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ROUND 11
PENNANT ONE:
It has finally happened ladder leader Mallee Bearings were defeated for the first time at the hands of Regional Taxation Services in round eleven matches of the Sunraysia Table Tennis pennant.
– Regional Taxation Services 7 (Matt Ljubic 3, Thanh Nguyen 2, Ashley Morrison 1) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Gavin Carmichael 2, Rohan Reimers 1)
The RTS trio of Matt Ljubic, Thahn Nguyen and fill in Ashley Morrison proved to be too consistent winning three, two and one singles respectively to topple Mallee Bearings. The Bearings team took a narrow 3-2 lead only for their opponents then to win the next five matches in succession eventually winning 7-4.
Regional Taxation Services number three fill in Ash Morrison played a key role the victory in a busy night as he also played his matched in pennant two. His second match was against the experienced Mark Dorman and after dropping the first game 8-11 Morrison was outstanding winning the next three games 11-9 11-7 11-6. Later in the second doubles Morrison teamed up with skipper Matt Ljubic to recover from a 0-2 deficit to win in five sets against Gavin Carmichael and Rohan Reimers, a crucial comeback.
The following two matches featured Matt Ljubic defeating Gavin Carmichael in four sets and then Thahn Nguyen recovering from 0-2 down to win in five sets over Mark Dorman an excellent team performance by Regional Taxation Services.
– Cookes Pools & Spas 7 (Joel Thomas 3, Lee Leeson, Russell Walder 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Jackson Tung 2, Reece Kurrle, Ed Hung 1)
Cookes Pools & Spas with a 7-4 win over Weightmans Packaging enabled Cookes to hold second position on the ladder by a narrow percentage margin. Joel Thomas again controlled the match as only he can do winning three singles and taking part in both doubles victories.
With the scores at 5-3 in favour of Cookes , Thomas’s team mates Lee Leeson and Russell Walder scored important victories in the final two singles. Firstly Leeson recorded an impressive four set win over Reece Kurrle after losing the first game and Walder outlasted Ed Hung in a lengthy five setter.
– Tankard Dental 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Jackson Murphy, Paul Kealley 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Kate Carmichael 2, Leon Brown, Liam Wood 1)
In the final match Tankard Dental snatched victory from the jaws of defeat over Max Miller Carpets winning 6-5. After an excellent five set victory in the second doubles by Carpeters pair Kate Carmichael and Leon Brown over Wayne Carmichael and Paul Kealley the score stood at 5-3 in the Carpeters favour.
Tankard’s Wayne Carmichael then played Kate Carmichael and it was Kate who grabbed the early ascendancy in a close encounter winning two of the first three games and then in the fourth she held two match points leading 10-8 however her uncle Wayne would not go away taking the fourth 12-10 in a great recovery and then he moved away to take the fifth 11-5. Tankard’s now trailed 4-5 and stormed home to win the final two matches to snatch the four points.
Tankards Jackson Murphy was too consistent for Leon Brown winning in straight sets and then team mate Paul Kealley recovered from a 0-2 deficit to defeat Liam Wood in an exciting climax.
PENNANT TWO:
Weightmans Packaging and Max Miller Carpets, teams first and second on the ladder were untroubled to win their matches this week, but at the other end of the table, bottom side Mallee Bearings took a narrow win against third placed side Cookes Pools & Spas, and in so doing hauled themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Quentin Clark 3, Andrew Jones, Tom Morrison 2) d Mallee Meats 3 (Kevin Johns, Jordan Cole 1)
After their narrow loss last round to Max Miller Carpets, Weightmans Packaging were back to their winning ways in this round.
Captain Quentin Clark again took three singles wins, the seventh time he has done so this season. In a strong team performance, both Andrew Jones and Tom Morrison took two singles wins, and with the doubles rubbers shared, the score ballooned out to eight rubbers to three.
Clark was not seriously threatened in any of his singles matches, a win against James Jarvis came in three sets, and against Jordan Cole (subbing after one rubber for Terry Martin) and Kevin Johns the wins came after four sets.
Jones also looked to be on course for a three game haul – after defeating opposing captain Kevin Johns in straight sets in the first round of singles, he then disposed of Jarvis, but that took five sets, then in the final round of singles, Cole did what neither Johns and Jarvis could do, and downed Jones in four sets.
In the first match of the contest, Morrison started strongly, after losing the first set 3-11, Morrison took down Mallee Meats number two Terry Martin in four sets. Unfortunately for Martin, this match aggravated an injury and he was forced to withdraw from any further action. Morrison later accounted for his opposite number Jarvis, in four sets again.
Clark and Morrison won the second doubles in straight sets against Johns and Jarvis. The Weightmans Packaging pair are yet to be defeated this season, and kept their wins rolling with an 11-7, 12-10, 11-8 win here.
For Mallee Meats, Johns and Cole won the first doubles rubber, a win against the odds really. Clark and Jones, their opponents have played together nine times this season, and Johns and Cole were thrown together with no notice to play this game. Clark and Jones took the first two sets 11-6, 11-7, then the Mallee Meats duo took control, winning the next
three 5, 9 and 5. Johns later defeated Morrison in four sets, and Cole, improving with each game downed Jones in the second last rubber.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 28 games to 15.
– Max Miller Carpets 8 (Jeremy Corrin, Daniel Jansen 3, John Fitzpatrick 2) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Peter Midgley 1)
Pinnacle Packers could only hold Max Miller Carpets for four rubbers, keeping the score to two rubbers each, before their opponents took a run of three wins in the second round of singles to take a strong hold on this match. Max Miller Carpets repeated the dose in the final round of singles.
Jeremy Corrin and Daniel Jansen ran rampant in their singles games, number two Jansen outshining his captain Corrin. Jansen dropped just one set in his three wins, that understandably to Pinnacle Packers captain Peter Midgley. Corrin had a harder time of it, after leading Sony Sefer two sets to love, Jeremy let his grip on the game slip, Sefer grabbed the next two sets, and Jeremy had to make sure of the fifth, which he took 11-6. Furqaan Ahmad gave Corrin a solid workout too, Corrin could really only get on top in this game in the fourth set, taking the win 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7. Paradoxically he had less trouble against Midgley, winning that encounter in four sets.
With two wins, John Fitzpatrick contributed strongly too. A five set win against Sefer was the first of his two wins, the second a four set victory against Ahmad.
Pinnacle Packers got two of their three wins in the first four rubbers, Midgley defeated Fitzpatrick in four sets, and Midgley and Sefer eked out a five set win in the first doubles against Corrin and Jansen. Later Sefer and Ahmad won the second doubles, also in five sets against Corrin and Fitzpatrick 13-11, 6-11, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 29 games to 18.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Jamie Kealley 3, Marcus Cimino, David Sergi 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Ashley Morrison, Josh Arnold 2)
At the moment Mallee Bearings would probably like to discard their results in rounds three to nine – their win here represents their fourth win of the season, to go with wins in rounds one, two and ten.
Captain Jamie Kealley picked up his first three win haul of the season, and with both Marcus Cimino and
David Sergi winning one each, and victory in the second doubles, Mallee Bearings recorded their second win against this side for the season.
Kealley had to work hard in his first singles rubber, Josh Arnold winning more points, but losing the five set encounter. Kealley played with more confidence against Ryan Hensgen, and later defeated aggregate ladder leader Ash Morrison in four sets also.
Cimino and Sergi both defeated Ryan Hensgen, and Kealley and Cimino bested Morrison and Hensgen in straight sets.
For Cookes Pools & Spas, Morrison and Arnold both defeated Cimino and Sergi, and together defeated Kealley and Sergi.
Cookes Pools & Spas, despite losing here, with five wins for the season, remain third on the ladder, however they are now just one win ahead of the three remaining teams in the competition, who each four wins. Mallee Meats, the team leading that group of three, actually has a better percentage than Cookes Pools & Spas, so the next four rounds will be interesting.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games all
PENNANT THREE:
Top side Tankard Dental inflicted a big loss on third placed Mallee Meats in this round; Regional Taxation Services won a shortened match against Sammy’s Slammers; and Exposed Signage & Apparel got over the line in the final rubber against bottom side Weightmans Packaging.
– Tankard Dental 9 (Luca Capizzoto 3, Steve Pongrac, Steve Parker 2) d Mallee Meats 2 (Michael Smyth 2)
Mallee Meats came into this round third on the ladder, but after a bruising loss to ladder leaders Tankard Dental, left fourth.
Tankard Dental simply seem to get better and better with each passing round. This time around the team conceded just two of the eleven rubbers, Mallee Meats captain Michael Smyth grabbed the two for his team by defeating Steve Pongrac and Steve Parker, but unable to get a set from aggregate leader Luca Capizzoto.
That win against Smyth was one of three for Capizzoto, who now leads the aggregate by 3 from Smyth. This was an opportunity lost by Smyth to narrow the gap.
Pongrac and Parker won two each, both defeated Nick Kiapekos and Hamish Smyth, and Tankard Dental completed the domination by taking both doubles rubbers, Pongrac and Capizzoto won in five sets against the very competitive pairing of Michael Smyth and Nick Kiapekos 11-7, 3-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-2. Capizzoto and Parker won the second doubles against Michael and Hamish Smyth in four sets 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8.
Final scores: 9 rubbers to 2 and 27 games to 14.
– Regional Taxation Services 5 (Shaun Gifford 3, Rodney Galvin 2) d Sammy’s Slammers 4 (Marita Grace 2, Nhat Dat 1)
Regional Taxation Services held on to their second spot on the ladder in a shortened match with Sammy’s Slammers. Both sides were a player a short, replacements could not be found, so only six rubbers were actually played.
There were some close matches though – in rubber number one, Regional Taxation Services’ Rodney Galvin quickly found himself two sets to love down 10-12, 4-11. In what may be his best performance of the season so far, Galvin dug in to level after taking the third and fourth sets 12-10, 12-10, and then continued the momentum in the final set to win it 11-5.
Although only of four sets duration, the first doubles rubber was close too. Marita Grace and Nhat Dat levelled the score at two all by defeating Galvin and Shaun Gifford 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9.
Regional Taxation Services proved too strong though, Gifford won both his singles rubbers; a three set win against Dat, and against opposing captain Marita Grace a four set victory.
Galvin won one rubber, and with the adjusted scoring, Regional Taxation Services had a narrow win five rubbers to four.
Final scores: 5 rubbers to 4 and 20 games to 12.
– Exposed Signage/Apparel 6 (Levi Williams 2, Riley Clemence, Damen Southgate 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Karly Leach 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick 2)
The most exciting match of the round was between sides fourth and sixth on the ladder. Weightmans Packaging have now lost four times by one rubber, and in this round, the win was determined in the final contest.
By winning three of the first four rubbers, Exposed Signage & Apparel started well, the next four rubbers were shared two apiece, Weightmans Packaging then took two on the trot, to make the scores five rubbers all, so the number three’s determined the outcome in the night’s final encounter.
Weightmans Packaging’s Karly Leach won all her singles encounters – a four set win against Riley Clemence, three sets against Damen Southgate, and a dogged five set win 11-6, 10-12, 11-4, 8-11, 11-7 over Exposed Signage & Apparel captain Levi Williams to square the match five all. Karly’s wins backed up the two by her captain Sabrina Fitzpatrick, but unfortunately for them, that was all they could get.
Exposed Signage & Apparel were not dominant in singles, indeed they won only four of the nine on offer, however they won both doubles rubbers, Williams and Southgate taking the first against Fitzpatrick and Leach 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9. And in the second doubles, Williams and Clemence were too strong for Fitzpatrick and Nicole Hunt winning 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5.
With the scores at five all, Clemence and Hunt had to play off, and Clemence traded blow for blow with his more experienced opponent.
Hunt led two sets to one, but Clemence kept believe he could win, and win he did, with a score 7-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 24
PENNANT FOUR:
Weightmans Packaging maintained their three game gap at the top of the table after this round, and Dunkley Scales recorded their third win of the season over Tankard Dental.
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Chelsey Avers 3, Glenn Leeson 2, Gary Leach 1) d Mallee Meats 4 (Wendy Simpson 2, Tom Gilmour 1)
The settled team that is Weightmans Packaging took a strong win against a competitive Mallee Meats in this round.
Weightmans Packaging gained wins through a combined team effort – number two Chelsey Avers being the form player this round with three wins, captain Glenn Leeson picked up two, and number three Gary Leach contributed one. And Leeson and Leach were too strong for their Mallee Meats opponents in the second doubles, winning that encounter in four sets, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-7.
Avers started the night strongly with a straight sets win against Jenny Leach. In the second round of singles she was two sets to love down against Mallee Meats captain Wendy Simpson 9-11, 10-12, but fought back to take the next three sets 11-7, 11-5, 11-9. And in the penultimate match, Chelsey took a close three set win against Tom Gilmour 13-11, 12-10, 11-6.
Weightmans Packaging captain Glenn Leeson accounted for Gilmour and Leach, but fell in five sets to opposing captain Wendy Simpson. Gary Leach took his win at the expense of his wife, Jenny. In a close match, Gary took the win 11-8, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7. Gary had earlier paired with Glenn Leeson to win the second doubles against Wendy Simpson and Jenny, again a four set win 11-9, 3-11, 11-8, 11-7.
For Mallee Meats, Simpson won two singles, Tom Gilmour one, and Simpson and Gilmour won the first doubles, a very close come from behind win five set encounter against Glenn Leeson and Chelsey Avers 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 25 games to 16.
– Dunkley Scales 6 (Dianne Hannig, Katrina Clifford 2) d Tankard Dental 5 (Maria Starikov 3, Liam Nicolaou, Curtis Crabtree 1)
Dunkley Scales have been hit hard by the injury to their captain, Costa Skiadas, winning just one match since his departure in round eight.
This round though saw them once again find some form, with replacement skipper Dianne Hannig playing a big role in the side’s performance.
Hannig won two of her three singles rubbers, and featured in the win in the first doubles with her number two Katrina Clifford. In fact, Clifford had as good a night as her captain, she too won two singles, and with her number three Derek Hung took the second doubles.
But the stand-out performer in this match was Tankard Dental number two Maria Starikov. Maria is having an exceptional season, and currently leads the aggregate by three games. In this match she held off the tenacious Derek Hung in four sets, went toe to toe with Hannig in a five set marathon winning 4-11, 11-9, 14-12, 8-11, 14-12, and finished the night with a straight sets win against Katrina Clifford.
Her teammates Liam Nicolaou and Curtis Crabtree could only add one rubber apiece, so the team fell short five rubbers to six, a close contest nonetheless.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 24 games to 17
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907
