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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant results round 8: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman 3, Ali Taheri, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Andrew Cannard, Mark Ljubic 2)
– Fishers IGA 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Darren Robinson 2) d Bishop Builders 5 (Shannon Bowen 2, Jackson Tung, Arthur Paar 1)
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Rick McMeekin, Shane Carmichael 2, Sony Sefer 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Peter Midgley 1)
PENNANT TWO:
– Spanline 7 (Arnold Jago 3, Matt Carmichael, Geoff Wright 2) d Fishers IGA 4 (Andrew Jones 2)
– Tankard Dental 8 (Nicholas Dorman 3, Peter Fitzpatrick, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2) d Pinnacle Packers Matt Ljubic 2)
PENNANT THREE:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Peter Kelly 3, Ben Hosking. Sosefa Fevaleaki 1) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Jessica Dorman, Leonie Dunkley 2)
– Mallee Bearings 7 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Michael Hensgen 2, Peter Edwards 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Glen Bell 3, Sam Hensgen 1)
– Bishop Builders 8 (Claire Ljubic 3, Graham Southwell 2, Sosefa Fevaleaki 1) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Karly Leach 2, Mick Bacon 1)
Fishers IGA player of the round: – Ali Taheri
PENNANT ONE:
The feature of Round eight action of the Sunraysia Table Tennis winter competition was that all pennant one matches were decided by a 6-5 margin. Close table tennis was the order of the night. Going into this round the main focus was on ladder leaders Max Miller Carpets and Pinnacle Packers match, who were both level at the head of the ladder on six wins and one loss and amazingly were level on rubbers for and against over the previous seven rounds. Individually the highlight would also be the singles match between aggregate leader Rick McMeekin and Wayne Carmichael who trailed by one win in second place.
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Rick McMeekin, Shane Carmichael 2, Sony Sefer 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Peter Midgley 1)
The Carpeters got off to the ideal start, on the grandstand court, winning the first two singles. Sony Sefer accounted for John Gray in four sets in the first match and it was evident that Gray, who went into the match with a dodgy calf, was limited in his movements. In the second singles Rick McMeekin as expected defeated Packers number three, Peter Midgley. The clash of the Carmichael brothers Wayne and Shane produced a good four set contest with Wayne taking the points to get his team on the score board. 
A gallant John Gray and Wayne Carmichael then levelled the match at two rubbers all when they took the first doubles in four sets. The next block of three singles went as expected and again Max Miller Carpets took a lead of four rubbers to three going into the second doubles.
The second doubles was crucial for the Packers and in a tight match early Wayne Carmichael and team mate Peter Midgley defeated Carpeters pair Rick McMeekin and Sony Sefer in straight sets 12-10 14-12 11-5. With the match now at four rubbers all, the eagerly awaited singles contest between Carmichael W and Rick McMeekin took place. 
As in round three McMeekin was out of the blocks early and he grabbed the first game as they both went hard in an attempt to gain ascendancy. Carmichael knew he had to lift and he managed to narrowly take the second and from here despite McMeekin still playing well, Carmichael was able to control the match going on to win 8-11 13-11 11-6 11-7. 
These two had again continued the trend of putting on a display for the interested spectators.
John Gray by this time had to succumb to his injured calf and his forfeit in the next match to Shane Carmichael took the score to five rubbers all and set up the decider between Packers number three Peter Midgley and Carpeters three Sony Sefer. The experienced Midgley took the first game comfortably but Sefer fought hard in the second to take it up to Midgley who hung on to narrowly win this game. Sefer then completely controlled the third before Midgley steadied again in the fourth despite Sefer defending staunchly. 
Midgley proved too steady in the end to win 11-3 13-11 4-11 13-11 giving his team a 6-5 win and top spot on the ladder, one win clear of their opponents who suffered their second loss in as many weeks after being undefeated in the first six rounds.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman 3, Ali Taheri, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Andrew Cannard, Mark Ljubic 2)
By winning their second match in succession Mallee Bearings have moved to fourth position on the ladder replacing their opponents from this round, Weightmans Packaging. Early in the match, on the stage court, it looked as though Weightmans would be the team to take the points when they took a four rubbers to one lead.
At this stage Mark Ljubic had won two singles and Andrew Cannard one and together in the first doubles they accounted for Mark Dorman and Graeme O’Neill 12-10 7-11 11-6 11-9 to gain control in the match. Mallee Bearings skipper Mark Dorman arrested the situation in a top class singles match against the hard working Andrew Cannard. This match went to the wire and had Cannard been able to steal the match his team would have been banking the points but as he has done many times before Dorman was able to steady in the fifth and win in a thriller 11-5 8-11 5-11 11-6 11-9.
From this point Mallee Bearings were able to take total control winning the next five matches on the trot and take an unassailable 6-4 lead. In the last match Andrew Cannard made the score more respectable for Weightmans by defeating Graeme O’Neill in straight sets. In their 6-5 victory skipper Mark Dorman won three singles while team mates Graeme O’Neill and Ali Taheri won one each.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Darren Robinson 2) d Bishop Builders 5 (Shannon Bowen 2, Jackson Tung, Arthur Paar 1)
In the remaining match on centre court Fishers IGA held off a fast finishing Bishop Builders to win 6-5 and retain third place on the ladder one game clear of fourth. Fishers took control early and with a lead of five rubbers to one it looked like a percentage booster however this was not to be the case as Bishop Builders won four of the last five rubbers to just fall short. For Fishers Darren Robinson continued his consistent season to win two singles as he has done each round he has played. His five set win early in the night over Jackson Tung was a match full of tremendous attacking shots from both players. In the end the score line of 11-9 11-13 11-8 7-11 11-5 in “Hurricane’’ Robinson’s favour was an important win for Fishers. Robinson also featured in the next match partnering his skipper Gavin Carmichael to a four set win in the first doubles against Shannon Bowen and Tung.
Robinson received good back up from skipper Gavin Carmichael who won three singles including a rare win over Shannon Bowen who fought back from a two game to love deficit to force the match to a fifth. Unluckily for Bowen he had left his faithful bat in his other car and had to play with borrowed bats over the night which would not have helped the cause in this important match.
PENNANT TWO:
Ladder leaders Tankard Dental proved far too good for second placed Pinnacle Packers in this Round 8 contest, and in the second match, Spanline recorded their second win for the season.
– Tankard Dental 8 (Nicholas Dorman 3, Peter Fitzpatrick, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2) d Pinnacle Packers Matt Ljubic 2)
Tankard Dental, at full strength, proved far too good for a Pinnacle Packers side missing Seval Fuat. The ladder leaders were never troubled, and won handsomely.
Of much interest in this match was the contest between the opposing captains, Nicholas Dorman and Matt Ljubic. These two head the aggregate table, so it was inevitable that one of them would be a clear leader at the end of the contest.
Dorman it was who took the three wins. He and Ljubic met in the very first game of the evening, and Dorman did not give Ljubic any opportunity to play his own game, whilst he himself dominated with his usual array of cracking forehands and unpredictably placed backhands. That match was over in three sets 11-6, 14-12, 11-5.
His remaining games, against Lachlan Kelly, filling in for the absent Fuat, and Brian Hosking, both took four sets. Why it should be that these two players present more of a problem than their captain, is hard to figure. Kelly, down two sets to one (11-9, 3-11, 14-12), matched Dorman until the end of the third set, at which point Dorman regathered his concentration and easily took the fourth set 11-5, and the match. The final rubber of the night saw Dorman meet Brian Hosking. Hosking surprised his opponent, taking the first 11-9, and that seemed to sting Dorman into action – he took the next three 11-3, 11-6, 11-4.
Both Bernadette Fitzpatrick and Peter Fitzpatrick took two wins; and both against Kelly and Hosking giving the side seven singles wins from a possible nine.
Tankard’s eighth rubber came in the second doubles, and the Tankard duo of Dorman and Peter Fitzpatrick had to be diligent to secure the win against Ljubic and Hosking. Ljubic, although captaining a losing team, and despite his loss to Dorman, was in good form. He and Lachlan Kelly had won the first doubles, although it was Ljubic who had the major influence on the result. Keen to keep the doubles outcomes even, Dorman and Fitzpatrick worked hard to minimise Ljubic’s influence on this game. They took the first set easily enough 11-4,; Ljubic hit his stride (and the table pretty often too !!) with he and Hosking taking the second set 11-9. Tankard’s took a close third set 11-9, and breathed a sigh of relief with an 11-7 result in the fourth.
For Pinnacle Packers, the only wins came from Ljubic; he defeated both Bernadette Fitzpatrick and Peter Fitzpatrick, both in three sets. As mentioned above, he and Lachlan Kelly took the first doubles too, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 to give his side three rubbers in the contest.
An easy win to Tankard’s, 8 rubbers to 3 and 25 games to 12; but (with all due respected to Lachlan Kelly) not really a true indication of the strength of these two sides.
– Spanline 7 (Arnold Jago 3, Matt Carmichael, Geoff Wright 2) d Fishers IGA 4 (Andrew Jones 2)
Spanline recorded their second win for the season, moving to equal third place on the ladder with Fishers IGA.
Spanline were without their regular number two George Papanicolaou, but his place was ably taken by Matt Carmichael.
The winners failed to win a doubles, but their singles’ wins were enough to get them home, with a bit to spare.
Arnold Jago is playing with renewed vigour lately, and he recorded three impressive wins this week. He defeated Lachlan Kelly in four, 11-1, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, another four setter against opposing captain Andrew Jones 11-5, 10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 
and finished off the night, and David Balshaw, in three, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9.
Arnold’s teammates Carmichael and Geoff Wright won two singles apiece, and both against Kelly and Balshaw.
That gave Spanline seven rubbers, for Fishers were too good in the doubles, and consequently Spanline could not add to their tally.
Andrew Jones and Lachlan Kelly disposed of Jago and Carmichael easily in the first doubles 6, 7 and 6, but the second match-up was a much more competitive affair. 
After taking the first set 11-4, Jago and Wright seemed to have the ascendancy, but Jones and Balshaw fought back in the subsequent sets, to keep the Spanline pair at bay. They took the final three sets 11-9, 13-11, 11-9 – perhaps the first set was a warm up !!
Fishers remaining two rubbers came from Jones – he defeated Carmichael in the first round of singles 5, 3 and 5, but had to work much harder (for four sets) against Geoff Wright. 
Jones led two sets to love 11-8, 14-12, only for Wright to bounce back in the third 11-1, and then the fourth 11-9 to level the match. But Geoff’s game went away from him in the fifth, and Jones took it easily 11-2.
Final scores: Spanline 7 rubbers to Fishers IGA 4, and 24 games to 19.
PENNANT THREE:
Bishop Builders, currently in fifth spot on the ladder, kept their finals hopes alive with a win against fourth placed Pinnacle Packers to join them on 12 points. Weightmans Packaging defeated Dunkley Scales to secure a clear spot, and at the top of the ladder Mallee Bearings went a game clear of Fishers IGA when they defeated them.
– Bishop Builders 8 (Claire Ljubic 3, Graham Southwell 2, Sosefa Fevaleaki 1) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Karly Leach 2, Mick Bacon 1)
Bishop Builders, led by the resurgent Claire Ljubic, ran away with this match against Pinnacle Packers. Claire again won three singles to help her team to an 8 rubbers to 3 victory.
She did not have things all her own though. Both Karly Leach and opposing captain Mick Bacon took their matches to five sets before conceding defeat. Ljubic had to come from two sets to love down against Leach and was two sets to one down against Bacon.
Bishop Builders number two, Graham Southwell, picked up two wins, against Quentin Clark and later an entertaining five set match against Bacon which was up for grabs until the fifth set. Southwell won that rubber 11-6, 5-11, 11-6, 11-13, 11-5.
Sosefa Fevaleaki picked up one singles win, against Quentin Clark. The two number three’s played an 11-7, 18-16, 11-2 victory to Fevaleaki.
Ljubic steered her team to wins in both doubles, too. 
She and Southwell needed only four sets to overcome Bacon and Leach, 11-8, 16-14, 7-11, 11-5. And later she and Fevaleaki hung on long enough to outlast Bacon and Clark to record an 11-5, 11-5, 12-14, 7-11, 11-9 win.
That gave the Builders eight rubbers … the Packers could only get three, two coming from Karly Leach (against Southwell in three sets, and earlier against Fevaleaki in four), and the other rubber from Mick Bacon, in a straight sets win over Fevaleaki.
Final scores 8 rubbers to Bishop Builders defeated Pinnacle Packers 3 and 25 games to 18.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Peter Kelly 3, Ben Hosking. Sosefa Fevaleaki 1) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Jessica Dorman, Leonie Dunkley 2)
Weightmans Packaging got home in the last rubber of the night in this match-up with Dunkley Scales. The Scalers had the upper hand all night, until the last handful of rubbers, when it all came apart. They won only one of the last four rubbers, and Weightmans Packaging were off the hook.
Weightmans Packaging captain Peter Kelly was instrumental in steering his side to this 6 rubbers to 5 victory. Kelly took three singles wins, and with Ben Hosking, the second doubles. Kelly was not really troubled in his singles, dropping just a single set to opposing captain Jessica Dorman.
Sosefa Fevaleaki, filling in for the absent Peter Mikhaeil, and Ben Hosking helped their captain, by contributing one singles win each, and all this combined, was enough for them to get over the line. These two both defeated Shirley Whitecross, both in three sets, but Hosking’s win was a close affair. He took it 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 in the deciding rubber of the night.
Both Jessica Dorman and Leonie Dunkley scored two singles wins for the Dunkley Scales team, but neither of them could defeat Peter Kelly. They played well together in their doubles, outplaying Kelly and Fevaleaki in four sets 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5.
A close match, a close loss, and there surely must be more wins in store for the Dunkley Scales side. Weightmans would be glad of this win, thanks to captain Peter Kelly.
– Mallee Bearings 7 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Michael Hensgen 2, Peter Edwards 1) d Fishers IGA 4 (Glen Bell 3, Sam Hensgen 1)
Sabrina Fitzpatrick was hoping to make hay whilst the sun shone in this match … and she did, sort of. Opposing captain, and the player only one game adrift of her on the aggregate, Cole Keegan was absent, and Sabrina was hoping to clean up with three singles wins, to go with her other five perfect nights. But fill-in Glen Bell had other ideas, and spoiled the party.
Despite not winning three singles, Fitzpatrick led her side to a 7 rubbers to 4 win over second placed side Fishers IGA.
Fitzpatrick and Michael Hensgen both won two singles, both against Sam Hensgen and Helen Frania. Fitzpatrick dropped a set to both of her opponents, before winning in four, and Hensgen defeated Frania in four, and had a great ding dong battle with his brother Sam, coming from two sets to one down to win 10-12, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6.
Peter Edwards picked up one win (against Frania), and added to their wins in both doubles contests, Mallee Bearings made in seven rubbers won.
For Fishers IGA Glen Bell played well in his singles, winning them all. He was not extended, taking the minimum of three sets to dispose of his three opponents. Number two Sam Hensgen took one win, against Peter Edwards in the opening rubber, but could not add to it.
A close game, 7 rubbers to Mallee Bearings to Fishers IGA 4, and 21 games to 19.
