two and one singles respectively. Fishers were under the pump early in the top of the ladder clash against their winless opponents and it looked like an upset was brewing when Tankards took a four rubbers to one lead courtesy of Mark Ljubic winning two singles and Nicholas Dorman a five setter against Graeme O’Neill in the first match. Ljubic and Dorman also combined to win the first doubles in five against Wayne Carmichael and Leslie Ncube however Fishers were able to storm home winning the last six rubbers.
PENNANT TWO: –
Two one-sided games this round, with the game of the round being the clash between the two previously undefeated teams.
– MJM Automotive 9 (Sony Sefer 3, Terry Martin 2, Ajay Chowdry 2) d Pinnacle Packers 2 (Peter Midgley 2)
MJM Automotive took their second win of the season, and in doing so kept Pinnacle Packers winless.
The victors were without captain Geoff Wright; Sony Sefer filling in. Pinnacle Packers were without number three Colin Moore, and Jeremy Corrin doubled up, playing for his team Bishop Builders also.
MJM Automotive were not troubled in this game – the closest the score got was 3-2, but from that point on it was all one-way traffic, as they took the last six rubbers.
Sefer took three singles, Terry Martin two, and number three 
Ajay Chowdhry also taking two in a good performance.
Both doubles went to the winners, Sefer and Martin always in control against the two Peter’s, Midgley and Fitzpatrick, winning in four. The second contest was closer. After bombing the first set 11-0, Midgley and Corrin made a game of it, going down in the fifth set 11-6 to Sefer and Chowdhry.
Terry Martin was a chance of taking three singles wins; he troubled Peter Midgley in their match, leading two sets to one. Midgley got serious in the final two sets though, taking them 7 and 9.
Final scorers: 9 rubbers to 2 and 29 games to 15.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Lee Thomas 3, Connor Lavery 2, Andrew Alderton 1) d Bishop Builders 3 (Peter Bishop 2, Josh Carmichael 1)
This game looked good at 3 rubbers all, but Weightmans Packaging proved too good for their opposition after that, taking the final five rubbers.
Weightmans scored everywhere: Lee Thomas took three rubbers, number two Connor Lavery two and Andrew Alderton one. Added to all this was both doubles: Thomas and Lavery in four sets over Peter Bishop and Jeremy Corrin, and in the second Thomas and Alderton in straight sets against Bishop and Josh Carmichael.
Only two five setters were played, both going to Weightmans. 
Connor Lavery trailed Josh Carmichael two sets to one, but powered home in the final two 5 and 8 to win. Similarly, Andrew Alderton was down to Jeremy Corrin, but he too, was too good in the final sets, taking them 6 and 7.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 25 games to 14.
– Tankard Dental 7 (Arthur Paar 2, Tony Malycha 2, Rod Healy 2) d Mallee Meats 4 (Ashley Morrison 3)
Tankard Dental is starting to gel.
After a 7-4 loss in round 1, the team has now scored two solid wins.
This week, whilst none of them could defeat opposing 
captain Ashley Morrison, they all defeated the other Mallee Meats players, Arnold Jago and Cambell McKenzie.
So there was six rubbers, enough for the win. Tankard captain Arthur Paar and Tony Malycha paired in the first doubles against Morrison and Jago, and in an even contest won 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7.
The second doubles was an exciting contest. It featured Paar and Rod Healy (recently up from Pennant Three) against Ashley Morrison and Campbell McKenzie (only twelve months in the club via Pennant Four and Three). The Tankard pair led 5-11, 13-11, 16-14 in what was obviously a close contest. But it seems that Ash Morrison may have given some good advice to his younger team-mate at the end of the third set, because the pair motored away in the next two 11-6, 11-7 to take the win.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 24 games to 19.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Reece Kurrle 2, Andrew Jones 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (John Gray 3, Seval Fuat 1, Brendan Alderton 1)
This match was between the two sides at the top of the table, both previously undefeated.
Fishers captain John Gray won the battle with three singles wins, but Mallee Bearing won the war, with a close 6-5 victory.
Gray only dropped one set, this to opposing captain Reece Kurrle in his three wins, but could not earn a doubles. He and Seval Fuat were outclassed by Kurrle and Andrew Jones, going down in straight sets, 8, 6 and 8. Later in the second doubles, things looked a whole lot better, Gray and Brendan Alderton leading two sets to love 11-7, 11-8, only for Kurrle and Peter Edwards to string three sets together 11-9, 11-8, 13-11 to snatch the win. That second doubles is the match that set the win up for Mallee Bearings.
Two wins apiece to Reece Kurrle and Andrew Jones against Seval Fuat and Brendan Alderton, gave them four rubbers, and with the two doubles, proved enough.
The game was evenly poised at 4-4 after that second doubles. Gray defeated Edwards in three, Fuat lost to Andrew Jones in four, and Reece Kurrle got the shock of his life, not being able to shake Brendan Alderton off until the fifth set, taking that 11-5 to seal the win.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 19 games to 20.
PENNANT THREE:
The Mallee Meats pair of Sam Hensgen and Quentin Clark sit at the top of the aggregate ladder for this pennant. They have both won three singles each, each week. The significant thing is that they are team-mates, and if their form continues, their team, even at this early stage of the year, would have to be flag favourites.
– Weightmans Packaging 9 (Huseyin Ismail 3, Karly Leach 2, Daniel Griffiths 2) d MJM Automotive 2 (Mick Bacon 1, John Fitzpatrick 1)
These two sides had won one game from their first two rounds, and this game would obviously be an indication of where they will end up on the ladder.
Well, Weightmans won in a canter. All team members took singles wins; number two 
Huseyin Ismail taking three, and captain Karly Leach and Daniel Griffiths two apiece. Huseyin is now third on the aggregate, with a total of eight games from a possible nine, and his captain only two games further back in fifth spot.
Weightmans took both doubles too. In the first, Leach and Ismail played a five setter against Mick Bacon and John Fitzpatrick. The MJM Automotive pair were a real chance for the win here, but faded in the fifth. Leach and Ismail won 11-4, 8-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-7. The second doubles, although only four sets, was also close, Leach and Griffiths downing Bacon and Anthony Sergi. After losing the first set 12-14, Leach and Griffiths held on to take the next three 11-8, 12-10, 12-10.
Final scores: 9 rubbers to 2 and 28 games to 13.
– Mallee Meats 8 (Sam Hensgen 3, Quentin Clark 3) d Dunkley Scales 3 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 1, Kim Avers 1, Shirley Whitecross 1)
These two sides had won their first two matches, and this game would decide who would sit alone at the top of the table.
Once again, this was a one-sided match, Mallee Meats winning, due in this case to the continued great form of captain Sam Hensgen and his deputy Quentin Clark. These two players have not dropped a singles match yet in this competition.
And on the results of this game, it is now appearing that Clark might be the stronger of the two. Hensgen defeated Shirley Whitecross in three, but was taken to five by both Sabrina Fitzpatrick and Kim Avers. Clark, on the other hand, whizzed through his singles in three sets each.
The winners took both doubles too; the first featuring Hensgen and Clark against Fitzpatrick and Avers (the numbers 1 and 2 for each side), in three sets 9,5 and 1, and the second falling in four to Mallee Meats.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 26 games to 14.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Kerry Wallace 3, Ross Douglas 1, Steve Tsivoglou 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Michael Hensgen, Stephan Ljubic 2)
The closest game of the round, with the result decided in the final rubber.
Ross Douglass filled in for Fishers number two Tom Denning this week, and again proved his worth, picking up an important singles win.
Fishers IGA captain Kerry Wallace led from the front, taking three singles. She had to work for it though. With the scores at 4-4 she met opposing captain Michael Hensgen who took the first two sets to give himself a big chance of the win, but Wallace responded, taking the final three 9, 5 and 7 to take the honours.
As already mentioned, Ross Douglas took a win; this against Andrew Edwards in the very first rubber, in three sets. He almost made in two, in what would have been, to put it mildly, a surprise. He matched it with Michael Hensgen for four sets, with Hensgen getting the edge in the fifth, winning that set 11-6.
The doubles were shared, but only just – Fishers IGA coming close to taking both matches. 
The second doubles fell to them in three sets, and the first between Hensgen and Stefan Ljubic for Tankard Dental and Wallace and that man Douglass (again), went to five sets with the Tankard pairing winning a close fifth set 11-9.
For Tankard’s, Hensgen took two wins, and Ljubic and Edwards one apiece, and added to that first doubles gave them five for the night.
The game was decided in the eleventh rubber when the two number three’s met, Steve Tsivoglou proving too good for Andrew Edwards, taking the win in straight sets.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 26 games to 17.
