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Sunraysia Table Tennis Summer Pennant results Round 4: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leslie Ncube 1, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Mark Dorman, Matt Ljubic 2)
– Mallee Bearings 8 (Rick McMeekin 3, Jackson Tung, Michael Hogarth 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Shannon Bowen 2)
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Gavin Carmichael, Kate Carmichael, Matt Avers 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 4 (Joel Thomas 3)
PENNANT TWO:
– Bishop Builders 6 (Peter Bishop, Josh Carmichael 2, Jeremy Corrin 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Andrew Jones, Reece Kurrle 2)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Lee Thomas 2, Andrew Alderton, Connor Lavery 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Ashley Morrison 3, Arnold Jago 2)
– Fishers IGA 6 (John Gray 3, Brendan Alderton 2) d Pinnacle Packers 5 ( Peter Midgley 2, Peter Fitzpatrick, Geoff Peters 1)
– Tankard Dental 6 (Arthur Paar, Rod Healy 2, Tony Malycha 1) d MJM Automotive 5 (Sony Sefer 3, Terry Martin 1)
PENNANT THREE:
– Mallee Meats 6 (Quentin Clark 3, Sam Hensgen 2) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Karly Leach 2, Daniel Griffiths, Nick Shou 1)
– MJM Automotive 8 (Mick Bacon, John Fitzpatrick, Anthony Sergi 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Michael Hensgen 3)
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 3, Kim Avers 2) d Fishers IGA 4 (Kerry Wallace 2, Tom Denning, Steve Tsivoglou 1)
Staring at a 0-4 start to the season Peter Bishop needed to make a statement against P2 ladder leaders Mallee Bearings. The clash with Reece Kurrle was a classic game of supreme defence v offence. They now begin the climb from bottom to a potential finals berth.
PENNANT ONE:
– Fishers IGA 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leslie Ncube 1, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Mark Dorman, Matt Ljubic 2)
Round four results of the Sunraysia Table Tennis winter pennant featured top team Fishers IGA continue their undefeated run with a solid 7-4 win over Max Miller Carpets. The combination of
Wayne Carmichael, Leslie Ncube and Graeme O’Neill were too steady for their opponents. Success in both doubles was a contributing factor in Fishers success and the first doubles was a highlight when Fishers duo of Carmichael and Ncube outlasted Carpeters pair of Mark Dorman and Matt Ljubic 9-11 11-9 11-7 4-11 13-11 in an entertaining match which helped Fishers grab an early ascendancy. For the victors Wayne Carmichael won his three singles while Ncube and O’Neill chipped in with one each.
For the Carpeters Mark Dorman and Matt Ljubic won two singles each continuing their good early season form.
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Gavin Carmichael, Kate Carmichael, Matt Avers 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 4 (Joel Thomas 3)
Despite Joel Thomas winning three singles for Exposed Signage/Apparel, Weightmans Packaging were able to come away with the points with Gavin Carmichael, Kate Carmichael and Matt Avers winning two singles each. The exciting young 
Avers continued his rapid improvement and included in his two victories was a straight sets win over the experienced Ed Hung 11-9 11-8 13-11. Hung has a difficult style to overcome and Avers was able to firstly return a challenging style of serve before then playing many fine top spin forehands to score a good win.
– Mallee Bearings 8 (Rick McMeekin 3, Jackson Tung, Michael Hogarth 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Shannon Bowen 2)
Mallee Bearings moved to third on the ladder when they proved too strong for Tankard Dental winning 8-3. Skipper Rick McMeekin won three singles again, from twelve starts this season he has only lost the one match. He received excellent support from Jackson Tung and Michael Hogarth who won two singles each. Tung has had a good start to the season while 
Hogarth, on his birthday, displayed his best form to date defeating opposing number two player Nicholas Dorman in a five set struggle in the first match of the night. Later he scored a four set win over Jackson Murphy and if he regains some of last winter pennant form Mallee Bearings will be a difficult combination to encounter.
Fill in Shannon Bowen for Tankard Dental played well winning two singles and tasting success in the first doubles when he partnered Dorman against Rick McMeekin and Michael Hogarth.
PENNANT TWO: –
A great night of table tennis, with each match being a 6-5 result, and three of them being decided in the final rubber.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Arthur Paar, Rod Healy 2, Tony Malycha 1) d MJM Automotive 5 (Sony Sefer 3, Terry Martin 1)
I said last week that this Tankard Dental side was beginning to gel, and they proved that to be the case again this week.
With none of the Tankard trio being able to defeat MJM Automotive captain Sony Sefer, they had to engineer the win in other ways.
Sefer played well, as he always does. He was too good for his opponents, downing firstly Tankard number two Tony Malycha in four sets. Following two close first sets, 9-11, 12-10, Sefer powered away in the next two 7 and 4. Against Rod Healy it was somewhat easier, 8, 9 and 3, and in the last, facing opposing captain Arthur Paar, Sony dropped the first 6-11, but was too good after that winning 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 in the next three. Sefer and Ajay Chowdhry dropped the first set of the second doubles 4-11, then after some thoughtful advice from Sony, Chowdhry and he did not look back, winning the next three sets 11-9, 11-2, 12-10. So that made four rubbers for MJM Automotive.
Only Terry Martin could add to that, downing Malycha in a close five set tussle, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 15-13 in match which could have so easily been Malycha’s.
So, who did stand out for Tankard Dental then? 
Well, Rod Healy was really the man who got them home. Playing at number three, Healy had an up and down game against his opposite number Ajay Chowdhry in the first rubber. Leading two sets to love 11-9, 11-5, Chowdhry lifted to equal at two sets all 13-11, 11-3, and Healy had to work hard to take the four in an 11-7 result. But the match which really marked him out, was his win over opposing number two Terry Martin. Martin plays a hard and fast game, Rod more defensive and consistent. In this pressure game, it was 5-4 in MJM Automotive favour, Healy led two sets to love 11-7, 11-5 before Martin could get the third 13-11. Rod had the better of Terry in this game though, and took the fourth 11-7 to square the game at 5 rubbers all.
Healy’s win in four over Martin was in contrast to his captain Arthur Paar’s five set win earlier on. Paar led two sets to love, and only got home 11-9 in the fifth.
A strong four set win in the first doubles courtesy of Paar and Malycha over Sefer and Martin gave the Tankard team a 3-1 lead at that stage, however, their opponents took four of the next five rubbers to lead 5-4 with two to go, and it was up to Healy and Martin to defeat Martin and Chowdhry to get them home.
So, with the scores at 5-5 Tony Malycha met Chowdhry for the decider. Both had had close losses earlier, Chowdhry in five to Healy, and Malycha also in five to Martin. Malycha was too strong in this one, taking it in three sets, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 23 games to 21.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Lee Thomas 2, Andrew Alderton, Connor Lavery 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Ashley Morrison 3, Arnold Jago 2)
In another match were the winning side could not prevent the opposing captain from taking three singles wins, Weightmans Packaging took the win in the final rubber.
Mallee Meats captain Ashley Morrison was the man no-one could defeat in singles, however, losing both doubles hurt his side badly. Morrison dropped only one set in singles play, to Connor Lavery, and despite starting well in both doubles, his team could not take either. Morrison and Arnold Jago took the first set from Lee Thomas and Lavery 11-9, but not the next three, the Weightmans pair taking them 11-8, 13-11, 11-9. In the second doubles Morrison and Cambell McKenzie took the first two close sets 11-9, 12-10, to give themselves a good chance of a win, but the tide turned – Thomas and Andrew Alderton squeaking home in the third 12-10, then gaining confidence in the final two sets taking them 6 and 6.
Mallee Meats number two Arnold Jago took two singles wins to go with Morrison’s three, so the importance of those doubles is glaringly obvious.
If this report sounds more like how Mallee Meats lost, than how Weightmans Packaging won, then it is. Weightmans picked up the crumbs;
captain Lee Thomas defeating Jago and McKenzie, and Connor Lavery and Andrew Alderton also defeating McKenzie. Those wins, together with the doubles was enough for victory.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games each.
– Fishers IGA 6 (John Gray 3, Brendan Alderton 2) d Pinnacle Packers 5 ( Peter Midgley 2, Peter Fitzpatrick, Geoff Peters 1)
Fishers IGA suffered their first defeat last week, against Mallee Bearings, those teams being at that stage, undefeated.
This game almost made it two losses in two games. This week they played Pinnacle Packers, or the three Peter’s: Peter Midgley, Peter Fitzpatrick and Geoff Peters.
Fishers jumped away to a 2-0 lead: Brendan Alderton taking a mistake-strewn game against Peter Fitzpatrick in four sets; and John Gray conceding one set to Geoff Peters, who playing his first game since the end of last year.
Pinnacle Packers evened the score. Midgley conceding a set to Glen Bell, who surprised Midgley, taking the first 11-6. Then Midgley and Fitzpatrick played like they know they can, winning the first doubles in straight sets against Gray and Bell.
Gray then, inexplicably, struggled against Fitzpatrick in the next singles, taking a very unconvincing five set win 5-11, 12-10, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7.
Midgley again evened the score, blasting Brendan Alderton 2, 3 and 6, and Peters put his team’s nose in front after four sets against Glen Bell.
But Fishers immediately evened again: Gray and Alderton lucky to get home in four sets against Midgley and Peters. Had this game gone to five sets, it might well have gone to the Packers Pair, but as it was they lost the all important fourth; the winning result 11-4, 13-11, 10-12, 13-11 making it four rubbers all.
The two captains met next, and John Gray kept himself with an unblemished singles record (as does Ash Morrison), defeating Peter Midgley in an interesting five setter 14-12,8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6.
Peter Fitzpatrick won his second match for the year at a very opportune time, downing Glen Bell in four to make the score 5-5.
So, the eleventh rubber became the decider, and any hopes that Pinnacle Packers might have had of taking their first win for the year “petered” out after about two sets of this game. Brendan Alderton made a strong start against Geoff Peters 11-4, 11-8, before conceding the third 2-11. He held on to take the fourth 12-10 against a rapidly improving Peters to give his side the 6-5 win.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 23 games to 21.
– Bishop Builders 6 (Peter Bishop, Josh Carmichael 2, Jeremy Corrin 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Andrew Jones, Reece Kurrle 2)
Going into this game, these two teams were at opposite ends of the table.
Reece Kurrle’s Mallee Bearings side had won all matches, squeaking home last week against John Gray’s Fishers IGA team. Bishop Builders, on the other hand, had not registered a win.
Bishop Builders got off to a blinder of a start, taking the first five rubbers !! I guess after that Mallee Bearings were just wondering which game they would lose to concede the match.
The first round saw the match-ups that usually take place in the final round of singles, 1 v 1, 2 v 2, and 3 v 3. Jeremy Corrin defeated Peter Edwards in five sets; Peter Bishop, in the battle of the captains, downed Reece Kurrle in a match in which he “broke” Kurrle during the third set. The score line says it all: Bishop lost the first two close sets 9-11, 12-14, but then obliterated Kurrle in the next three 4, 0 and 2 to take the match.
The third rubber fell to Josh Carmichael, playing a very consistent game to outplay Andrew Jones 8, 5 and 9.
The first doubles was an easy win to Bishop Builders, too. Peter Bishop and Josh Carmichael in three sets against Kurrle and Peter Edwards.
Peter Bishop kept the wins coming, this the fifth, with a straight sets win over Peter Edwards.
Mallee Bearings were not yet dead though. They then went on a four rubber run of their own – Jones in three sets over Corrin, Kurrle in five over Carmichael after being two sets to love down, Kurrle and Jones, again dropping the first set, but recovering in the next three to take the second doubles. Jones took the fourth win against Peter Bishop in straight sets to almost level the scores.
The next match clinched the game for Bishop Builders. Josh Carmichael conceding just one set to Peter Edwards to make it 6-4. Reece Kurrle minimised the damage by defeating Jeremy Corrin in three sets to leave a final score line of 6-5.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games to 20.
PENNANT THREE:
Mallee Meats kept their unbroken string of wins going, this week with a close win, whilst in the other games, MJM Automotive kept Tankard Dental winless for the season, and Dunkley Scales moved to outright second.
– MJM Automotive 8 (Mick Bacon, John Fitzpatrick, Anthony Sergi 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Michael Hensgen 3)
MJM Automotive took an easy win against Tankard Dental to take their second win, and remain in fourth spot on the ladder.
The MJM Automotive team were to strong all round, with only Tankard Dental captain Michael Hensgen providing the scoring for his team.
Hensgen downed a plucky John Fitzpatrick 14-12, 11-8, 11-8, Anthony Sergi 6, 7 and 7, and opposite number Mick Bacon 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 to score his team’s only wins.
Unfortunately, Hensgen’s team-mates could not help him, both Stefan Ljubic and Andrew Edwards falling to Bacon, Fitzpatrick and Sergi. Ljubic, did, however, take John Fitzpatrick to five sets, leading two sets to one, but then faltering in the last two, losing them 3 and 6.
Both doubles went to the MJM squad – Bacon and Fitzpatrick in a good four setter against Hensgen and Ljubic 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, whilst the second was over in three to Bacon and Sergi 2, 7 and 7 against Hensgen and Edwards.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 25 games to 12.
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 3, Kim Avers 2) d Fishers IGA 4 (Kerry Wallace 2, Tom Denning, Steve Tsivoglou 1)
Sabrina Fitzpatrick led her all-ladies team to another solid win in this game against Fishers IGA.
Fitzpatrick is in good form, three singles wins added to wins in both doubles set her side up for a 7-4 victory.
After a three set win against Steve Tsivoglou, then a four setter against Tom Denning, Sabrina kept her best to last. Opposing captain Kerry Wallace took the first set 11-3, but that was the only set she got, Sabrina stone-walling Kerry to take the next three 11-9, 14-12, 11-5.
Both doubles contests were over in three sets – Fitzpatrick and Kim Avers 6, 7 and 3 against Wallace and Denning, and later Fitzpatrick and Shirley Whitecross 7, 6 and 8 against Wallace and Tsivoglou.
Kim Avers backed her captain with two solid wins – 8, 8 and 4 against Tsivoglou and 14-12, 11-2, 12-10 in a closer game against Tom Denning.
For Fishers, their wins came at the expense of Shirley Whitecross, and Wallace also defeated Kim Avers in three sets in the first round of singles.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 21 games to 14.
– Mallee Meats 6 (Quentin Clark 3, Sam Hensgen 2) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Karly Leach 2, Daniel Griffiths, Nick Shou 1)
Mallee Meats’ number two Quentin Clark goes to outright first on the aggregate as a result of this match, and kept his team’s perfect winning record for the year.
Clark once against cleaned up, taking three singles to keep his record unblemished. Quentin had to work hard for his wins, as all his competitors came close to taking the games away from him. Weightmans Packaging number three Daniel Griffiths played well in his first round match, extending Clark, but not having Quentin’s firepower. Clark took the win 11-5, 16-14, 9-11, 11-5. Clark was very watchful against the ultra-consistent Karly Leach, not providing her with many opportunities, and keeping the game to three sets, winning 12-10, 11-8, 13-11. And in the final round, against Nick Shou, he had his most difficult game of the night, needing five sets to claim victory 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6.
Quentin’s captain Sam Hensgen, previously equal ladder leader, could only add two rubbers to the team’s tally in this game. Sam was too strong for Shou, winning in three 8, 8 and 7, and needing four sets to overcome the improving Daniel Griffiths. After a nail-biting first set, which he won 20-18, Hensgen took the second 11-4, only for Griffiths to claim the third 11-9. Sam regrouped with an 11-3 win in the four to take the win.
The doubles were shared – Hensgen and Clark 12-10, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7 over Leach and Shou, but in the second Leach and Griffiths found form after being two sets down to take the last three 5, 6 and 9.
Weightmans rubbers came from Leach (2), and Shou and Griffiths (1 each), both against David Sergi.
Although losing a close one here, Weightmans are a team on the improve; captain Karly Leach is as consistent as ever, and the emerging player in her team Daniel Griffiths showed every sign of his improvement in this game. His losses to Clark and Hensgen as mentioned above, both in four sets, culminating a win for him in the last, defeating David Sergi 12-10, 13-11, 11-8 when the game was already decided.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games to 20.
