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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant results round 15: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Andrew Cannard, Kevin Johns 2, Peter Bishop 1)
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Shannon Bowen 3, Shane Carmichael, Jackson Murphy 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Matt Ljubic, Jackson Tung 2)
PENNANT TWO:
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Ross Humphreys, Matthew Burns 2, Karina Sullivan 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Sony Sefer 3, Colin Moore 1)
– Spanline 7 (Alex Keegan, Arthur Paar 2, Laurie Plummer 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Daniel Jansen 3, Leon Brown 1)
– Tankard Dental 6 (Andrew Jones, Connor Lavery 2, Robert Chiswell 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Ashley Morrison 3, Trevor Gebert 1)
PENNANT THREE:
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Matt Ljubic 3, Emily Carmichael, Brian Hosking 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Garry Hughes 2, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Leonie Dunkley 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Darren Greaves 3, Lachlan Kelly, Jeremy Corrin 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Ian Kelly, Harrison Cottrell 2)
PENNANT FOUR:
– Fishers IGA 6 (Ryan Hensgen, Michael Hensgen 2, Helen Frania 1) d Bishop Builders 5 (Sam Hensgen 3, Geoff Keegan 1)
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Ben Hosking, Cole Keegan, Matt Johns 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Ellie Midgley 2, Claire Ljubic 1)
PENNANT ONE
In one of the most exciting finishes in years the final four of the Sunraysia Table Tennis pennant one season was not finalised until the final point of the final match of the fifteenth round.
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Shannon Bowen 3, Shane Carmichael, Jackson Murphy 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Matt Ljubic, Jackson Tung 2)
Amazingly Pinnacle Packers, the team that sat at the foot of the ladder all season have grabbed fourth spot on the ladder. Led by the inform Shannon Bowen who again won three singles the Packers were able to account for third placed Max Miller Carpets who themselves had been in excellent form of late. These two teams will play each other again this week in the knock out first semi final.
After a delayed start to the season Bowen is now in excellent form winning three singles in each of the past four matches for his team. All of his opponents find his game difficult to counter as was the case against the Carpeter’s despite fill in Mark Ljubic taking one game off Bowen before going down in four. The Packers had been floundering earlier in the season losing seven in succession however they have now hit their straps.
Max Miller Carpets going into this match had won four matches in succession and this hiccup cost them the all important second place on the ladder and the double chance. They will welcome back Joel Dorman this week and this will be a bonus. Dorman’s fill in Mark Ljubic played well to win two singles for the Carpeters as did Jackson Tung. They both defeated Shane Carmichael in five sets and if Carmichael who won one singles can double that this week the Packers will be a chance to continue their campaign.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Andrew Cannard, Kevin Johns 2, Peter Bishop 1)
Top team Weightmans Packaging had to work hard to fight off the plucky Fishers IGA. Fishers had been in the four all year however at five rubbers all Graeme O’Neill for Weightmans was able to hold on against the hard working Peter Bishop. O’Neill won 14-12 11-13 12-10 7-11 11-9 as nervous team mates waited for the outcome. This was heartbreaking for Fishers given they had worked so hard during the season after dealing with the loss of young gun Dillon Chambers to Melbourne. 
For Weightmans fill in Gavin Carmichael won three singles as well as participating in both doubles victories both very tough four setters. For Fishers Andrew Cannard, Kevin Johns and Peter Bishop won two, two and one singles respectively however it was their inability to grab a doubles which ultimately cost them a spot in the final four.
PENNANT TWO
Spanline continued their recent good form, and in a last gasp, became minor premiers for 2012. Max Miller Carpets provided the upset of the round, despite being bottom of the ladder, they defeated previous ladders Fishers IGA, and Tankard Dental after a slow start to the season, confirmed they are worthy to play finals table tennis when they defeated a disappointing Mallee Bearings side.
– Spanline 7 (Alex Keegan, Arthur Paar 2, Laurie Plummer 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Daniel Jansen 3, Leon Brown 1)
Spanline, also known as “The Double Centurions” continued their charge up the ladder, and with this win over Daniel Jansen’s Pinnacle Packers claimed top spot in the very last game of the season. Admittedly, they needed Fishers IGA to lose their match to do it, but nonetheless it is a worthy win for these old fellas, who must now be rated a top chance to take the flag. Spanline were without Arnold Jago this week, and Alex Keegan found himself filling Arnold’s shoes, and he filled them well. Alex helped himself to two singles wins (one against Leon Brown, and the other against Colin Moore who was doing double duty – playing for his own team Fishers IGA, and filling in for absent Glen Bell). Keegan also gave his captain Arthur Paar reason to smile when he and Paar slugged out a victory over Jansen and Brown 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10. Paar likewise won two singles, also against Brown and Moore, 
and Spanline number three Laurie Plummer took no mercy on a very tired Colin Moore in the final singles to notch up a single singles win in three sets. Plummer also helped Paar to victory in the first doubles against Jansen and Moore 7-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 11-6. That gave Spanline seven rubbers, and left the Packers with four. Jansen provided three of those in his singles, to put the issue of aggregate winner beyond doubt. Jansen led by two over Sony Sefer and the start of proceedings, and if Sefer had been looking at Daniel during the night to see if he was in with a chance of catching him at all, then Jansen gave no clues. Daniel won 40 of a possible 45 rubbers this season, and is the worthy winner. The other rubber for Pinnacle Packers came via Leon Brown in a five set win over Laurie Plummer. Final scores then, Spanline 7 rubbers and 27 games to Pinnacle Packers 4 rubbers 17 games.
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Ross Humphreys, Matthew Burns 2, Karina Sullivan 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Sony Sefer 3, Colin Moore 1)
Fishers IGA have sat on top of the ladder for the last four rounds or so, and perhaps due to some strong recent victories they felt their names had already been engraved on the winners trophies. Well, if that is what they were thinking, then this match would have given them cause to reflect on such confidence. Matthew Burns, Ross Humphreys and Karina Sullivan gave the Fishers trio something to think about in this last round match, and no doubt dented Fishers’ confidence ahead of their finals match against Spanline next week (a team they are yet to defeat). Burns and Humphreys took two singles each (against Seval Fuat and Colin Moore) andSullivan one – against Seval Fuat. Their sixth rubber came in the first doubles – Burns and Humphreys defeating Sony Sefer and Fuat. The surprising thing in this game was that Seval Fuat failed to win a singles (or the doubles for that matter) – something which he has avoided all year. 
Sullivan defeated him in four sets, and both Burns and Humphreys easily disposed of him easily in three (3, 4, and 3 by Burns and 2, 3 and 6 by Humphreys). Sefer did what he could for his side, winning each of his singles, Colin Moore notched up one (against Sullivan in five when the match was decided), and Sefer and Moore took the second doubles to prevent the match being decided at that stage. The win put the Carpeters equal on five wins for the season with Pinnacle Packers, but behind the Packers on percentage. And the loss by Fishers saw them drop from the top of the ladder to second, after Spanline won their match-up with Pinnacle Packers.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Andrew Jones, Connor Lavery 2, Robert Chiswell 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Ashley Morrison 3, Trevor Gebert 1)
After a slow start to the season Tankard Dental have finished the season strongly, and confirmed their finals credentials with this win over Mallee Bearings. 
Number two Andrew Jones and number three Connor Lavery won two singles each to give their side a chance at victory. Robert Chiswell had a quiet night, winning one singles only (against Peter Fitzpatrick). A five set win in the second doubles by Chiswell and Jones over Trevor Gebert and Ashley Morrison gave them six rubbers. Ashley Morrison carried the Mallee Bearings side as best he could with three singles wins, and the first doubles with Peter Fitzpatrick. But Fitzpatrick was unable to earn a singles, and Trevor Gebert was kept quiet with only a win over Robert Chiswell. Tankard Dental are building momentum for the finals, their play in this game consistent, the match was not decided until the final rubber when Lavery played Gebert. Lavery lost the first set 8-11, but came back strongly to match Gebert in the second and take it 12-10. After that he played his customary forceful game, and had too much firepower for his opponent to take the next two sets 11-6, 11-8. Lavery was justifiably happy with his performance, knowing he could produce his best when he needed to. The result of the game then 6 rubbers and 22 games to Tankard Dental to 5 rubbers and 21 games to Mallee Bearings. The result of this match does not affect the make-up of the teams in the finals competition, in fact these two teams will play each other again in the first round of finals competition next week. Mallee Bearings will be hoping for a return to their form from earlier in the year, their last win was in Round 12 in late June. Tankard’s on the other hand are playing with confidence and will no doubt continue with that confidence.
PENNANT THREE
The results of this round did not affect the make-up of the teams contesting the finals. It did give Darren Greaves one last chance to wrest back the lead in the aggregate race, but he needed Matt Ljubic’s co-operation for that to happen, and Matt did not co-operate.
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Matt Ljubic 3, Emily Carmichael, Brian Hosking 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Garry Hughes 2, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Leonie Dunkley 1)
Max Miller Carpets (second) played Pinnacle Packers (fifth) in this final round of the home-and-away matches for the 2012 Winter Pennant. A win for Pinnacle Packers would not see them make the finals and a loss for Max Millers would not dislodge them from second. The interest, apart from the matches themselves, was whether Matt Ljubic would maintain top spot on the aggregate ladder; going into this match he was one game clear of Darren Greaves, the only other player capable of taking the trophy from him. 
Matt did what he knew he had to do, and promptly won three singles, and very impressively indeed. Against Gary Hughes he conceded 9 points, Leonie Dunkley 18, and against fill-in Sabrina Fitzpatrick 12. These matches were all three set affairs of course, as was his second doubles with fill-in Brian Hosking. Earlier he and number two Emily Carmichael had played a five, very entertaining (and at times very noisy !!), set doubles against Gary Hughes and Sabrina Fitzpatrick. Matt and Emily led 17-15, 11-8 before Hughes and Fitzpatrick realised they could be a force with their opponents. The Pinnacle Packers pair put their heads down and took the next two sets 11-8, 11-5 to square the match. Matt and Emily were obviously having a bit of a rest during those two sets as they then proceeded to race away with the fifth 11-1. Emily Carmichael had an uncustomary quiet night. She scored but one singles win (against Sabrina in four sets), her lowest for the entire year. And fill-in Brian Hosking chipped with one win in the final match, against Leonie Dunkley 11-8, 11-9, 11-5. That gave the Carpeters seven rubbers, more than enough to take the four premiership points. For Pinnacle Packers, Gary Hughes again picked up two wins (in four sets against Brian Hosking and a much closer five set match with Emily Carmichael). Sabrina Fitzpatrick beat her sparring partner from last year Brian Hosking in a tough five-setter. Sabrina was two sets to nil down 9-11, 6-11, and fought hard to take the match away from Hosking, going on to take the last three sets 11-8, 13-11, 12-10. Leonie Dunkley continued on her giant killing ways from last week, this time taking Emily Carmichael’s scalp. In a high quality match, which lasted five sets, Dunkley proved that being on the bottom of the aggregate ladder does not mean that much. Last week she accounted for aggregate number four Lachlan Kelly, and this time Emily Carmichael, number three on the aggregate. A highly entertaining match saw the win go to Dunkley 11-13, 12-10, 11-9, 12-14, 11-9. A common factor in these two giant killing wins was that (besides going to five sets), they were both the very first match of the night. Maybe Leonie is on to something there !! This game signalled the end of Pinnacle Packers season, they were hampered by not having a regular number one, Gary Hughes started to show some form towards the end of the season, and Leonie Dunkley justified her step-up from Pennant Four. Final scores, Max Miller Carpets 7 rubbers to the Packers 4, and 28 games to 15.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Darren Greaves 3, Lachlan Kelly, Jeremy Corrin 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Ian Kelly, Harrison Cottrell 2)
Minor premiers Weightmans Packaging met fourth placed Fishers IGA in this final round match. Despite their lower spot on the ladder, Fishers took the game right up to the Weightmans trio, the match being only decided in the penultimate rubber when Lachlan Kelly defeated Vaughan Waters. This match was Weightmans’ captain Darren Greaves’ last tilt at the aggregate trophy. He led the standings nearly all year, only for Matt Ljubic to come from behind in the last couple of rounds. So, despite winning his three singles (two in three sets and the other in four), he was powerless to stop Ljubic taking the aggregate prize, as Ljubic too, won three singles in his match. Along with Greaves’ wins, his team mates Lachlan Kelly 
and Jeremy Corrin won one apiece, both at the expense of Vaughan Waters. Earlier in the night Greaves and Corrin defeated fill-in Ian Kelly and Harrison Cottrell in the first doubles in a confident display, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3. Those wins were enough to take the win in this game, Weightmans eleventh win from a possible twelve this season. For Fishers, both Ian Kelly and Harris Cottrell took two singles wins, both against Lachlan Kelly and Jeremy Corrin, and the fifth rubber came in the second doubles, 11-13, 6-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7 when Ian Kelly and Waters came from two sets to nil down, and then weathered the sustained attack of Greaves and Lachlan Kelly to level the match at that stage 4 rubbers all. Final scores 6 rubbers and 23 games to Weightmans, to Fishers 5 rubbers 17 games.
PENNANT FOUR
The top two teams, Max Miller Carpets and Fishers IGA have finished the season with wins and will face off against each other this Wednesday for the right to play in this season’s grand final. In an exciting climax to the singles race brothers Sam and Ryan Hensgen fought out a top class five setter with Sam grabbing the points 11-6 in the fifth. In doing so Sam caught Ryan and they have finished level on 35 wins each after fifteen rounds. Now they are sorting out who will have first rights to the trophy.
Mum Kym witnessed a great contest!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Ben Hosking, Cole Keegan, Matt Johns 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Ellie Midgley 2, Claire Ljubic 1)
Top team Max Miller Carpets have finished strongly with a 7-4 victory over Mallee Bearings. In an even display skipper Ben Hosking, number 2 Cole Keegan and fill in Matt Johns all won two games. Keegan and opposing number one Claire Ljubic played the match of the night in this contest. 
Claire was trailing two games to love fought back only just to be pipped at the post 12-14 by the consistent Cole who has finished one win ahead of Claire in third place in the aggregate race.
For Mallee Bearings Ellie Midgley played well to win two singles and in the final match of the night she took the points against Matt Johns 2-11 15-13 12-10 3-11 11-7 much to the delight of coach Robinson, this had been a great tussle.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Ryan Hensgen, Michael Hensgen 2, Helen Frania 1) d Bishop Builders 5 (Sam Hensgen 3, Geoff Keegan 1)
Second placed Fishers IGA raced to a 4-1 lead in this match between second and fourth on the ladder. Bishop Builders fought back but could not bridge the gap going down 5-6. This was a hard fought contest with the last four matches going to five sets. The highlight obviously was the singles to decide the aggregate when Ryan and Sam Hensgen met in the first match of the last round of singles. Sam was out of the blocks early winning the first two games before older brother Ryan fought back to level the match at two rubbers all. Their mum Kym had come out to watch the big match and everyone was nervous however Sam remained half calm to go on and win 11-3 11-8 6-11 9-11 11-6.
This was one of Sam’s best victories knowing that a loss would have handed the aggregate to Ryan outright. Fittingly they have now tied and will share the trophy. This win will give Sam great confidence going into this week’s final.
This success by Sam took Bishop Builders to a 4-5 deficit however his brother Michael then dampened Sam’s party by defeating Paul Fitzpatrick, in another five setter in the next match to ensure Fishers had grabbed the points, before Geoff Keegan accounted for partner Helen Frania again in five sets in the last to improve the score line.
For Fishers both Ryan and Michael Hensgen won two singles. Michael is improving rapidly since he came into the team to replace Kerryn Greaves who withdrew due to pending motherly duties. Team mate Helen Frania defeated Paul Fitzpatrick in the first match of the night to get her team off to the right start.
Two good matches are to take place this Wednesday as the finals commence.
Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant results round 15: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Andrew Cannard, Kevin Johns 2, Peter Bishop 1)
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Shannon Bowen 3, Shane Carmichael, Jackson Murphy 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Matt Ljubic, Jackson Tung 2)
PENNANT TWO:
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Ross Humphreys, Matthew Burns 2, Karina Sullivan 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Sony Sefer 3, Colin Moore 1)
– Spanline 7 (Alex Keegan, Arthur Paar 2, Laurie Plummer 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Daniel Jansen 3, Leon Brown 1)
– Tankard Dental 6 (Andrew Jones, Connor Lavery 2, Robert Chiswell 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Ashley Morrison 3, Trevor Gebert 1)
PENNANT THREE:
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Matt Ljubic 3, Emily Carmichael, Brian Hosking 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Garry Hughes 2, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Leonie Dunkley 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Darren Greaves 3, Lachlan Kelly, Jeremy Corrin 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Ian Kelly, Harrison Cottrell 2)
PENNANT FOUR:
– Fishers IGA 6 (Ryan Hensgen, Michael Hensgen 2, Helen Frania 1) d Bishop Builders 5 (Sam Hensgen 3, Geoff Keegan 1)
– Max Miller Carpets 7 (Ben Hosking, Cole Keegan, Matt Johns 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Ellie Midgley 2, Claire Ljubic 1)
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907 or 5023 7907.
