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PRELIMINARY FINAL
Winter-2023-Preliminary-Scoresheets.pdf
PENNANT ONE:
– Tankard Dental 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Jackson Murphy 1) d Regional Taxation Services 3 (Matt Ljubic 2, Thanh Nguyen 1)
Tankard Dental have earned the right to challenge top team Mallee Bearings in the grand final after a solid 6-3 victory over Regional Taxation Services in the Sunraysia Table Tennis Preliminary final.
Going into the finals series both teams enjoyed an 8-7 win-loss ratio with the rubbers played also level. They were in fact only separated by a miniscule number of games in the 600+ played over the fifteen-round season.
Wayne Carmichael whose form of late has been outstanding led the way for Tankards with three singles victories as well as taking party in both doubles’ successes. Early in the match Regional Taxation Services took a 2-1 lead courteous of two hard fought five set victories by Thanh Nguyen and Matt Ljubic respectively.
In the first Nguyen accounted for Tankards number three Paul Kealley in a close contest before Nguyen took control in the fifth. In the third singles of the night Tankards Jackson Murphy looked like he might cause the upset of the Preliminary final when he took two games to love lead against singles aggregate leader Ljubic, to his credit Ljubic was able to grab the third game 12-10 to keep the match alive.
He was then able to go on to win in five sets despite Murphy bombarding him with powerful forehands.
Despite still being early in the contest the first doubles was now crucial for Tankards and their duo of Wayne Carmichael and Jackson Murphy were able to prevail in four sets over tough pair Matt Ljubic and Thanh Nguyen. This win now levelled the scores at two rubber all.
From this point Tankards took control winning five of the next six rubbers to book a spot in the grand final. Wayne Carmichael won his next two singles defeating Nguyen in straight sets while in the final match of the night he outlasted Matt Ljubic also in three sets in a match that was expected to be a close tussle.
RTS number three Michael Hensgen attempted to stem the flow racing out to a two game to nil lead over his more fancied opponent
Jackson Murphy however Hensgen could not sustain his early outstanding play with Murphy settling to win 4-11 5-11 11-6 11-7 11-4 an impressive comeback in such a pressure match.
Carmichael was the standout player for the victors winning three singles while Matt Ljubic and Thanh Nguyen won two and one respectively for Regional Taxation Services.
The grand final takes place at the Irymple Leisure Centre with Mallee Bearings playing Tankard Dental, these two teams finishing first and second on the ladder respectively after the home and away season.
PENNANT TWO:
A thrilling preliminary final, with the result coming in the final rubber.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Quentin Clark 2,, Andrew Jones, Tom Morrison 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Kevin Johns 3, Terry Martin 1)
The margins in finals are small, and player performance counts for everything.
Although this match needed the full eleven rubbers to determine the outcome, and without wanting to sound like a spoiler, the result of this match, could well be said to have been determined in the very first rubber.
Still smarting from their six rubbers to one drubbing at the hands of Max Miller Carpets in last week’s semi final, Weightmans Packaging were determined not to replicate that performance in this elimination final.
And Weightmans Packaging number three Tom Morrison was just the man to make the most of the opportunity in the first rubber, where he met the Mallee Meats number two Terry Martin. Morrison has had a very good season, with a real run of form between rounds seven and twelve, to finish the season with only four games less won, than his opponent here, Terry Martin. This was only one of two five set contests, and both were important, for different reasons. Morrison led two sets to one 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, only for Martin to force the encounter to the fifth set. The fifth set was owned by Morrison, he took an early break 5-1 and never looked back, winning the set 11-5, and there gave his team a settling start.
Weightmans Packaging captain Quentin Clark made it two rubbers to nil after his three set win against Mallee Meats number three James Jarvis.
Mallee Meats were now on the back foot, and needed a steadier. That they got when captain Kevin Johns shot out of the blocks to take the first set against Andrew Jones 11-3. Although Jones gradually worked his way into the contest, there was no stopping Johns, who closed the match out in three sets, 11-9, 12-10.
The first doubles was an opportunity for Mallee Meats to square the contest, and they duly did so. Johns and Martin, the second most successful doubles pairing this season, downed Clark and Jones in straight sets to make the score two rubbers each.
Weightmans Packaging took two of the next three singles rubbers – Clark defeated Martin in four sets, and Jones won what looked like a nervous
four set contest with James Jarvis. In between those two Weightmans Packaging wins, Kevin Johns grabbed one for Mallee Meats by downing early victor Morrison in three sets.
Down four rubbers to three, Mallee Meats now looked like going down five rubbers to three because in the second doubles Johns and Jarvis were up against the best doubles pairing, Clark and Morrison. It is worth repeating that this pair won on eleven of the twelve times they played together this season. So, a tall order for Mallee Meats, and so it proved, despite Johns and Jarvis sneaking the first set 11-7. Clark and Morrison never really looked troubled after that, winning the next three sets 11-5, 11-6, 11-7.
Three rubbers to play, Weightmans Packaging needed one, and Mallee Meats all of them.
And so to the second five set contest of the night – Clark won the first two sets comfortably in the battle of the captains 11-6, 11-5, and Johns looked to be down and out.
However, little by little things started to go Johns’ way in the third set, which he won 11-9. It seemed as though Kevin was just needing to win a set to get some confidence, because the fourth and fifth sets were pretty much one sided, Johns winning them 11-5, 11-4, and kept his side in the contest for one more rubber.
Next, Terry Martin had to face Andrew Jones. To this point, Martin had had a disappointing night, without a win to his name, and Jones was at best playing tentatively. Martin raced off to a two sets to love lead 11-4, 11-4, but stumbled in the third, Jones taking that 11-3, before Terry got his rhythm back to close the match out 11-6 in the fourth.
Five sets each – would Morrison continue his giant-killing ways, or would James Jarvis get his team out of gaol, as he did the week before, when it was also five all with one to play?
Jarvis got the better start, in that he took the first set 12-10, but even James would agree there was an element of good fortune in that result. Morrison, although losing that set, then came alive and won the next three 5, 7 and 6 to take the match and put his team into the grand final.
A very close contest, and fittingly, both sides won twelve games each.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games all
Max Miller Carpets vs Weightmans Packaging in the Grand Final
PENNANT THREE:
Tankard Dental ensured they would play in this year’s grand final after defeating Exposed Signage & Apparel in the Preliminary Final.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Luca Capizzoto 3, Steve Pongrac 1) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 4 (Riley Clemence, Levi Williams 2)
Tankard Dental led the teams ladder from round five onwards, and generally looked unbeatable, until last week, that is, when Regional Taxation Services gave them a reality check, defeating them for the third time in their four meetings this season. So, with that bit of uncertainty sown, Tankard Dental needed to strong concerted showing to regain confidence, if they were to make it to the grand final.
And the one who gave that strong concerted showing was Tankard Dental number two Luca Capizzoto. Luca was the difference between the two sides, and he refused to leave the table until he had won!!
Capizzoto won everything he played in, which might make one think he had things fairly easy, and under control. Far from it. In the first round of singles Exposed Signage & Apparel number three Riley Clemence battled with Luca for five sets, only conceding defeat at 11-9 in the fifth set. Luca’s second singles rubber was a three set win over Damen Southgate, and by the time his third singles match was scheduled, his team was leading five rubbers to four, so a win would seal the match.
Opposing captain Levi Williams naturally had other ideas, and led two sets to love 14-12, 11-6 after the first two tough sets. From that point on, it was all Capizzoto, Luca winning thirty three points to Levi’s thirteen to give his team the win. Capizzoto also played in both doubles – he and captain Steve Pongrac winning in three sets against Williams and Southgate, and later Luca and Steve Parker looked to be in trouble against Williams and Clemence when they trailed two sets to love 5-11, 8-11. They fought their way back in the final three sets to win them 12-10, 11-5, 11-4.
Capizzoto was involved five of the six wins for Tankard Dental,
captain Steven Pongrac picking up the sixth for this side by defeating Southgate early in the contest 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.
Levi Williams and Riley Clemence battled hard for Exposed Signage & Apparel, both picking up two wins. Levi a four set win against Steve Parker, and a three set win against Steve Pongrac, Riley after his five set loss to Capizzoto bounced back with two more five set matches. Against Steve Parker he trailed 8-11, 10-12, but then rallied to win the next three sets 12-10, 11-8, 11-6, and in a see-sawing match with Steve Pongrac, Riley kept his concentration up to win 8-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 11-5. That
win kept his side in the contest, and made the score five rubbers to four at that point.
Losing both doubles rubbers really hurt Exposed Signage & Apparel, and once again the pair of Williams and Clemence almost pulled it off in the second doubles, just losing out in (another) five set contest to Capizzoto and Parker. A win there would have made it four rubbers each, but it was not to be.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 4 and 23 games to 16
Regional Taxation Services vs Tankard Dental in the Grand Final
PENNANT FOUR:
Dunkley Scales crushed Mallee Meats to earn their spot in the Pennant Four Grand Final.
– Dunkley Scales 6 (Dianne Hannig, Derek Hung 2, Katrina Clifford 1) d Mallee Meats 1 (Wendy Simpson 1)
These two sides finished second (Dunkley Scales) and fourth (Mallee Meats) on the ladder, eight wins to three. In the head to head encounters, though, these two sides were a good match. Dunkley Scales had the slight edge with three wins, Mallee Meats two.
Any thought of a close match disappeared quite quickly, however, thanks to Dunkley Scales number three Derek Hung, who had his best night of the whole season.
In the very first rubber, Hung upset the much better credentialed Tom Gilmour in five sets. Derek’s strike rate is exactly half that of Tom, but that counted for nothing in this match. Hung was on the offensive from the start, taking the first set 11-4, Gilmour responded to take the second with an identical score, Hung took the third 11-5, only for Gilmour to once again come back in the fourth 11-7. The fifth set went the distance, Hung getting over the line 13-11.
Dunkley Scales captain Dianne Hannig joined in with a four set win against Jenny Leach before
Mallee Meats got their first rubber via captain Wendy Simpson, a hard fought five set encounter with Dunkley Scales number Katrina Clifford 8-11, 11-2, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8.
From there on it was all Dunkley Scales. Hannig and Clifford defeated the more experienced Simpson and Gilmour in four sets 11-7, 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, Hannig continued Gilmour’s miserable night with a straight sets win, before Hung then demolished Mallee Meats captain Simpson in straight sets, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7. Only on two occasions throughout the whole season did Derek win two singles rubbers, and to do so in a finals match is pretty special. Well done, Derek.
Katrina Clifford sealed the win for Dunkley Scales when she defeated Jenny Leach in three sets.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 1 and 20 games to 7.
Weightmans Packaging vs Dunkley Scales in the Grand Final
