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SEMI FINALS
PENNANT ONE:
Two great contests have taken place in the first week of the Sunraysia Table Tennis senior pennant. Ladder leader all season Mallee Bearings were able to withstand the pressure from second placed Tankard Dental winning 6-4 to advance to the grand final. Showing excellent composure Mark Dorman for Mallee Bearings proved to be the match winner.
The knockout first semi final was a thriller going to the final match with Regional Taxation Services snatching a thrilling 6-5 win over Cookes Pools and Spas, the standout player for Regional Taxation Services was Michael Hensgen in his best results for the season.
– Second Semi Final:
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Gavin Carmichael, Mark Dorman 2, Rohan Reimers 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3)
The second semi-final saw Mallee Bearings grab the first two singles matches to start well courtesy of Rohan Reimers and Gavin Carmichael defeating their respective opponents Jackson Murphy and Paul Kealley. Reimers was able to blunt the normal attacking style of Murphy while Carmichael had his hands full with Kealley’s tricky forehand and backhand drives but was able to take the match in three sets.
Tankards then settled levelling the scores at 2 rubbers all when Wayne Carmichael proved too steady for Mark Dorman. Then in the first doubles Wayne Carmichael and Jackson Murphy took the first game 13-11 over Gavin Carmichael and Mark Dorman before taking total control to go on to win in straight sets.
The next block of singles featured Mallee Bearings winning two of the three, the best match being the four set victory by Mark Dorman over Paul Kealley 11-6 10-12 12-10 11-9, this win giving the Bearings trio a 4-3 lead going in to the second doubles. Tankards Wayne Carmichael and Paul Kealley took to the table against Mark Dorman and Rohan Reimers and immediately took control winning the first game 11-4 before the Bearings pair bounced back to win the second and third 11-2 11-6, The fourth was a see saw affair and went to the wire with Mallee Bearings taking the fourth 13-11 with a stroke of luck…a net !
With the scores at 5-3 in Mallee Bearings favour Tankard’s Wayne Carmichael then disposed of brother Gavin winning 11-3 11-5 11-3 reducing the deficit to 4-5. The match of the night then took place with Bearings Mark Dorman playing Jackson Murphy, only two weeks ago Murphy had defeated Dorman. Dorman was away early winning the first two games, Murphy knew he had to lift to keep his team alive and lift he did winning the next two games. Dorman raced to a 5-1 lead in the fifth and appeared to be home before Murphy rattled off the next six points to all of a sudden take a 7-5 lead, In a nerve wracking final few points
Dorman was able to compose himself and finish strongly to win 13-11 11-8 9-11 8-11 11-8. With his two singles successes and playing a key role in the second -doubles victory Dorman proved to be the man of the match despite Wayne Carmichael winning three singles for Tankard’s.
– First Semi Final:
– Regional Taxation Services 6 (Matt Ljubic, Thanh Nguyen, Michael Hensgen 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Joel Thomas 3)
The knockout first semi final was a thriller and when Cooke’s Joel Thomas finished strongly over Matt Ljubic to win 8-11 11-6 9-11 11-4 11-3 the score line was 5-4 in favour of Cookes Pools and Spas. Thomas had done all he could winning three singles and taking part in both doubles’ victories.
With Regional Taxation Services under pressure Thanh Nguyen was too steady for Lee Leeson winning 12-10 11-5 11-5, the score now five rubbers all. Then in an outstanding match Michael Hensgen for RTS was able to stay calm against Russell Walder. At 9 all in the fifth it was anyone’s game with both teams looking to keep their season alive. Hensgen proved to be the steadier in an outstanding win 9-11 11-3 11-6 7-11 11-9, in doing so Hensgen has advanced his team to the Preliminary Final.
While Cooke’s Joel Thomas had been his outstanding self it was Hensgen that proved to be the match winner. Adding to his success in the final match he also was able to win the first match of the night 11-9 in the fifth over Lee Leeson, an amazing effort by him.
PENNANT TWO:
This pennant proceeds in its usual unpredictable way. In these matches, the team which finished second on the ladder defeated the first placed team, and fourth defeated third.
– Second Semi Final:
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Jeremy Corrin, Daniel Jansen 2, John Fitzpatrick 1) d Weightmans Packaging 1 (Quentin Clark 1)
Weightmans Packaging sailed through the fifteen rounds of competition with hardly a hiccup to record twelve wins from those fifteen rounds. Max Miller Carpets, for their part, had a fairly patchy first half of the season, but since round eight have been defeated only once. Of the three times these two teams played throughout the season, Weightmans Packaging won the first encounter, but Max Miller Carpets won the last two.
All that form was put aside as Max Miller Carpets utterly dominated their opponents here, wrapping up the match after just seven rubbers.
Jeremy Corrin and Daniel Jansen could do no wrong in this match. They both won their two singles rubbers, and together the first (and only) doubles rubber.
Jansen, in particular, has been outstanding in the back half of this season. In the last seven rounds of competition, he has lost only three singles rubbers. And in the Super 8’s played only two nights before this encounter, he made the final, albeit losing to Ash Morrison.
Jansen got his side off to a good start, winning the first rubber in four sets against Tom Morrison. Weightmans Packaging took the next (and as it turned out, their only) rubber when captain Quentin Clark defeated Max Miller number three John Fitzpatrick.
From then on, it was all Max Miller Carpets. Corrin easily defeated Andrew Jones, 5, 4 and 4, the ease of which baffles. Next up, Corrin and Jansen met Clark and Jones in the doubles. This was a great tussle, and clearly Weightmans Packaging pair knew the importance of it. A win would see the scores at two all, and that would go, in part, to easing the Andrew Jones loss to Corrin. After leading two sets to love, Corrin and Jansen took the win after five very close and tense sets, 12-10, 13-11, 9-11, 11-13, 11-8.
Jansen continued his great run of form, giving the aggregate runner-up Quentin Clark no chances of getting into the match, and winning in straight sets 13-11, 11-7, 11-5. Corrin then won in straight sets against
Morrison 12-10, 11-7, 12-10 to put Max Miller Carpets one match away from a spot in the final.
In a match which he was probably not expected to win, John Fitzpatrick showed the advantages of persistence. His match with Andrew Jones was simply one of sticking to his game plan, and seeing what happens. The match was very close, Jones taking the first and third sets 11-7, 11-9, Fitzpatrick the second and fourth 11-4, 11-6. And so to the fifth. There was nothing in it, the score edging towards the nominal finish number, but neither player was in the mood to concede, Fitzpatrick eventually winning out 15-13.
After this big loss, Weightmans Packaging will now have to regroup. They play Kevin Johns Mallee Meats side next week, although it must be said that their three encounters during the season have resulted in comfortable wins to the minor premiers.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 1 and 19 games to 8.
First Semi Final:
– Mallee Meats 6 (Kevin Johns, Terry Martin 2, James Jarvis 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Peter Midgley, Sony Sefer 2)
Pinnacle Packers finished the season with seven wins, Mallee Meats six. The for and against tally told a different story however, with Mallee Meats having a superior score for both rubbers and games won and lost. So perhaps the result here was not such a great surprise.
The Packers looked like they were home at 5-3 up after a good second doubles win by the combination of Sony Sefer and Furqaan Ahmad . They dominated the Mallee Meats pairing of Kevin Johns and James Jarvis, a combination which had won six times during the year. Sefer and Ahmad had only played together six times, for just one win.
With his team down 3-5 Johns’ never say die attitude got him through against Peter Midgley in four sets despite playing sore !
Next, at 4-5 Terry Martin probably played his best match in the past five seasons against Sefer who earlier had defeated Johns, backhands and even forehands from Martin were more consistent than usual, despite Sefer playing well too. This was a top class match which Martin won in four13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5.
With the scores now level at five all, James Jarvis proved too steady in the first two games as pressure mounted on both players. Furqaan fought
back in style to win the third narrowly 11-9, but could he repeat an earlier in the season victory over Jarvis? Answer, no, James won the fourth and in doing so his team live on.
The Packers were sent packing so to speak, but a thriller.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 21 games to 19.
Max Miller Carpets through to the Grand Final; Weightmans Packaging vs Mallee Meats in Preliminary Final next Wednesday
PENNANT THREE:
These two matches promised to be close, for different reasons, and they did not disappoint.
– Second Semi Final:
– Regional Taxation Services 6 (Shaun Gifford, Rodney Galvin 2, Leo Parker 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Luca Capizzoto 3, Steve Pongrac 1)
Tankard Dental finished the season on top of the ladder with thirteen wins from fifteen rounds; Regional Taxation Services second on the ladder with four wins less, nine. The two games Tankard Dental lost though, were to Regional Taxation Services. So, who would prevail in the arm wrestle this time.
Once again Tankard Dental’s Luca Capizzoto led from the front. He won all his singles rubbers, which included a close five set win against Regional Taxation Services captain Shaun Gifford.
Tankard Dental captain Steve Pongrac, who has averaged close enough to two wins every match, was kept quiet this time around, with just one win, that against youngster Leo Parker. He would have expected to defeat Regional Taxation Services number three Rodney Galvin, but Galvin really had his “Finals Eyes” on in this game. He slugged it out with Pongrac for five entertaining sets, getting over the line 12-10, 6-11, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10.
Whilst Capizzoto was unbeatable in singles play, Regional Taxation Services made the most of the opportunities made available to them. Shaun Gifford and Rodney Galvin picked up two wins – Gifford defeating Steve Pongrac and Steve Parker in straight sets (losing to Capizzoto in five), and Galvin downing Pongrac in five, in the final rubber of the contest, with the scores locked at five rubbers all, he convincingly defeated Steve Parker in four sets. Leo Parker also contributed an important win, against his father Steve, in the opening rubber of the contest 11-9, 11-9, 11-9.
That gave Tankard Dental four of the nine singles rubbers, and Regional Taxation Services five. The doubles rubbers, therefore, helped to determine the outcome. Gifford and Leo Parker outplayed Pongrac and Capizzoto in the first doubles, taking the win in four sets 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10. Tankard Dental were successful in the second doubles, Capizzoto and Steve Parker just getting over the line against Gifford and Galvin in five sets 5-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9.
After such a dominant home-and-away season, Tankard Dental need to be careful not to find themselves bundled out the finals. Next week they play Exposed Signage & Apparel, a team which, like Regional Taxation
Services, boasts a dangerous captain, Levi Williams, and an exciting youngster, Riley Clemence.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 25 games to 18
First Semi Final:
– Exposed Signage/Apparel 6 (Levi Williams 3, Riley Clemence 2, Nhat Dat 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Michael Smyth 2, Nick Kiapekos 1)
These two sides had almost identical numbers at the end of the home-and-away season, eight wins apiece, Mallee Meats 83-82 rubbers for and against, 313-308 games for and against; and Exposed Signage & Apparel 82-81 rubbers for and against, 309-307 games for and against. On the three occasions they played each other they recorded a win each of seven rubbers to four, and in round fourteen Exposed Signage & Apparel took the honours six rubbers to five. Not much between these two sides.
Exposed Signage & Apparel made sure of their win via the singles rubbers. Levi Williams had the confidence to place himself in the final rubber of the night, with the knowledge that the outcome might well be in the balance. How right he was. He clearly knew he would play his best table tennis early in the encounter, and so he did. Against opposing captain Michael Smyth in the first round of singles, it was a straight sets win for Levi 11-7, 15-13, 11-7, against Mallee Meats number two Nick Kiapekos in the second round of singles, another straight sets win, this time 11-6, 13-11, 12-10. And when the pressure was on in rubber number eleven, and the scores locked at five rubbers all, Levi had to battle harder against Mallee Meats number Hamish Smyth to get his team to next week’s preliminary final. Hamish lost the first set 5-11, but took the second 11-8. Levi came back strongly in the third to win that 11-3, but once again in the fourth, the youngster kept the pressure on, but Levi prevailed to take the fourth 13-11 and give his side the win.
Riley Clemence contributed two valuable wins, the first against fellow youngster Hamish Smyth a five set win 6-11, 12-10, 11-9, 10-12, 11-2, and in the second last rubber, with his side trailing 4-5, he kept his nerve to see off Nick Kiapekos in four sets 5-11, 11-5, 11-9, 14-12.
The sixth rubber for Exposed Signage & Apparel came from the bat of Nhat Dat, he too defeated Hamish Smyth in four sets.
Mallee Meats therefore came up just a little short. They won just three of the nine singles rubbers on offer, but did take both doubles encounters, and that is what kept them in the contest. Michael Smyth and Nick Kiapekos won the first doubles in five sets against Williams and Dat, and later Michael and Hamish Smyth were the better pairing against Williams and Clemence, winning in four sets.
With nothing to lose, Exposed Signage & Apparel will be looking forward to their clash with Tankard Dental next week.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 20
Regional Taxation Services through to the Grand Final; Tankard Dental vs Exposed Signage/Apparel in Preliminary Final next Wednesday
PENNANT FOUR:
Top side Weightmans Packaging won, as expected, but Mallee Meats, on the bottom of the ladder and with just three wins for the year, downed Tankard Dental.
– Second Semi Final:
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Glenn Leeson 3, Chelsey Avers 2) d Dunkley Scales 4 (Dianne Hannig 2, Katrina Clifford, Derek Hung 1)
Weightmans Packaging were defeated only twice during the season, but for a while it appeared that this match might have been loss number three.
After six rubbers the score was three rubbers each. Dunkley Scales Katrina Clifford and Dianne Hannig both defeated Gary Leach, and Hannig had, in the first round of singles downed the ever improving Chelsey Avers in four sets 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6.
For their part, Weightmans Packaging had wins courtesy of Glenn Leeson (in three sets against Derek Hung, and three sets also against Katrina Clifford). Leeson and Avers took the first doubles rubber fairly easily against Clifford and Hannig, a four set contest.
But with the score at three rubbers each, Weightmans Packaging closed the match out by taking the next three rubbers.
Avers was took good for Hung, who tried hard, Leeson and Leach too good for Hannig and Hung in the second doubles, and in the first rubber of the last round of singles, Leeson proved too good for opposing captain Hannig, winning 11-5, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9.
Provided they can defeat the resurgent Mallee Meats next week, Dunkley Scales will learn from this match, and come back more determined in the final.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 3 and 16 games to 11.
First Semi Final:
– Mallee Meats 6 (Wendy Simpson 3, Tom Gilmour, Cetty Bonaccorso 1) d Tankard Dental 3 (Maria Starikov 2)
Mallee Meats captain Wendy Simpson was the difference between the two sides in this match. In a good night, Wendy won three singles rubbers, and one of the two doubles.
In her first win against Nathan Beard, Wendy took a while to get going, but when she did, she finished the five set match strongly, the score being 11-6, 5-11, 11-13, 11-4, 11-1. Tankard Dental number three Curtis Crabtree proved to be a difficult opponent, even though Wendy won in
three sets, 11-7, 14-12, 13-11. And Maria Starikov tried hard too, but Wendy prevailed, once again in three sets 11-9, 14-12, 11-9.
Simpson and Tom Gilmour proved too strong in the first doubles, defeating Starikov and Beard 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.
In winning rubber number one in four sets against Crabtree, Gilmour gave Mallee Meats the start they wanted. Crabtree took the first set 11-5, and Gilmour used his experience to get himself back into the contest, taking the next three sets 11-7, 11-8, 12-10. Crabtree almost took the contest to five sets.
Cetty Bonaccorso subbed for Jenny Leach, and contributed one important rubber to the Mallee Meats cause when she downed Nathan Beard in five sets. Down two sets to one 3-11, 11-6, 8-11, Cetty blasted through the fourth set 11-3, and held firm in the fifth to win it 11-8.
Tankard Dental were well served by Maria Starikov, who won two singles rubbers. Beard and Crabtree were certainly competitive, but on this night, the combination of Wendy Simpson, Tom Gilmour and Cetty Bonaccorso proved too good. Next week they play Dunkley Scales, and after their performance here, might even fancy their chances.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 3 and 20 games to 14
Weightmans Packaging through to the Grand Final; Dunkley Scales vs Mallee Meats in Preliminary Final next Wednesday
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.
