Winter 2024 – Rnd 8 Wrap

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PENNANT ONE:

After a round of doubles the previous week play returned to normal home and away games in round eight of the Sunraysia Table Tennis winter pennant and some excellent singles matches were a feature.

– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Jackson Tung 3, Dylan Wood 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Reece Kurrle, Paul Kealley 2, Thanh Nguyen 1)

The match of the round took place when Weightmans Packaging captain came up against opposing skipper Reece Kurrle of Tankard Dental. With the match score at four rubbers all this was an important result for the fourth placed Weightmans who were four points behind their opponents going into this round.

Tung was slight favourite given he was third on the singles aggregate while Kurrle was three behind in equal fourth spot. Kurrle grabbed the first two games by the barest of margins in an encouraging start before Tung took the third again by the narrowest of margins, this had been an excellent match with superb play from both players. In the end it was the steadiness of Tung that enabled him to take the points 12-14 12-14 16-14 11-5 11-9, a thriller. Weightmans Dylan Wood then accounted for Thanh Nguyen in four sets and Weightmans had grabbed the four points they needed with a 6-5 victory.

For Weightmans Jackson Tung was the standout player not only winning three singles but also taking part in both doubles matches which were won narrowly in five sets.

– Mallee Bearings 6 (Joel Thomas 3. Liam Wood 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Kate Carmichael, Casper McCarthy 2, Russell Walder 1)

In another close result ladder leaders Mallee Bearings took the four points over Cookes Pools & Spas 6-5. All up Tankards won five singles but again the doubles were crucial both won by Mallee Bearings. Bearings skipper Joel Thomas also comfortably won his three singles to now remain undefeated after 24 singles matches. He leads the aggregate by three.

Apart from Thomas’s contribution teammate Liam Wood recovered from a one set to two deficit against Russell Walder to win in five sets, given the scoreline at the end this was a major comeback as Walder had played well.

For Cookes Casper McCarthy showed good form winning two singles as did Kate Carmichael while Walder won one.

– Choices Flooring Mildura 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leon Brown 2) d Regional Taxation Services 4 (Rohan Reimers 2, Andrew Cannard, Edi Re 1)

With a 7-4 victory over Regional Taxation Services, Choices Flooring moved back to second place on the ladder. Wayne Carmichael enjoyed a good night winning three singles and also taking part in both doubles victories. His teammate Leon Brown offered good support winning two singles including a five-set win in the first game of the night against Andrew Cannard who at one stage took a two games to one lead.

For RTS Rohan Reimers performed well to win two of his three singles. His straight sets win over Brown was a highlight.

PENNANT TWO:

Two close matches and a blowout this round in Pennant Two, yes the blowout saw top team Weightmans Packaging defeated by third placed Mallee Bearings 10-1, was this the loss they had to have?

After losing 2-9 only two rounds ago Mallee Meats bounced back this round to win 7-4 over bottom team Pinnacle Packers. Choices Flooring Mildura retained second spot with a narrow 6-5 win over Cookes Pools & Spas, The standout player for Choices was veteran Kevin Johns who won three singles.

– Choices Flooring Mildura 6 (Kevin Johns 3, Jason Gifkins 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Marcus Cimino 2, Tom Morrison, Michael Smith 1)

This was an outstanding match with five five set matches a feature, The first three singles all went the full distance, and it was Cooke’s fill in Michael Smyth who after dropping the first two games recovered to defeat the fast-improving Harry Gujral 6-11 7-11 11-5 11-5 11-5 in the first match.

The next two singles went the way of Choices Flooring both in five sets, Jason Gifkins shook off Tom Morrison, the final score line 12-14 11-3 13-11 7-11 11-7 in a top class clash.

This was followed by another superb five setter with Kevin Johns holding off the in-form Marcus Cimino 13-15 11-3 13-11 7-11 11-7, again a vital result in the overall battle for the four points.

When Cookes took three of the next four rubbers they took a 4-3 lead and it was the second doubles which would decide the outcome. Tom Morrison and Michael Smyth played impressively to take a two game to love lead for Cookes before Jason Gifkins and Kevin Johns fought back to win 9-11 9-11 11-8 11-7 11-4.

The battle for the four points had been a beauty.

Final scores: Choices Flooring Mildura 6 rubbers to Cookes Pools & Spas 5 and 24 games to 22.

– Mallee Meats 7 (Ashley Morrison 3, David Sergi 2, Rasin Bhuiyan 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (John Fitzpatrick 2, Peter Midgley 1)

By his standards Ashley Morrison has had a quiet season however this round he was up and about winning three singles, and when he teamed up with Rasin Bhuyisan to win the first doubles the score line was 4-0 in favour of Mallee Meats and from here it was too difficult for the Packers to recover although they did win four of the next six matches however the run came too late.

Morrison won his three singles as said, however his very first match was against Packers number three John Fitzpatrick and this was a beauty, Fitzpatrick grabbed the first narrowly and maintained the pressure on Morrison before Ash was able to just take the points 11-13 11-9 11-6 10-12 11-8 a top-class contest by both players.

For Mallee Meats other than Morrison it was number three David Sergi winning two singles and Rasin Bhuiyan one who also played a part in their team taking the points to retain fourth spot on the ladder.

For the Packers John Fitzpatrick won two singles and his solid Monday training sessions of late are helping his match play on a Wednesday.

Final Scores: Mallee Meats 7 rubbers to Pinnacle Packers 4 and 25 games to 17

– Mallee Bearings 10 (Jamie Kealley, Sony Sefer 3, Therese Fitzpatrick 2) d Weightmans Packaging 1 (Brendan Alderton 1)

This was the surprise result of the season with third placed Mallee Bearings defeating top team Weightmans Packaging who before this round had lost only one match. The score line was an amazing 10-1 and a massive percentage boost for the Bearings trio of Jamie Kealley (3 singles) , Sony Sefer (3 singles) and Therese Fitzpatrick (2 singles).

For Kealley an added bonus was that he jumped to the lead in the singles aggregate race, he enjoyed a straight sets win over Quentin Clark who was the leader by one going into this round.

The only success to come Weightmans way was when Brendan Alderton outlasted the hard-working Therese Fitzpatrick 13-11 4-11 11-4 9-11 11-2.

Despite the loss Weightmans have retained top position by percentage however that percentage took a real hit.

This was an outstanding team effort by Mallee Bearings and a result that Weightmans will need to put behind them in a hurry.

Final scores: Mallee Bearings 10 rubbers to Weightmans Packaging 1 and 32 games to 13.

PENNANT THREE:

Exposed Signage & Apparel had their second bye in this round and as a result are now fourth on the ladder.

Undefeated ladder leader Weightmans Packaging received a big scare from Regional Taxation Services who occupy second, the doubles proved to be the difference in two five set thrillers both won by Weightmans.

Sammy Slammers with a strong 8-3 win over Mallee Meats consolidated their third position on the ladder.

– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Ryan Peterson 2, Karly Leach, Koby Grace 1) d Regional Taxation Services 5 (Peter Fitzpatrick 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick 2)

This was a classic match and not decided until the final singles, Regional Taxation Services took the early initiative after the first block of singles and from here Weightmans Packaging were playing catch up. Later in the match the ladder leaders trailed 4-5 as a result of RTS skipper Peter Fitzpatrick winning his third singles,

Earlier in his second singles of the night Fitzpatrick was outstanding against young gun Ryan Peterson, Petersen had raced two a two games to love lead and then in a real arm wrestle Fitzpatrick fought back to inflict a rare defeat on the youngster, in fact Ryan had not lost a singles since way back in round one. A commendable victory to Fitzpatrick 4-11 10-12 11-7 11-9 11-9.

Despite Fitzpatrick winning three singles and teammate Sabrina Fitzpatrick two, it wasn’t enough as the doubles, both thrillers were won in five sets by Weightmans.

The first doubles featured Peterson and Karly Leach team up for Weightmans against the Fitzpatrick duo and what a thriller this was, a lengthy match of long rallies won by the Weightmans pair 10-12 1-8 11-7 8-11 11-9. The second doubles was just as entertaining when the Weightmans combination of Peterson and Koby Grace recovered from a 0-2 deficit to win 7-11 9-11 11-5 11-5 11-5 a great comeback.

With two doubles victories, two singles wins from Ryan Peterson and one singles each to Karly Leach and Koby Grace Weightmans had recovered from a 4-5 deficit to take the four points and remained undefeated.

Regional Taxation Services proved that there is not much between these two teams, and they will look forward to the challenge when they meet again in round thirteen.

Final scores: Weightmans Packaging 6 rubbers to Regional Taxation Services 5 and 21 games apiece.

– Sammy’s Slammers 8 (James Jarvis 3. Nhat Dat 2, Hayden Wilson 1) d Mallee Meats 3 (Andrew Kremor 2, Dianne Hannig 1)

Great to see Dianne Hannig back at the table this round filling in for the injured Glenn Leeson who is on the mend from a rib injury. Dianne linked up with the Mallee Meats team who are still searching for their first success.

Mallee Meats skipper Andrew Kremor won the second and fourth matches of the night against Slammers pair of Hayden Wilson and Nhat Dat respectively both in tough four sets and this was an encouraging start.

From this point the Sammy’s Slammers trio of James Jarvis, Nhat Dat and Hayden Wilson flexed their muscles winning five of the last six matches to record a comfortable 8-3 victory and outright third position on the ladder. Jarvis with three singles is now two clear on the singles aggregate losing only one match in 18 played.

Teammates Dat and Wilson offered good support winning two and one singles respectively. For Mallee Meats Andrew Kremor won two singles while Dianne Hannig battled well to win one singles.

Final scores: SAMMY’S SLAMMERS 8 rubbers to MALLEE MEATS 3 and 26 games to 13.

PENNANT FOUR:

With the season half way through the Ladder in Pennant 4 has seen shuffled on more than one occasion. Dunkley Scales three (Tom Gilmore, Deegan Kerslake and Selma Mayne) are holding top spot at the moment and seem to be settling into that position comfortably. Mallee Meats (Maria Starakov, Jen Leach and Jake Hines) leap frogged Weightmans Packaging (Curtis Crabtree, Gary Leach and Raj Gujral), with Nikki Mayger filling in for Curtis this round and Tankard Dental (Ildi Healy, Nathan Beard and Conner Burnett) may be on the wrong end of the Ladder, but they are a strong team, who will most likely put the pressure on in coming rounds.

– Dunkley Scales 7 (Tom Gilmour, Deegan Kerslake 3) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Nikki Mayger, Gary Leach, Raj Gujral 1)

With Dunkley’s Deegan playing a very consistent game lately, it was a tough ask for Nikki to come away with a win, which saw the first Rubber going to Dunkley (11/4, 11/9, 11/5). Their second Rubber came when Tom cut short Weightman’s Gary Leach, winning in three (11/8, 11/7, 11/7). Raj and Selma had a great tussle, with Selma taking the middle set to 12, but Raj got the better of her and snuck in a Rubber for Weightmans (11/8, 12/10, 11/8).

As strong as Tom and Deegan are, Weightmans notched up another win in the first Doubles, with Nikki and Gary forcing the match to four sets (11/6, 5/11, 11/8, 11/8).

Tom pulled himself back into gear and made sure of the win against Nikki in three (11/8, 11/3, 11/8). The Deegan and Gary battle was a bit of a see sawing affair, which went to four sets. Deegan put the foot on the pedal in the second game, only allowing Gary one point, but Gary wasn’t having a bar of that, and fought back in third for a 12/10 win, unfortunately for Gary Deegan’s game was too much to handle (11/8, 11/1, 10/12, 11/7). Selma and Nikki had a ripper match, with both players producing some amazing shots, with the final outcome going to Nikki and Weightmans (16/14, 7/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/9).

Weightmans weren’t so lucky in the second Doubles, as Tom and Selma combined well to give Dunkley their fifth Rubber, after a three setter against Nikki and Raj (11/7, 11/4, 11/6).

Just needing one more point to seal the night, Tom was facing Raj and the first set must have given Tom a scare, with Raj taking it to 13/11, but Tom stopped the nonsense and put the cue in the rake for Dunkley and also marked up his third win (13/11,11/3, 11/3). Selma challenged Gary in their encounter and pushed him to four sets, with some good rallies, but Gary had kept the pressure on for the win (11/6, 11/4, 4/11, 11/5). Deegan came up against Raj in the last match and Raj played an excellent match, with close scores in the three sets. Deegan’s experience rewarded him with his third win for the night (14/12, 14/12, 11/9).

WINNERS : Dunkley Scales 7 to Weightmans Packaging 4. GAMES 25 to 13.

– Mallee Meats 6 (Maria Starikov, Jenny Leach 3) d Tankard Dental 5 (Ildi Healy, Conner Burnett, Nathan Beard 1)

Although there was not one five setter in the nights play between these two teams, each match was over flowing with rallies. The two number three players, Mallee’s Jake and Tankards Conner were first up and Connor showed the improvement in his game, with a three set win (11/9, 11/6, 11/5). Maria and Nathan usually fight it out to five sets, but Maria had her eye on that ball and was determind not to let her opponent get away (11/5, 11/5, 11/8). Its always a tough clash when you come up against Ild, as she’s focussed on every shot. But Jen surprised herself and came up with the goods to add a Rubber for Mallee (11/8, 11/5, 11/9).

Tankard evened the ledger in the first doubles, with the pairing of Ildi and Nathan too  tricky for Maria and Jen (11/7, 11/6, 12/10).

Maria very rarely gets beaten, so it was a hard task for Connor to break through her wall, when she notched up a third Rubber for Mallee (11/5, 11/6, 11/7).

Jake put in a good effort, coming up with some great shots, against Ildi, but didn’t have the skill to keep up, giving Ildi a fine win (11/4, 11/8, 11/7). Tankard’s Nathan is a very crafty player which makes it hard to get past him, but once again Jen made the inroads needed to sneak in another Rubber for Mallee (11/8, 11/6, 10/12, 15/13).

Tankard had Mallee covered in the second Doubles with the combination of Ildi and Connor knocking over Maria and Jake in three (11/9, 11/3, 11/9). This put both teams on four Rubbers, with players on the edge of their seats.

Idli and Maria put in some great rallies and at first it looked like the match was going to fall the way of Ildi, but Maria put up that well known wall of hers and pulled it up at four sets, to give her three wins for the night (6/11, 14/12, 11/3, 11/6). Jen and Connor had a great game, with Connor playing some terrific shots, but after three sets, Jen gave Mallee the Rubber, which handed them the all over win for the night and a pleasing three wins for herself (11/9, 11/6, 11/3). Nathan was too strong for Jake in the last match of the night, with in a close first set, not enough to ward off Nathan (12/10, 11/6, 11/5).

WINNER : Mallee Meats 6 to Tankard Dental 5. GAMES 18 to 17

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