Summer 2025 Season – Rnd 9 Wrap

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Scoresheets-Summer-2025-R9.pdf

PENNANT ONE:

Maccas Player of the round: Quentin Clark

One round to be played before the finals and the Sunraysia Table Tennis season after nine rounds is on a knifes edge with four teams separated by one win. Whilst the top four is decided all positions can potentially change in round ten this week.

To add to this the singles aggregate is far from decided. Sitting level on 22 wins are Jackson Tung and Jamie Kealley,

Kealley defeated Tung in round nine while Kate Carmichael is one back on 21 and Reece Kurrle trails the leaders by two. Both Carmichael and Kurrle missed a round recently indicating how close this singles race has been.

This week Carmichael matches up against Tung while Jamie Kealley comes up against his dangerous father Paul Kealley to decide the singles aggregate winner.

Paul has had a consistent season and trails the leaders by three wins along side Rohan Reimers in which is a real bottleneck and one of the closest aggregates in some time.

To the matches played in round nine Regional Taxation Services continued their excellent form; after winning one match in the first five rounds they now have strung together four wins including a 6-5 victory in a thriller this round against top team Cookes Pools & Spas despite Arhuang Lau winning three singles for Cookes.

– Regional Taxation Services 6 (Mark Dorman, Paul Kealley 2. Quentin Clark 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Arhuang (Wong) Lau 3, Russell Walder 1)

The Regional Taxation Services trio of Mark Dorman, Paul Kealley and Quentin Clark played their role winning two, two and one singles respectively while Dorman and Kealley combined in the first doubles to win in straight sets against Lau and Russell Walder a vital result.

Later in the match with the scores at five rubbers all spectators witnessed the match of the round when number three Clark stepped up to the table against the exciting Cookes number three Jason Gifkins and what a match this proved to be , Clark quickly raced to a two love lead playing some excellent forehands while Gifkins worked his way back to take the third and narrowly the fourth. The tension now grew as the four points were on the line and in the fifth Gifkins was able to take a narrow lead late in the match however Clark would not go away and in a thriller and much to his excitement and his team mates he was able to finish in style forcing a Gifkins error to win 11-5 11-6 7-11 12-14 12-10 , an outstanding match.

This victory enabled Regional Taxation Services to move to third on the ladder while their opponents dropped to second albeit by percentage.

– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Jamie Kealley 3, Rohan Reimers 2, Marcus Cimino 1) d Choices Flooring Mildura 4 (Jackson Tung 2, Liam Wood 1)

With their third win in as many rounds Weightmans Packaging have moved to top position on the ladder, their 7-4 victory over Choices Flooring Mildura was an even team effort with Jamie Kealley

winning three singles including an entertaining four set victory over opposing number one Jackson Tung. Kealleys’ teammates Rohan Reimers and Marcus Cimino won two and one singles respectively. Reimers has been very consistent over the season and Cimino after losing the first two games against opposing number three Ashley Morrison came back to win 6-11 9-11 11-7 11-5 11-9.

Weightmans are a dangerous combination and with Kealley playing so well and the continued consistency of Reimers they could be a real chance come finals time. It may come down to their ability to win a doubles. Despite dropping their last three matches Choices Flooring Mildura cannot be ruled out when it comes to finals time, Jackson Tung will be the key with solid back up from teammates Liam Wood and Ashley Morrison.   

– Tankard Dental 6 (Reece Kurrle, Thanh Nguyen, Ed Hung 2) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Kate Carmichael 3)

 The remaining match featured fifth and sixth placed Tankard Dental up against Mallee Bearings and this result went to the wire with Tankards clawing back from a 4-5 deficit to win 6-5. Victory came for Tankards despite Bearings skipper Kate Carmichael winning three singles and taking part in both doubles victories.

 Her match early against Thanh Nguyen went to five sets and when Nguyen took a two games to one lead an upset was brewing however Carmichael was able to chip away and get back into the match and go on and win 11-5 6-11 8-1 11-6 11-7. Later against Reece Kurrle another five-setter eventuated and again Carmichael recovered from a deficit to win 8-11 11-9 7-11 11-8 11-8, this being the usual five set marathon these two tend to play.

With the scores at five rubbers all veteran Ed Hung won his second singles of the night against fill in John Fitzpatrick to secure the four points. It was an even team performance from the Tankard Dental trio as apart from Hung both Reece Kuurle and Thanh Nguyen each won two singles as well.

PENNANT TWO:

Maccas Player of the round: Duy Truong

Pinnacle Packers 6 Josh Arnold (2), James Jarvis (1), Ryan Hensgen (1) defeated Cookes Pools & Spas 5 Duy Truong (3), Sony Sefer (2), Michael Hensgen (0).

Cookes had two fill-ins in round 9 with Sony Sefer subbing for David Sergi and Michael Hensgen for Deegan Kerslake. Sefer was in good form, winning two singles while Hensgen wasn’t so lucky, losing his three singles matches including a ripper five-setter against his brother Ryan at 5-5.

First up, Jarvis got his one singles win for the night, defeating Hensgen 11-6, 11-5, 11-9, while teammate Hensgen went down against Truong in four 2-11, 11-9, 7-11, 3-11. Sefer then took on Arnold, losing the first set 7-11, snatching up the second 12-10, and then losing by a hair in the last two 13-15, 9-11. Packers then pulled away from Cookes in the first doubles, winning in straight sets 11-8, 11-9, 13-11, bringing the score to 3-1.

Truong continued to be a thorn in Packers’ side however, defeating Jarvis after narrowly losing the first set 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 but opposing skipper Arnold clapped back by downing Hensgen 11-3, 11-7, 11-7. With Packers now 4-2 ahead, Sefer got his first singles by besting Hensgen in four. He took the first set 11-4, then Hensgen came back and won the second a whopping 20-18, but Sefer had him under control, winning the next two 11-6, 11-2. Packers then amped up the pressure on their opponents by taking the second doubles as well,11-8, 11-6, 11-2. The score now sat at 5-3, Packers’ way.

Despite this, Cooks showed they still had some fight left with Truong defeating Arnold in three 11-5, 11-5, 12-10, and Sefer downing Jarvis 11-7, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4. Now the score was 5-5 and time for a tiebreaker.

It was brother versus brother as Michael and Ryan Hensgen stepped up to the table. Ryan took the first 11-4, Michael retaliated by winning the next two 11-9, 11-8, but Ryan proved too strong, winning the last two sets 11-8, 11-5.

Final score 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 18.

Weightmans Packaging 8 Rasin Bhuiyan (3), Michael Tan (3), Steve Parker (1) defeated Mallee Meats 3 Bernadette Fitzpatrick (1), Therese Fitzpatrick (1), Peter Fitzpatrick (0).

Round 9 saw the welcome return of Bernadette Fitzpatrick who has been absent from the club for several years. Unfortunately, the all-Fitzpatrick trio had a rough night, with the two sisters only winning one singles each and taking the first doubles.

Therese and Steve Parker kicked the night off with a tough five-setter. Parker took the first 11-8, Therese the second 11-4, Parker cut in and took the third 11-5 but Therese prevailed and won the last two 11-7, 11-4. After this it would be a while before Meats won another rubber, with Weightmans dominating in the next few games. Bhuiyan cut down Peter Fitzpatrick 11-8, 11-8, 11-6, and Tan figured out Bernadette easily enough, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4. Father and daughter then couldn’t match the skill of Bhuiyan and Tan in the first doubles, losing 11-5, 11-2, 11-6.

Bhuiyan then got his team to 4-1 ahead by besting Therese in four sets 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, 14-12. Bernadette then got her only singles win for the evening when she took on Parker. She won the first 11-8, Parker retaliated by winning the second 11-7, but Bernadette’s years of experience shown through and she won the last two 11-6, 11-8. Tan then took his side’s fifth rubber by downing Peter confidently 11-1, 12-10, 11-8, leaving Meats to find a way to come back from 5-2 down. Bernadette and Therese made a stab in the second doubles, winning in four sets 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 but Weightmans couldn’t be stopped as they took the remaining three rubbers for an 8-3 win.

Bernadette did her worst against Bhuiyan, but it wasn’t enough as she went down 8-11, 2-11, 9-11. Tan then defeated Therese soundly 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 and Parker took his only singles win by besting Peter in four sets 11-3, 3-11, 11-6, 11-3.

Final score 8 rubbers to 3 and 28 games to 18.

PENNANT THREE:

In this round unfortunately we had four of our players unavailable however this did not detract from the standard of play as there were some excellent matches.

The advantage of obtaining replacements is that we have Rod Galvin back again along with Dianne Hannig who have been very accommodating playing at short notice.

Also, fifteen-year-old Jackson Solimo has filled in over the past three weeks, and he has showed he will be a player of the future by winning matches against our regulars or placing them under pressure.

Also thank you to our door man Anthony Fox who was roped in for his first match this year at short notice and played well to win two singles and a doubles thriller.

Maccas Player of the round: Anthony Fox

– Mallee Meats 7 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Anthony Fox 2, Hayden Wilson 1) d Regional Taxation Services 4 (Karly Leach 3, Cooper Kalms 1)

This was second Regional Taxation Services versus fourth placed Mallee Meats and despite Karly Leach winning three singles for RTS the Meats trio of Sabrina Fitzpatrick, fill in Anthony Fox and Hayden Wilson who won two, two and one singles respectively proved too strong winning 7-4.

The doubles were both won by Mallee Meats which contributed in a big way to the victory.

The first doubles was a thriller with Sabrina and Anthony pitted against Karly and Leo Parker. After Sabrina and Anthony dominated the first game allowing their opponents only two points, Karly and Leo were able to bounce back narrowly taking game two and three before losing the fourth. The fifth was close all the way and in an exciting climax it was Sabrina and Anthony who took the points 11-2 12-14 10-12 11-6 12-10.

A further five setter involved Anthony up against RTS number three Cooper Kalms, this was an entertaining match with a mix of long rallies and short exchanges, despite not playing for some time Anthony came through winning 12-10 8-11 11-1 8-11 11-4.

Despite being lower on the ladder Mallee Meats were able to breakaway early to lead 4-1 and from there maintained control and grabbed the points at 6-2 before Regional Taxation Services won two of the last three singles too make the score line look more respectful.

The two captains Sabrina and Karly like they have countless times before played a lengthy five set contest and on this occasion after many, many long exchanges it was Karly who came out on top 7-11 11-4 11-8 9-11 11-7. These two know each other’s game inside out.

With one round remaining Mallee Meats have moved to third one win behind this round’s opponent and could potentially grab second before the finals.  

Winner: Mallee Meats 7 defeated Regional Taxation Services 4

Games: 25 to 20    

– Sammy’s Slammers 6 (Sam Campbell 3, Koby Grace 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 5 (Rodney Galvin 2, Nick Kiapekos, Jackson Solimo 1)

Top team Sammy’s Slammers were up against fourth team, Exposed Signage/Apparel and it was expected that the Slammers would most likely have it their own way however someone forgot to tell the Exposed team this and quickly they were able to take a three to one lead and then a four to two lead and an upset was potentially brewing.

Two five set victories helped Exposed Signage/Apparel take the early lead, firstly it was fill in Rod Galvin who played the in form Koby Grace and this was a great contest with Rod winning 11-9 13-11 8-11 5-11 11-7. Rod then combined with Nick Kiapekos in the first doubles and this match was another highlight against Sam Campbell and Koby. There were many fine exchanges and despite Sam playing some big forehands it was the experienced pair of Rod and Nick who took the match 8-11 11-7 4-11 12-10 11-6 a good comeback after trailing one game to two.

When the Exposed team took a 4-2 lead the pressure was on the Slammers and when Exposed fill in Jackson Solimo took a two love lead against Koby the top team appeared to be in strife however in a spirited comeback Koby was able to lift and took the final three games to win 8-11 7-11 11-9 11-7 11-7 a brave effort by the promising Jackson and a great recovery by Koby.

 Koby’s inspiring victory helped to flick the switch for Sammy’s Slammers, and they then won a further three matches in succession to turn the result on its head and grab the four points.

The Slammers grabbed the second doubles courtesy of Sam and fill in Dianne Hannig while Sam then accounted for Rod in four sets while Koby outlasted Nick 11-7 12-10 11-9 a close tussle.

This win by Koby enabled the ladder leaders to record their seventh win in nine rounds and they must be considered hot favourites with the finals nearing.

In the final match Exposed fill in Jackson scored a four-set victory over Dianne and the first game was amazing going to an unbelievable 24-22 in favour of Jackson, two games in one virtually!!

This had been a brave effort by Exposed Signage/Apparel however the top team were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Sammy’s skipper Sam Campbell continued her winning way with three singles for the eighth time in nine rounds, only one defeat way back in round four. Her teammate Koby won two singles and holds third place in the aggregate.

Exposed Signage/Apparel had been brave in defeat particularly given they were without two of their regular three players.

Winner: Sammy’s Slammers 6 defeated Exposed Signage/Apparel 5

Games: 24 to 18  

PENNANT FOUR:

The two top teams played off in this round, with 2^nd placed Mallee Meats having a comprehensive victory over Ladder leader Dunkley Scales.

This has made for a very intriguing last round, with both teams now sitting on 7 wins, with one round to be played before the Finals. Third placed, Weightman’s Packaging had a win against Tankard Dental, which means, the positions of these two teams will remain 3^rd and 4^th on the Ladder.

Maccas Player of the round: Nathan Beard

– Mallee Meats 8 (Nathan Beard 3, Yen Hwak 2, Conner Burnett 1) d Dunkley Scales 3 (Jakob Grzan 2, Jenny Leach 1)

Mallee Meats – Yen Hwak, Nathan Beard and Connor Burnett. Dunkley Scales – Glenn Leeson (Fill-in Lindsay Tucker), Jen Leach and Jakob Grzan.

With Dunkley’s number one unavailable to play, Jen had to step into the Captaincy role and hope her team could find a way to break through Mallee’s strength. The night produced seven five set matches, with both teams giving it 100%.

Newcomer, Lindsay did well to sneak a set from Mallee’s number 2, with Nathan’s defensive game, difficult to break through. (11/6, 6/11, 11/4, 11/4).

Connor and Jakob played out a rip roaring five sets, with some excellent shots from both, in a very close tussle. The game went to 12, seeing Jakob mark up a Rubber for Dunkley. (9/11, 11/7, 11/6, 6/11, 12/10).

Yen was too tricky for Jen in their match, using his speed to finish off in three sets. (11/8, 11/8, 11/8).

The first Doubles was fought out between the pair of Yen and Nathan, against Jen and Jakob. Although this match went the distance, the combination of Yen and Nathan was too much for Dunkley’s pair, giving Mallee their third Rubber. (7/11, 11/4, 5/11, 11/6, 11/9).

Connor had his eye in and was playing some brilliant shots, but Lindsay held his nerve to battle it out for five sets, before Connor marked up his first win. (10/12, 12/10, 11/6, 9/11, 11/7).

As usually happens in Nathan and Jen’s clash, the games see saw between each of them. The final outcome landed in favour of Nathan, which is exactly not what Dunkley needed, with Mallee now on a roll, only needing one more win to notch up their sixth Rubber.

The next Singles match was between Mallee’s number one, Yen and Dunkley’s number three, Jakob. This was certainly the block buster, match of the night, with young  Jakob taking the first two games and jolting Yen into action. Mallee’s Captain made short work of the next two sets, leaving the fifth to determine the winner. It was an amazing effort from the much improved, humble, Jakob, who was behind half way through the set, but clawed his way back to walk away with a hard fought win, against Yen who sits on top of the aggregate. (11/7, 12/10, 4/11, 3/11, 11/9).

Could Dunkley now fight their way back ? It was a big ask, as they needed to win all the remaining matches.

The last Doubles put an end to that thought, with Yen and Connor right on target with their fire power, which Jen and Lindsay were unable to combat. (11/8, 11/5, 11/6).

As hard as Dunkley had tried, Mallee’s had been rewarded with the over all win, with their sixth Rubber now in place.

Connor and Jen faced up next, with determination from both players, pushing the match to five sets, with the heat being turned up with each game. As seemed to be the mood of the night, it produced another five setter, which in the end, with a huge sigh, fell to Jen. (11/9, 7/11, 7/11, 11/6, 12/10).

Lindsay gave it his best shot when he came up against Yen, but once again, the power from Yen determined the match. (11/7, 11/5, 11/7).

Jakob and Nathan had been running hot, both having marked up two wins for the night, so this would be fierce battle. The games tipped from one to the other, with Jakob taking the fourth game 11/2 and looking the goods. But Nathan always find a way to wear you down and that was the story in this final set. A mighty night from both of these players. (11/8, 10/12, 11/5, 2/11, 11/7).

WINNER : Mallee Meats  8  to Dunkley Scales  3.

GAMES : 30  to 18.

– Weightmans Packaging 8 (Eddy Parker, Tom Gilmour 3, Liam Milton 1) d Tankard Dental 3 (Maria Starikov, Ildi Healy 1)

Weightman’s – Tom Gilmour, Eddy Parker and Lian Milton. Tankard – Maria Starikov, Ildi Healy and Andrew Jeffries.

Unlike the previous encounter, with numerous five set match’s, these two Teams, made quick work of all bar three matches, which were pushed to four sets.

The opening Singles saw Tom slide through his match against Andrew without a hitch. (11/2, 11/1, 11/3).

The second match saw Tankards Captain, Maria turn the tables, with a comprehensive win against Liam, to grab a Rubber for her team. (11/2, 11/5, 11/2).

Ildi tried to stay in the game, with some good rallies, but couldn’t find any answers to Eddy’s consistency, with Weightman’s snagging another win. (11/5, 11/6, 11/5).

Tom and Eddy teamed up well, in the first Doubles, putting together three very strong games, with Maria and Ildi at the opposite end, searching for a way to sneak a few points. (11/4, 11/5, 11/6).

It was the two number three to engage in combat and Andrew found his game and put up a terrific fight, with plenty of rallies. Liam was able to keep his focus and take the win in three sets. (11/5, 12/10, 12/10).

With Weightman’s on a roll, things weren’t looking great for the Tankard team. Ildi gave it her best, but it was a struggle trying to handle Tom’s spin. Once again Tom didn’t seem to have any bother in marking up his second three set win. This meant five Rubber to Weightman’s, with an overall win looking ominous. (11/6, 11/5, 11/4).

It was rally after rally in Eddy and Maria’s match, with some very tight games. Eddy made the first set his, with Maria hanging in to snatch the second. But Eddy had the skill to complete the match and reward his team with a victory. (11/9, 13/15, 11/5, 11/9).

Maria and Ildi were able to gain back a little respect in the Doubles, with a four setter going their way against Tom and Liam. The Tankard pair played with determination forcing the last game out to 17. (12/10, 9/11, 11/3,17/15).

Coming straight off a win, Ildi kept her pressure on when she faced Liam, with a quick three setter, giving her a nice Singles win to complete her night. (11/5, 11/4, 11/3).

Eddy wasn’t messing about when marked up his 3^rd Singles win, not allowing Andrew any room to put away a winner. (11/3, 11/5, 11/4).

Tom also made his mark on the night, putting together three Singles wins. This time it was Maria to fall to his tricky spin shots, but not before she pinched a set from him. (11/7, 4/11, 11/6, 11/9).

WINNER :  Weightman’s Packaging  8  to Tankard Dental  3.

GAMES : 25  to 11.

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