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Victory to the bottom team and losses to the top two teams was the feature of round nine matches of the Sunraysia Table Tennis “Cash Converter” winter pennant which indicates the evenness of the competition.
PENNANT ONE:
– Exposed Signage/Apparel 8 (Mark Dorman 3, Matt Avers, Michael Hogarth 2) d Weightmans Packaging 3 (Gavin Carmichael, Isaac Liu 1)
The curse of playing the bottom team continued this round with top team Weightmans Packaging being soundly defeated 8-3 by Exposed Signage. In an amazing start Exposed Signage were out of the blocks quickly and in an outstanding team effort they won the first seven matches. Skipper Mark Dorman was in season best form winning three singles and the doubles he participated in.
Dorman’s team mates also played well with Matt Avers and Michael Hogarth both winning two singles each.
Avers scored a meritorious four set victory over his far more experienced opponent Gavin Carmichael while later he was involved in the match of the night against Isaac Liu. This was an outstanding display between two exciting players and spectators witnessed many fine rallies with many heavy looped forehands hitting their mark. Liu after trailing by two games to love fought back to win 4-11 7-11 11-8 15-13 11-7.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Shannon Bowen, Nicholas Dorman 2, Matt Ljubic 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Joel Thomas 3, Kate Carmichael 1)
Fourth placed Mallee Bearings showed they are capable of beating all comers when they defeated second placed Tankard Dental 6-5 in an even match. 
With Shannon Bowen winning two singles and Nicholas Dorman continuing his fine form over the last four rounds, also winning two singles Mallee Bearings will be a threat come finals time particularly given that Matt Ljubic who makes up the trio has shown good form over the season.
For Tankard Dental Joel Thomas continued his fine form with another three singles victories to open up a four game break from his nearest rival.
– Regional Taxation Services 9 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Reece Kurrle, Mark Ljubic 2) d Cash Converters 2 (Rick McMeekin 2)
Third placed Regional Taxation Services trounced Cash Converters 9-2 in the remaining match. Wayne Carmichael won 3 singles and with team mates
Mark Ljubic and Reece Kurrle winning two each RTS controlled the match from the outset. Rick McMeekin was the only player to trouble the scorers for Cash Converters. His match against Wayne Carmichael was of high standard however as well as he played, McMeekin could not stop Carmichael winning in four.
The ladder now reveals two teams at the top on five wins, the next two on four wins while fifth and six have won three. Only two wins separates first to sixth in an even season.
PENNANT TWO:
Max Miller Carpets suffered a loss to third-placed Mallee Meats; Pinnacle Packers struggled against MJM Automotive, collecting a win that put them in first place on the ladder. And Weightmans Packaging knocked Mallee Bearings off the aggregate ladder top, beating them 8-3.
– Mallee Meats 7 (Geoff Wright 3, Russell Walder 2, Andrew Jones 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Ed Hung 2, Sony Sefer 1)
Despite their good record of wins for the past three weeks, Max Miller Carpets failed to impress in their fight against Mallee Meats, being defeated 7-4.
Mallee Meats got away to a good start, dropping only one game in the first round of singles. Third player Russell Walder commenced the team’s victory, beating opposing Josh Carmichael who substituted for the absent Brendon Alderton. Captain for Mallee Meats, Geoff Wright, in his first singles match beat opposition’s no.2 Sony Sefer in three, 11-6, 11-9, 11-3, then collaborated with Walder to win the first doubles from opposing captain Ed Hung and Carmichael in three sets, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9. The only game Mallee Meats lost was Andrew Jones loss to Hung, going down 7-11, 8-11, 6-11.
Max Miller Carpets soon bounced back and levelled the now 3-1 score. Hung collected another singles, beating Walder in straight sets, 11-8, 12-10, 11-3. Wright continued to gain points for his side, taking another singles against Carmichael. Sefer then took a singles, taking out Jones in four, 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5. He and Hung then downed Wright and Jones in the second doubles, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
With the score now 4-4, both sides entered into the last round of singles. Mallee Meats then showed their superiority by winning all three singles with relative ease. First, Wright downed Hung in three, 11-8 11-3, 11-8.
Then, Walder beat Sefer in four, 11-5, 1-11, 11-6, 11-8. And lastly, Jones took his only singles for the night against Carmichael, 11-9, 12-10, 13-11, to complete the team’s 7-4 victory.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 22 games to 14.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Ashley Morrison, Arthur Paar, Kerry Wallace 2) d Mallee Bearings 3(Jackson Murphy 2, Lee Thomas 1)
In what began as not looking to be their night, Weightmans Packaging turned this game around on top-placed Mallee Bearings, demolishing them 8-3.
After the first round of singles, Mallee Meats lead 2-1. Captain Jackson Murphy and aggregate leader Lee Thomas had both secured a singles for their team, with Murphy beating opposing no.3 Kerry Wallace in three, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, and Thomas winning over Weightmans Packaging’s captain Ashley Morrison likewise in three, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8. Weightmans Packaging then added to their only game,
Arthur Paar’s win over Mallee Meats Terry Martin, the first doubles in which Morrison and Paar downed Murphy and Thomas in straight sets, 11-7, 11-6, 13-11, making the score 2-2.
Murphy then won what turned out to be the team’s last game for the night, beating Paar in three, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7. Weightmans Packaging then sped away from their opponents, winning the next six rubbers. Morrison beat Martin and, in a show of brilliant play, Wallace beat Thomas in five sets, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 5-11, 11-9. With Morrison and Wallace then winning the second doubles over Murphy and Martin in straight sets, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5, and Morrison’s win over Murphy, the score read 6-3 to Weightmans Packaging. The team then adorned their victory with two more rubbers with Paar downing Thomas in three and 
Wallace beating Martin in four.
With Pinnacle Packers’ win on the other table, Mallee Bearings now sink to second on the aggregate due to their loss.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 24 games to 14.
– Pinnacle Packers 6 (Kevin Johns, Peter Midgley 2, Jason Gifkins 1) d MJM Automotive 5(Bernadette Fitzpatrick, Tony Malycha 2)
MJM Automotive nearly made the greatest comeback of all time against Pinnacle Packers but just couldn’t make it, going down 6-5.
Pinnacle Packers made a terrific start to their match tonight. Opposing skipper Bernadette Fitzpatrick was the only one from her side to win a rubber from them in the first round of singles, beating Jason Gifkins in four, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5. Pinnacle Packers captain Kevin Johns and teammate Peter Midgely then took the first doubles. After dropping the first set, 3-11, to Fitzpatrick and Tony Malycha, they came back and took the next three, 11-7, 13-11, 12-10, giving their team a 3-1 advantage. With Midgely’s win over Fitzpatrick and Johns’ win over Seval Fuat, their side was just one game away from victory, looking at a comfortable 5-1 score.
MJM Automotive, however, wasn’t about to concede to defeat so easily. In three sets, Malycha downed Gifkins then his teammates, Fitzpatrick and Fuat, took the second doubles away from Johns and Gifkins also in straight sets, 12-10, 11-8, 11-9. Fitzpatrick then downed Johns in four, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, and Malycha then tussled with Midgely and beat him in five, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7. Winning four games straight, MJM Automotive had brought a hopeless 1-5 to 5-5. But, in the last match, Gifkins was too good for Fuat downing him in three, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6, to give his Pinnacle Packers a 6-5 victory.
With this win, Pinnacle Packers again go back to the top of the ladder, jumping Mallee Bearings.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 18.
PENNANT THREE:
As is becoming the norm, Tankard Dental took another strong win, this time beating MJM Automotive 8-3. Regional Taxation Services and Dunkley Scales fought to the last rubber with the latter just managing to win 6-5. And Mallee Meats lost unexpectedly to Weightmans Packaging 6-5.
– Dunkley Scales 6 (Cambell McKenzie, Rachel Fitzpatrick 2, Huseyin Ismail 1) d Regional Taxation Services 5 (Quentin Clark 3, Vin Brown 1)
Dunkley Scales reversed their score of their last meeting with Regional Taxation Services, downing them 6-5.
The overall match was close with neither team getting a break until the end. By the end of the first doubles in which Regional Taxation Services’ Quentin Clarke and Vin Brown beat Dunkley Scales captain Cambell McKenzie and teammate Rachel Fitzpatrick in four 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, the match score was 2-2. Previous to this, McKenzie and Fitzpatrick both won their first singles against opposing Brown and David Sergi respectively and Clarke beat Dunkley Scales’ Huseyin Ismail.
Clarke then went on to beat Fitzpatrick in three, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6, before McKenzie won over Sergi in four 11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8. The score was again even at 3-3. It was then raised to 4-4 with Brown beating Ismail in straight sets, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, and McKenzie and Ismail taking the second doubles away from Clarke and Sergi in four, 3-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-6.
Going into the last round of singles, Clarke continued his remarkable form in downing McKenzie in straight sets, 11-5, 12-10, 11-9. But McKenzie’s teammates, despite facing a 4-5 score, didn’t disappoint him. 
First, Fitzpatrick took a fighting five set win against Brown, exchanging sets with him in the first four, 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, before downing him in the last 11-7. Ismail then collected the last game for his team, beating Sergi in five, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7.
With their win against them, Dunkley Scales now consolidate their position above Regional Taxation Services on the team ladder with three wins opposed to their one.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 25 games to 17.
– Tankard Dental 8 (Michael Hensgen, Zac Healy 3, Rohan Reimers 1) d MJM Automotive 3 (Jeremy Corrin, Anthony Sergi 1)
Tankard Dental won another decisive victory this week, beating MJM Automotive in 8-3.
From the word “go”, Tankard Dental raced forward to obtain the necessary six games, winning them before MJM Automotive could take a single rubber.
Captain Michael Hensgen and third-player Zac Healy both went through the night undefeated in their singles matches. However, they lost the second doubles in four sets, 11-13, 6-11, 11-8, 4-11, to MJM Automotive’s Jeremy Corrin and Glenn Bell, who subbed for absent captain Peter Fitzpatrick.
The only matches, other than the second doubles, that MJM Automotive were able to get hold of were Corrin’s match against Rohan Reimers in four, 1-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, and teammate Anthony Sergi also against Reimers in three, 13-11, 12-10, 11-9.
With this 8-3 victory under their belt, Tankard Dental consolidate their position as top-team, now one game clear of Mallee Meats who suffered a loss this week.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 26 games to 16.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Paul Fitzpatrick, Sam Hensgen 2, Karly Leach 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Rod Healy 3, Claire Ljubic 1)
Second placed Mallee Meats suffered an unexpected loss against fourth-placed Weightmans Packaging.
Weightmans Packaging Sam Hensgen lead the way to victory, downing opposing Marcus Cimino in straight sets, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, in the opening match. Rod Healy, captain for Mallee Meats, then levelled the score to 1-1, in beating Karly Leach likewise in three, 11-0, 11-3, 11-3. Weightmans Packaging’s skipper Paul Fitzpatrick then returned the lead to his side in beating Claire Ljubic in five. Ljubic looked terribly strong to begin with, seizing the first two sets 11-5, 11-5, but Fitzpatrick sprung back to win the next three, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5. Fitzpatrick and Hensgen then won the first doubles against Healy and Ljubic in five, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9.
Winning two of the three first singles and the first doubles, Weightmans Packaging had begun with their usual 3-1 lead … a lead for which they are notorious for dropping. And, sure enough, Mallee Meats quickly smoothed the score out, winning three of the next four matches. Healy continued to demonstrate his great play, knocking over Hensgen in straight sets, 11-4, 11-8, 11-6. Fitzpatrick took the next game against Cimino to keep his team one step ahead. But with Ljubic’s win against Leach in five, 12-10, 9-11, 12-14, 11-5, 11-7, and Healy and Cimino’s win in the second doubles against Fitzpatrick and Hensgen in three, 11-8, 12-10, 12-10, the score was 4-4.
Entering in to the last three singles, the captains clashed with Fitzpatrick hitting just one too many over the end of the table, going down in a narrow five, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 6-11 to the ever-consistent Healy. 
Hensgen then went to battle with Ljubic and, in five thrilling sets, came away with the win 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, and in the process took the fifth game for his team. It was then down to the third players, Leach and Cimino, to bring the team home with the victory. Leach took the first two dangerously-close sets, 11-9, 14-12, but Cimino bounced back, seizing the next two, 11-7, 11-9. But Leach prevailed in the fifth, securing it 11-8 to collect the victory for Weightmans Packaging.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 24.
PENNANT FOUR:
Several players were out this round with four fill-ins needed, while MJM Automotive had the bye. As a result of wins by Weightmans Packaging and Mallee Meats this round two wins separate first to fifth in what still remains a close pennant.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Therese Fitzpatrick 3, Nick Kiapekos, Tom Cooper 2) d Dunkley Scales 3(Joel Hogarth 2)
This was second versus first however unavailability played a part with Sabrina Fitzpatrick and Helen Frania out for Weightmans, they were replaced by Therese Fitzpatrick and Nick Kiapekos agreed to double up.
Dunkley’s skipper Leonie Dunkley was replaced by junior player Sarah Hogarth. Weightmans took an early ascendancy winning the first six matches and went on to win 8-3.
Tom Cooper won two singles for Weightmans showing his best form for the season in his first season of senior table tennis. His first match was against fellow junior player Sarah Hogarth and the improving Tom proved too good in a lengthy five setter 11-4 8-11 11-9 4-11 11-5.
Therese Fitzpatrick proved to be an excellent replacement for her mother Sabrina by winning three singles. Therese is a young leftie from the juniors and she played many attacking forehands in her three singles victories. She also teamed with Nick Kiapekos to win the first doubles. Nick also won two singles in what was a big win for Weightmans.
Dunkley’s Joel Hogarth tried hard for his team winning two singles including an impressive 11-8 12-10 11-9 against fill in Nick Kiapekos.
– Mallee Meats 6 (Ryan Hensgen 3, Nick Kiapekos 2) d Regional Taxation Services 5 (John Fitzpatrick 2, Shirley Whitecross, Brice Lock 1)
With a narrow 6-5 victory Mallee Meats have jumped from fourth to second in this close competition.
Skipper Ryan Hensgen showed the way winning three singles including a three set win over John Fitzpatrick who now sits two wins behind Ryan in the singles aggregate race. Ryan does have a bye next round which will give John the chance to grab the lead if he can snare three wins against his mother’s team.
Ryan received good support from the busy Nick Kiapekos who won two singles. Ryan combined with Nick in the first doubles to in a vital win 11-4 8-11 7-11 11-8 11-7 against John Fitzpatrick and Shirley Whitecross.
For Regional Taxation Services John Fitzpatrick won two singles which included a marathon five set victory over Nick 20-18 10-12 11-5 7-11 11-6. Team mates Shirley Whitecross and Brice Lock won a singles each however as a team they were one win short of victory in a close encounter.
