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ROUND 2
PENNANT ONE:
After two rounds of the Sunraysia Table Tennis pennant both Mallee Bearings and Tankard Dental sit at the head of the ladder after successive victories.
– Mallee Bearings 9 (Gavin Carmichael, Rohan Reimers 3, Casper McCarthy 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 2 (Mark Ljubic, Kate Carmichael 1)
Mallee Bearings proved too strong for Cookes Pools & Spas taking advantage of both Joel Thomas and Lee Lesson being absent. Rohan Reimers who was promoted to Pennant one this year was in outstanding form winning three singles. Reimers returning after last appearing in pennant one 18 years ago outlasted the experienced Mark Ljubic in four sets the best win of his three singles successes. Team mate Gavin Carmichael also won three sets to allow Mallee Bearings to continue their early good form.
– Tankard Dental 7 (Wayne Carmichael, Casper McCarthy 3) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Jackson Tung, Reece Kurrle, Ed Hung 1)
Tankard Dental defeated Weightmans Packaging 7-4 with Wayne Carmichael winning three singles. Fill in Casper McCarthy was in fine form also winning three singles for Tankards and his five set victory over Jackson Tung was a tremendous tussle won by the barest of margins.
– Regional Taxation Services 6 (Matt Ljubic 3, Thanh Nguyen 2) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Kate Carmichael 2, Liam Wood, Leon Brown 1)
With Matt Ljubic in form winning three singles Regional Taxation Services recorded their first victory of the season 7-4 over Max Miller Carpets . Ljubic received excellent support from Thahn Nguyen who defeated both Liam Wood and Leon Brown both in five set struggles. The victory over Brown was a great scalp for Nguyen and this victory gained the valuable four points for his team.
PENNANT TWO:
In what is shaping to be a close competition, after just the second round there is only one undefeated side.
– Mallee Bearings 8 (David Sergi, Jamie Kealley 3, Marcus Cimino 1) d Weightmans Packaging 3 (Andrew Jones 2, Tague Morris 1)
Mallee Bearing backed up last week’s close 6-5 win with a dominating 8-3 win this round.
Even at this stage, this side looks like it is definitely going to figure in the finals at the end of the season. In a good team effort, the three members of the team, Jamie Kealley, Marcus Cimino and David Sergi all won two of their three singles rubbers to back up the five they collectively won last round. None of them has recorded three wins, so this side is looking pretty balanced and strong.
Added to their strength in singles, they won both the doubles rubbers, Kealley and Cimino much too strong for Weightmans Packaging fill-in captain Tague Morris and Tom Morrison, winning 9, 6 and 2. Morris and Andrew Jones put up a much better fight against Kealley and Sergi, but Mallee Bearings once against proved too strong, winning 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8.
In the singles, Kealley lost to his opposite number Tague Morris, and Cimino and Sergi both fell to Andrew Jones.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 25 games to 17.
– Cookes Pools & Spas 7 (Ashley Morrison 3, Stephan Ljubic 2, Josh Arnold 1) d Max Miller Carpets 4 (Jeremy Corrin, Daniel Jansen, John Fitzpatrick 1)
Cookes Pools & Spas were bolstered this week by the inclusion of substitute Stefan Ljubic. Filling the number three spot, Ljubic was responsible for Cookes Pools & Spas 7-4 win against Max Miller Carpets.
Captain Ash Morrison won his three singles rubbers, as he did last week; number two Josh Arnold won one singles rubber, as he did last week and the team won one doubles rubber as they did last week. That was all they won on that occasion, and so lost 5 rubbers to 6. This time around, Ljubic added 2 vital singles wins, and helped the side to a good win.
Playing his first match for a while, he met Max Miller Carpets captain Jeremy Corrin in the first round and lost in three sets. In the second round of singles he came from two sets to one down to best Daniel
Jansen, the number two for Max Miller Carpets. John Fitzpatrick looked like he was heading for a straight sets defeat to Ljubic when he trailed 8-11, 9-11, but in typical fashion fought back to level the scores at two rubbers each. Ljubic was ready for him in the fifth set though, and ran away to win 11-3.
The Max Miller Carpets trio could only garner one singles win each, Corrin defeated Ljubic, and Jansen and Fitzpatrick defeated Arnold. As they did in the first round, Jeremy Corrin and John Fitzpatrick won their doubles, this time in three sets against the two best performed Cookes Pools & Spas player, Ash Morrison and Stefan Ljubic. They just might prove to be a handy combination …
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 22 games to 20.
– Mallee Meats 7 (Sony Sefer, Terry Martin 2, James Jarvis 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Peter Midgley 3, Zac Galbraith 1)
Fill-in captain Sony Sefer proved the difference between these two sides and helped his team to a 7-4 win.
Despite Pinnacle Packers captain Peter Midgley again winning three singles rubbers, Sefer was able to get the best from his adopted side, accumulating five of the nine rubbers matches, and they significantly, both doubles encounters.
Sefer was certainly competitive, going down to the dominant Midgley in a great five setter, 5-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 7-11.
After a slow start to the season, where he failed to score, Mallee Meats number two Terry Martin took two wins, both in three sets, over Zac Galbraith and Furqaan Ahmad.
For Pinnacle Packers, as stated Midgley won three, and Zac Galbraith made a welcome return to the club after many years away. He celebrated by defeating James Jarvis in four sets. Expect Zac to improve as the season progresses, as even in this match he took Sony Sefer to four sets, winning one of them 19-17.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 25 games to 14.
PENNANT THREE:
Regional Taxation Services and Tankard Dental are two wins from two matches, and so are at the top of the ladder, whilst at the other end of the table, Mallee Meats and Exposed Signage & Apparel are yet to open their accounts.
– Regional Taxation Services 6 (Shaun Gifford 3, Rodney Galvin 2) d Weightmans Packaging 3 (Nicole Hunt 2, Karly Leach 1)
This match was shortened due to a shortage of players!! Regional Taxation Services were missing their number two Leo Parker, whilst Weightmans Packaging had their captain Sabrina Fitzpatrick absent. So it became a match of two versus two.
As expected then, Regional Taxation Services captain and number one Shaun Gifford was the dominant player, winning both his singles rubbers, in four sets against Karly Leach, and a straight sets win over Nicole Hunt. Shaun’s number three Rodney Galvin could see he had a big chance of scoring three (with the absence of a player on the opposing team, that match was gifted to the opposition), and battled hard over five sets against his opposite number Nicole Hunt, but failed 6-11 in the final set. Not to be discouraged by not getting the three rubbers, Rodney made sure of two by running through his match against Karly Leach in just three sets.
The pickings for the Weightmans Packaging pair was therefore very lean, with just Hunt taking a win in the shortened match. The ladies put up a good fight in the doubles against their male opponents, fighting back from two sets to love down to take the match to five sets, but just falling short 11-8 in the fifth.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 3 and 26 games to 12.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Luca Capizzoto 3, Steve Pongrac. Steve Parker 1) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 5 (Levi Williams, Dave Tanner 2)
Luca Capizzoto is quickly becoming the defacto number one player of the Tankard Dental side, having not lost a singles rubber so far this season, and in this match, ensuring that his side won six rubbers to five.
He dealt with Riley Clemente in straight sets, dropped the first set to Dave Tanner before dominating the final three 6, 4 and 5, and showed his true mettle when he defeated Exposed Signage & Apparel captain Levi Williams. Down two sets to love 10-12, 8-11, Capizzoto took control of
the match, and allowed Williams a descending number of points in those final three sets, 9, 8 and 7.
Tankard Dental captain Steve Pongrac and number three Steve Parker both contributed one singles rubber, and Capizzoto, that man again, with Pongrac easily won the first doubles against Williams and Tanner in straight sets.
For Exposed Signage & Apparel, Williams and Tanner both defeated Pongrac and Parker, to give them four, then Williams and number three Clemente picked up the second doubles against Pongrac and Parker.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 20 games to 18.
– Sammy’s Slammers 6 (Marita Grace, Nhat Dat 2) d Mallee Meats 5 (Michael Smyth 3, Rodney Galvin, Hamish Smyth 1)
Sammy’s Slammers captain Marita Grace eased her side to a win against Mallee Meats in this second round to get her side their first win for the season.
With her number two Nhat Dat, she both won two singles rubbers (both against Rodney Galvin and Hamish Smyth), she and Dat won their doubles in four sets, then late in the night Marita teamed with her son Koby to get the important second doubles in a nervously exciting five sets against the Mallee Meats father and son pairing of Michael and Hamish Smyth. This was a very close affair, the Grace family defeating the Smyth family 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8!!
For Mallee Meats, Michael Smyth was undefeated in singles play, whilst Galvin, subbing for Nick Kiapekos and Hamish Smyth both defeated Koby Grace.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 20 games to 19
PENNANT FOUR:
– Dunkley Scales 7 (Costa Skiadas, Katrina Clifford 2, Derek Hung 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Liam Nicolaou, Maria Starikov 2)
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (David Healy, Ildi Healy 3, Gary Leach 1) d Mallee Meats 4 (Wendy Simpson 3, Keith Sharman 1)
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.
