Winter 2024 – Semi’s Wrap

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The Semi Finals

PENNANT ONE:

Two excellent matches were the feature of the first week of finals of the Sunraysia Table Tennis winter pennant.

As expected Mallee Bearings with a 6-4 win over second placed Cookes Pools & Spas have advanced to the grand final however they needed to avoid a late game scare to take the points as Cooke’s made a late surge.

– Second Semi – Mallee Bearings 6 (Joel Thomas 3. Liam Wood 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 4 (Kate Carmichael 2, Casper McCarthy 1)

The first block of three singles saw Cooke’s take a 2-1 lead and the first doubles was always important however the Bearings pair of Joel Thomas and Liam Wood have been outstanding this season and they took this match in straight sets over Kate Carmichael.

The next set of three singles went the way of Mallee Bearings two to one including Liam Wood defeating Russell Walder which now meant it was going to be difficult for Cooke’s. Mallee Bearing now took a 4-3 lead.

The second doubles was an outstanding match and the Cooke’s pair of Carmichael and Walder raced to a two games to love lead be Joel Thomas and Daniel Jansen fought back to level the match, the fifth was a beauty and at eight points all Walder played an outstanding wide backhand to Thomas’s forehand which proved too good.

Carmichael then served to Jansen for the match and the Cookes pair grabbed the final two points to win 12-10 11-5 5-11 7-11 11-9. The scores now four rubbers all.

Bearings Joel Thomas then accounted for Cookes Kate Carmichael to win his 48th match in succession for the season however Carmichael was not disgraced and there were some excellent long rallies in this match. Mallee Bearings now took a 5-4 lead.

The next match featured Bearings number two Liam Wood up against opposing number two Casper McCarthy and it was McCarthy with steady play who took a two nil lead, Wood fought back to take the third and the fourth saw McCarthy again proving too steady for his opponent to take a 10-8 lead and two match points. A victory to McCarthy could potentially take his team to the grand final after a week ago they almost dropped out of the four.

In an excellent recovery Wood grabbed the fourth taking the last four points. Both players were nervous and it was Wood who controlled the fifth and he took a 10-7 lead and looked home before McCarthy took the next three points to level at ten points all. Both sets of team mates now were tense but it was Wood who remained calm to take the match 9-11 7-11 11-8 12-10 12-10 a brilliant recovery after being under extreme pressure.  

Mallee Bearings now advance to the grand final courtesy of Joel Thomas winning his usual three singles however it was Wood with two singles who was the match winner.

Cookes were not disgraced and now front up in the Preliminary final for a chance to play in the Grand Final.  

– First Semi – Choices Flooring Mildura 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Mark Dorman 2) d Tankard Dental 4 (Reece Kurrle 2, Thanh Nguyen 1

The knockout first semi-final was an amazing match, and it was Choices Flooring Mildura who advanced to the preliminary final with a 6-4 victory over Tankard Dental. Despite Choices taking an early 4-2 lead this match was a close affair with five five set matches taking place. The very first match of the night was one of these when Choices fill in Mark Dorman outlasted Paul Kealley 7-11 11-8 11-8 7-11 11-6 a great tussle between the two lefties.

Another crucial five set match took place in the first doubles when Dorman teamed up with Wayne Carmichael against Tankard pair Reece Kurrle and Thanh Nguyen, the latter pair after dropping the first game easily then won the next two games however the experienced combination of Carmichael and Dorman fought back to take the match in five sets. The next block of singles went as expected with Tankard’s Reece

Kurrle overpowering Mark Dorman in four sets while Kurrle’s teammate accounted for Ed Hung in another four setter.  Choices Wayne Carmichael defeated Paul Kealley in straight sets and going in to the second doubles Choices Flooring were 4-3 up.

The second doubles was another outstanding contest when Kurrle and Kealley recovered from a 1-2 game deficit to defeat Carmichael and Hung 11-9 6-11 8-11 11-7 11-7, the score now stood at four rubbers all.

The two skippers now took to the table with Choices Wayne Carmichael up against Reece Kurrle, Kurrle had just gone down in five sets earlier in the week against Carmichael in the Super 8’s tournament and he would have been buoyed by this form. Kurrle was out of the blocks quickly taking the first game with some power hitting before Carmichael took the second, Kurrle took the third and now teammates were on the edge of their seat as a win by Kurrle could see his team advance further in to the finals.

Carmichael dug deep in the fourth to level the match at two games all, Kurrle then dominated the first three quarters of the fifth to take a 9-4 lead and was looking unstoppable however you can never rule out Carmichael and in an amazing comeback containing many long and hard-hitting rallies Kurrle was left wondering what had happened as Carmichael took the match 4-11 11-7 9-11 11-8 11-9 a memorable match with Carmichael winning the last 7 points.

Choices now took a 5-4 lead and it was Mark Dorman up against Tankard’s Thanh Nguyen and with a mix of attack and chop Nguyen, like Kurrle earlier, took a two games to one lead before Dorman fought back and amazingly won 7-11 11-8 13-15 11-8 11-7 another excellent recovery.

Choices Flooring now advance to the preliminary final while Tankard Dental who have enjoyed a good season will rue the opportunities they had in particular three rubbers lost after leading two games to one.

PENNANT TWO:

– First Semi – Mallee Meats 6 (Ashley Morrison 2, Rasin Bhuiyan, David Sergi 1) d Weightmans Packaging 2 (Quentin Clark 2)

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

PENNANT THREE: 

Hello and welcome to the semi-finals report for 2024 Winter Season. Kicking off in the Semi Finals we have Weightmans Packaging on top of the ladder followed by Sammy’s Slammers, Regional Taxation Services and Exposed Signage/Apparel and Mallee Meats on the bottom of the ladder in fifth place, meaning they did not make the top four. Mallee Meats P1 Andrew Kremor and P3 Glenn Leeson were both called up and asked to fill in for Peter Fitzpatrick and Wendy Simpson.

Starting off the night, everyone had their heads held high and mighty, all ready to go, cheering on their teammates with words of encouragement and fun little chants. Great team enthusiasm was shown by everyone, illuminating the area with fantastic vibes.

– First Semi – Regional Taxation Services 6 (Andrew Kremor, Sam Campbell 2, Ted Cleary 1) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 4 (Marita Grace 3)

Match one to begin the night was between Ted Cleary and Nick Kiapekos. While their teams gave encouragement to their teammates, Nick and Ted had a close match to four sets. Ted, making sure oxygen goes to his brain, takes many deep breaths keeping himself calm and focused. He won the match 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9. Well done on a great win.

The first doubles match of the night featured Regional Taxation Services temporary teammates Andrew Kremor and Samantha Campbell and Exposed Signage/Apparel teammates Marita Grace and Nick Kiapekos. This was the first and only five set match of the night. Points just had to go back and forth between these guys ensuring everyone is kept on the toes wondering who is going to win the set. In many close sets, Exposed takes the win 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9 keeping the scoreboard close as it comes to two wins each. Who is going to move onto the Preliminary Finals?

Finally ending off the night, Sam Campbell ensures her team goes into the Preliminary finals taking the sixth rubber for her team as she plays Nick Kiapekos. After a bit of a rocky start losing the first set, Sam ties it up in the second set and then takes Nick for a long ride in the third. Both paying extreme attention to the ball, they played well and had some lucky shots  taking the set all the way to 15-13. Not knowing what hit him in the final match (not the ball), Nick tried to change up his strategy to confuse Sam but fell quite short in their final set losing 3 to 11 (7-11, 11-6, 15-13, 11-3). Well done to Sam for not giving up on herself.

Regional Taxation Services moves onto the Preliminary Finals against Sammy’s Slammers with Samantha Campbell hoping to take her team into the Grand Final for her two teammates, Peter and Sabrina Fitzpatrick, who have both been away again.

WINNER: Regional Taxation Services 6 d Exposed Signage/Apparel 4 Games: 22 to 15

– Second Semi – Weightmans Packaging 8 (Ryan Peterson 3, Koby Grace 2, Karly Leach 1) d Sammy’s Slammers 3 (James Jarvis, Nhat Dat, Hayden Wilson 1)

Playing for a spot in the Grand Finals, Weightmans Packaging face Sammy’s Slammers.

In a close match, Koby Grace faces Nhat Dat in a five setter varying different shots, some chops, some switching from side to side, some long rallies, and many more trick shots. Not to mention the returns of some of these shots, surprising their opponent at times. With a lot of effort, Koby takes the win for his team 9-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5.

Koby Grace continuing to play well after having a bit of a break, he stumps Sammy’s Slammers player 1, James Jarvis, taking him also to five sets. After losing the first two sets, James decides to change it up and stop missing the table or hitting the net, scoring the wins for the next two sets. All is not lost for Koby Grace as there is a final set to be played. Light on his feet Koby had a fantastic win against James Jarvis being only the second person to have defeated James in a match. 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9

Even though the game was already over, players from both teams decided they wanted to keep playing for the fun of it. When the game was over, the score was 6 to 1 Weightmans Packaging, meaning Weightmans get to go straight into the Grand Finals. See you guys there Weightmans Packaging. Lucky for Sammy’s Slammers though as they still have a chance to make it into the Grand Final. To have another shot at Weightmans Packaging,  they need to  beat Regional Taxation Services in the Preliminary Finals. Good luck guys.

WINNER: Weightmans Packaging 8 d Sammy’s Slammers 3 Games: 27 to 16

PENNANT FOUR: 

With all four teams hyped up for the Finals you could cut the air with a knife. Battles were between first on the Ladder V second and third V fourth.

It was going to be a hard task for Mallee Meats to win against first placed Dunkley Scales, with the later only losing 4 matches out of the 16 rounds, but they were ready to give it their best shot.

In the 3^rd V 4^th tussle, Weightmans Packaging had been the dominant team, with Tankard Dental most weeks needing a fill in.

– Second Semi – Dunkley Scales 6 (Tom Gilmour 3, Deegan Kerslake 2) d Mallee Meats 3 (Jenny Leach, Maria Starikov 1)

Andrew Jefferies came up against Mallee’s number one, Maria Starikov in the first match and the job is always a difficult one getting past her defense system. It only took three sets for Maria to put a holt to the game and mark up a Rubber to Mallee (11/8, 11/6, 11/2). It was ditto for the next encounter, with Dunkley’s number one, Tom Gilmour, facing Jake Hines, which also ended in three, to Tom (11/7, 11/3, 11/3).

Deegan Kerslake has been playing a super game throughout the season and Mallee’s Jen Leach did her darndest to disrupt that balance, but Deegan was much too strong (11/7, 12/10, 11/5).

The first Doubles was between the number one and two from each team, with the clash being pushed out to four sets, after Maria and Jen won the third, but unfortunately they couldn’t keep the pressure up, leaving Tom and Deegan to add the third Rubber for Dunkley Scales (11/2, 11/7, 4/11, 11/2).

As usual, Maria and Tom’s contest went to the limit, pumping out an action packed five sets, which also fell the way of Dunkley (9/11, 11/7, 11/7, 6/11, 11/7). Jen added Mallee Meats second Rubber, after proving a little strong for Andrew (11/5, 11/4, 11/1). Jake put up a good fight against Deegan, but as would have been expected, Deegan pulled together a winning match, to set Dunkley up for success (11/6, 11/4, 11/8).

Maria and Jake were versing Tom and Andrew in the last Doubles and it was Mallee’s last chance to put a halt to the Dunkley onslaught. It was a dingdong battle, with the sets seesawing back and fourth and the final score tumbling to Mallee and giving them some breathing space (13/11, 7/11, 11/9, 8/11, 11/7).

Tom wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip, so needed to knuckle down and make an exerted effort to make certain his team made it to the Grand Final. Meantime, Jen was determined to deflate his plan and give Mallee another win. Sometimes dreams come true, but, this was not one of those times, check mate, Dunkley (11/7, 11/7, 8/11, 11/6).

WINNER : Dunkley Scales 6 to Mallee Meats 3. GAMES : 20 to 13.

– First Semi – Weightmans Packaging 5 (Curtis Crabtree, Raj Gujral 2) d Tankard Dental 4 (Ildi Healy 3, Conner Burnett 1)

It was unfortunate to see both teams, Weightmans Packaging and Tankard Dental unable to field a full team in the Finals, but it was still a very close match. Weightman’s Gary Leach and Tankards Nathan Beard were both unwell, which led to a 2  V  2 competition. A little bit confusing, but the missing team member in each Team, gives the opposite team a straight up Rubber point, so in the bigger picture, it even itself out and leaves those who are there, to fight out the contest to the end.

The first real match had Curtis Crabtree up against Connor Burnett, which was a struggle for Connor, although his heart was in it all the way (11/2, 11/3, 11/4).

The first and only Doubles to be played was an exciting tussle, with the match going to four sets. Tankard’s Idli Healy and Connor, put together a fantastic match, against Curtis and Raj, with some tremendous shots being pulled out of the bag. In the end though the Rubber went to Weightman’s (10/12, 11/6, 12/10, 13/11).

The score now sat at 4 to 1, Weightman’s way. If Tankard were to continue, Ildi would need to bring her calm and controlled game to the Table. She was up against Raj, who has a very crafty game and would be a hard task. But Ildi has a lot of experience and this paid off in the end, as the match grew to four sets (10/12, 11/2, 11/9, 11/4). This brough the numbers a little closer for Tankard. Next in line was Curtis, to take on Ildi, with both players having a fair dinkum go, to get their team over the line. The final result saw Ildi bring it back to a level playing ground and have both teams now sitting on four and the outcome sitting on the bats of Raj and Connor.  It was well fought out by both and the tension from both camps was evident. The first two sets went to Raj, but Connor put a pause on the match, winning the third.

After a thrilling last set, Raj found a way to win, handing Weightman’s a second chance and a spot in the Preliminary against Mallee Meats.

WINNER : Weightman’s Packaging 5 to Tankard Dental 4.  GAMES : 16 to 11.

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