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Sunraysia Table Tennis Summer Pennant results Round 8: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Fishers IGA 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leslie Ncube, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Mark Ljubic, Nicholas Dorman 2)
– Mallee Bearings 7 (Rick McMeekin, Michael Hogarth, Jackson Tung 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel (Joel Thomas 3)
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Matt Avers 2, Gavin Carmichael, Kate Carmichael 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Mark Dorman 3, Matt Ljubic 2)
PENNANT TWO:
– Fishers IGA 8 (Brendan Alderton, Cole Keegan, Sony Sefer 2) d Bishop Builders 3 (Peter Bishop 3)
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Lee Thomas 3, Connor Lavery 2) d MJM Automotive 4 (Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2, Glen Bell, Ajay Chowdhry 1)
– Mallee Meats 7 (Ashley Morrison, Arnold Jago, Cambell McKenzie 2) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Peter Midgley 3)
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Reece Kurrle 3, Andrew Jones 2) d Tankard Dental 5 (Arthur Paar 2, Tony Malycha, Rod Healy 1)
PENNANT THREE:
– MJM Automotive 7 (Mick Bacon, John Fitzpatrick 2, Anthony Sergi 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Huseyin Ismail 3, Karly Leach 1)
– Fishers IGA 6 (John Fitzpatrick 3, Kerry Wallace, Joel Hogarth 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Michael Hensgen 2, Claire Ljubic 1)
– Mallee Meats 9 (Sam Hensgen 3, Quentin Clark 2) d Dunkley Scales 4 (Kim Avers 2, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Shirley Whitecross 1)
Reece Kurrle
PENNANT ONE:
In an even team display Mallee Bearings were victorious 7-4 over Exposed Signage/Apparel in round eight matches of the Sunraysia Table Tennis winter pennant. This win, on the stage court, keeps Mallee Bearings mathematically in reach of the prized double chance opportunity as they secured out right third position on the ladder.
– Mallee Bearings 7 (Rick McMeekin, Michael Hogarth, Jackson Tung 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel (Joel Thomas 3)
Rick McMeekin, Jackson Tung and Michael Hogarth for Mallee Bearings all won two singles each in an even team display. Michael Hogarth set the pace for his team early winning the first match of the night in five sets against Leon Brown. In a later match Hogarth’s team mate 
Jackson Tung disposed of opposite number two player Ed Hung in straight sets in what was an important result for his teams’ chances. Ed arrived back in town at 5.30 after his three week break in Hong Kong, what a team man literally off the plane and into action.
Tung later teamed with Rick McMeekin to defeat Joel Thomas and Leon Brown in four sets in the second doubles. Exposed Signage skipper Thomas again won his three singles however Rick McMeekin tried hard to break his opponents unbeaten run in twenty four matches however it was not to be. McMeekin grabbed the second game and had a narrow lead late in the third before Thomas steadied to win in four sets.
– Weightmans Packaging 6 (Matt Avers 2, Gavin Carmichael, Kate Carmichael 1) d Max Miller Carpets 5 (Mark Dorman 3, Matt Ljubic 2)
In a case of déjà vu ladder leader Weightmans Packaging defeated Max Miller Carpets 6-5, on centre court, in a result that mirrored their round two clash earlier in the season. Weightmans number three fourteen year old Matt Avers in his first season of pennant one table tennis again won two singles including a five set victory over Kevin Johns 11-9 11-6 6-11 8-11 12-10 when the scores stood at five rubbers all. As happened in round two Avers team mates Gavin Carmichael and Kate Carmichael won one singles each while both doubles were won by Weightmans again. The second in particular was a thriller and instrumental in Weightmans victory when Avers and Gavin Carmichael recovered to win 11-2 9-11 6-11 11-6 11-8 against Mark Dorman and Kevin Johns.
As they did in round two
Carpeters skipper Mark Dorman won three singles while Matt Ljubic again won two including the straight sets victory over experienced opposing number one Gavin Carmichael, his second defeat of Carmichael this season and a great feather in young Ljubic’s cap, although later he would have trouble countering Avers heavy loop going down in three sets.
Again the lack of a doubles win would cost Max Miller Carpets the points.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leslie Ncube, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Mark Ljubic, Nicholas Dorman 2)
Fishers IGA also scored a narrow win defeating Tankard Dental 6-5 on the grand stand court. Fishers occupy second place on the ladder after this victory which came about on the back of three singles victories to Wayne Carmichael. With the scores locked at five rubbers all Graeme O’Neill outlasted the improving Jackson Murphy to win 11-9 10-12 11-3 12-10.
O’Neill has had a consistent season and earlier he teamed with Carmichael to win the second doubles which was important given the closeness of the match.
The highlight match was the first doubles which was a beauty with Mark Ljubic and Nicholas Dorman for Tankard Dental extracting an excellent win downing Wayne Carmichael and Leslie Ncube 8-11 11-1 10-12 12-10 12-10 a top class match.
PENNANT TWO:
Highlights this week were the clashes between Mallee Bearings and Tankard Dental, equal on five wins, and MJM Automotive and Weightmans Packaging equal on three wins. With Mallee Meats sandwiched between these four teams, the fight over second to fourth on the table was covered by only two wins.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Reece Kurrle 3, Andrew Jones 2) d Tankard Dental 5 (Arthur Paar 2, Tony Malycha, Rod Healy 1)
After a couple of quiet weeks, Tankard Dental captain Arthur Paar lifted his game to give his side a chance in this clash with Mallee Bearings, with whom they shared five wins. Significantly, Mallee Bearings won this clash in round one of competition.
However, Arthur’s better form was not enough – sporting two of the pennant’s two most consistent players in Reece Kurrle and Andrew Jones, Mallee Bearings put the win out of reach for Tankard Dental and are now outright second on the ladder.
Kurrle and Jones dominated this game. With Kurrle’s three wins, and Jones’ two, they gave themselves a big chance of winning here.
Kurrle, in taking three wins, met consistent opposition from each of the Tankard Dental trio. Strangely, his easiest win was against Paar. Meeting in the first rubber, it was all over in four sets 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-4. There was some consolation for Arthur in this loss as at least this losing score was a bit more respectable than the three set defeat he met with in the first round. Tankard’s number three Rod Healy also took Kurrle to four sets. Rod took the first set 11-9, and despite some advice from his captain at the ends of succeeding sets, could not stop Kurrle taking the next three 9, 7 and 10. 
Reece’s final win, against Tony Malycha went to five in an entertaining clash. Malycha took a close first set 15-13, and the fourth 11-7, Kurrle having the better of his opponent in the other thee, taking them 7, 8 and 6.
Jones downed Malycha comfortably in three sets, but had to work somewhat harder against the great retriever Healy. After taking the first two sets 11-6, 11-6, Healy lifted his game and extracted the third set from Jones 15-13, only for Jones to reassert himself in the fourth, taking it 11-7.
Added to those five rubbers, Kurrle and Jones paired to win the first doubles when they met Paar and Malycha. The Mallee Bearings pair led 11-9, 15-13, and seemed to have the game in control, but Paar and Malycha put themselves back in contention in the next two sets, taking them 8 and 8. They could not maintain the momentum though, as Kurrle and Jones edged away in the fifth to take an 11-8 win.
Tankard Dental gained rubbers in which Mallee Bearings’ number three Peter Edwards played: i.e. three singles and the second doubles, plus Paar defeating Jones mid game in four sets 12-10, 8-11, 16-14, 11-6 to, at that time, give his team their second rubber after six had been played.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 19.
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Lee Thomas 3, Connor Lavery 2) d MJM Automotive 4 (Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2, Glen Bell, Ajay Chowdhry 1)
MJM Automotive were once again without their captain Geoff Wright, and also their number two Terry Martin. Bernadette Fitzpatrick and Glen Bell filled in.
Weightmans captain Lee Thomas took three wins in this game, 
number two Connor Lavery two. The games which decided the contest though, were the doubles.
In both doubles, the MJM Automotive pairings led two sets to love. Also in both matches, the MJM Automotive pairings held match point.
In the first doubles Fitzpatrick and Ajay Chowdhry led Thomas and Lavery 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, then held match point in the fourth, lost the set 13-15, followed by the fifth 5-11. Worse was to come in the second doubles. Here, Fitzpatrick and Bell led 11-6, 14-12, again held match point, this time in the third set but lost 12-14, Thomas and Andrew Alderton then took control in the final two sets taking them 11-5, 12-10. Had the MJM pairs been able to convert their opportunities, they would have won this match; as it was, Weightmans, being given a chance, did not look back, and took a comfortable win. It is said that the MJM Automotive team did not feel that bad about these losses, as they were having such a great time!!
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 22 games to 17.
– Mallee Meats 7 (Ashley Morrison, Arnold Jago, Cambell McKenzie 2) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Peter Midgley 3)
When these two sides met in round one, Pinnacle Packers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Leading 5-3 with three rubbers to play, they could not finish their opponents off, and lost 6-5. Since then, Mallee Meats have had a further three victories, and Pinnacle Packers just one. Mallee Meats are a real chance of making the finals, while Pinnacle Packers are arguing with Bishop Builders for the Wooden Spoon.
So, given all that, it is no surprise to say that Mallee Meats have become stronger as the season has progressed.
In this match, Ashley Morrison, Arnold Jago and Cambell McKenzie all took two wins – all coming from Peter Fitzpatrick and Ross Humphreys.
Humphreys has now joined Pinnacle Packers in place of Colin Moore, and, with some more match play, will certainly add some strength to his side. He showed enough in this game to give captain Peter Midgley some hope that they might add to their one win during the second half of the season. 
Humphreys, who has not played since the conclusion of last year’s Winter Pennant, pushed Mallee Meats captain Morrison to five sets, and gave a good account of himself in his losses to Arnold Jago and Cambell McKenzie.
Mallee Meats, then, had the win courtesy of their singles play. To add a little lustre to their win, Morrison and Jago hung on in the first doubles against Midgley and Humphreys, winning 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8.
The only thing to cheer about on the Pinnacle Packers side was that Peter Midgley finally took three singles wins for the year. Up until now he had taken two wins each week for a total of fourteen rubbers. On each of those occasions, except one, he lost to the opposing captain in five sets to deny him a third win. On the one occasion he did defeat the captain, he was thwarted by an in-form number two Josh Carmichael, and yes, lost in five! In this game, he had to come from behind the conquer Ashley Morrison, and did it in style, winning 9-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 24 games to 19.
– Fishers IGA 8 (Brendan Alderton, Cole Keegan, Sony Sefer 2) d Bishop Builders 3 (Peter Bishop 3)
An easy win by Fishers IGA against lowly placed Bishop Builders saw Fishers maintain their spot one game clear at the head of the ladder.
For the second week in a row, only Peter Bishop for Bishop Builders could score wins for his side. But in winning three this week,
Bishop did bring an end to Sony Sefer’s run as one of only a couple of undefeated players in this competition. Sefer led Bishop two sets to one, but Bishop’s unrelenting pressure then took its toll, Sefer losing the last two sets 3 and 3.
Sefer, once again subbing for John Gray, Cole Keegan, doing the same for Seval Fuat and Brendan Alderton all took two singles apiece. Josh Carmichael did not go down without a fight, taking both Sefer and Brendan Alderton to five sets, and Keegan to four.
As well as these rubbers, Fishers took both doubles: Sefer and Alderton almost losing the grip on the match with Bishop and Carmichael, for, after leading comfortably 11-9, 11-7, they missed an opportunity to take the third set, which the Bishop Builders pair took 13-11. Bishop and Carmichael took the fourth too, but lost the fifth 11-8. The second doubles was fairly short and sweet: Sefer and Keegan needing only three sets to win against Bishop and Jeremy Corrin.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 27 games to 17.
PENNANT THREE:
The battle for fourth spot on the ladder is well and truly on. Going into this round, Weightmans Packaging and Fishers IGA were level on four wins apiece, but with Weightmans losing to MJM Automotive and Fishers winning against Tankard Dental, Fishers have taken fourth, one game clear of Weightmans, and only one game away from Dunkley Scales and MJM Automotive, who are equal on five wins each.
– Fishers IGA 6 (John Fitzpatrick 3, Kerry Wallace, Joel Hogarth 1) d Tankard Dental 5 (Michael Hensgen 2, Claire Ljubic 1)
After her big week last week, when she, and Stefan Ljubic, both defeated ladder leader Quentin Clark, Fishers IGA captain Kerry Wallace could not replicate her form in this round, and had to rely on in-form substitute John Fitzpatrick to get her team over the line against Tankard Dental.
Wallace was no match for Tankard’s number two, Claire Ljubic, going down in straight sets, and fared little better against opposing captain Michael Hensgen, losing a closer four set match 4-11, 12-14, 11-7, 9-11.
On the other hand,
Fitzpatrick, playing at number two, was at his fast-and-furious best, claiming Hensgen in the first round of singles: down two sets to love 10-12, 6-11, he reversed his fortunes in the next three, taking them 6, 9 and 6. He disposed of Andrew Edwards in the second round in three sets, then met Claire Ljubic in the final round. He took the first two sets 12-10, 11-5, Ljubic took the third 11-9, and Fitzpatrick really had to hold his nerve to claim the match in the fourth, winning it 16-14. That gave him three singles wins, a great effort.
Fishers also took the second doubles. Wallace and Joel Hogarth fought back from losing the first set 12-14, to win the next three. Hogarth took a singles too, to give his team a 6-5 win.
For Tankard Dental, Hensgen and Ljubic both took two wins, and together paired to win the first doubles.
After a very close contest, Tankard Dental remain winless at the bottom of the ladder after this match, and were really a chance for a win here … the difference being John Fitzpatrick.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 19 games all.
– Mallee Meats 9 (Sam Hensgen 3, Quentin Clark 2) d Dunkley Scales 4 (Kim Avers 2, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Shirley Whitecross 1)
After their first defeat last round, Mallee Meats were eager to reassert their authority in this pennant, and did so against second-placed Dunkley Scales, securing the win after eight rubbers.
And although aggregate pace-setter Quentin Clark was again defeated, this week his captain
Sam Hensgen hit form again, taking three singles. The last time he did that was in round three.
Hensgen was back to his best, conceding only one set in singles play, this to Sabrina Fitzpatrick in the final round, when the match was already decided.
Clark took two wins, and in the match immediately following Hensgen and Fitzpatrick, he came up against Kim Avers. Although trailing 7-2 at that stage, Avers came out fighting, and in four close sets surprised Clark defeating him 12-10, 12-10, 10-12, 11-8.
With those five singles rubbers between them, the Mallee Meats team added both doubles, Clark playing in both. They were in control of each match, taking the first two sets, with only a momentary lapse in the third, before closing the matches out in the fourth sets.
The only highlight for Dunkley Scales was Avers’ win over Clark, as they could only each account for David Sergi to reach their score of four rubbers.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 23 games to 15.
– MJM Automotive 7 (Mick Bacon, John Fitzpatrick 2, Anthony Sergi 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Huseyin Ismail 3, Karly Leach 1)
These two teams were separated by one game going into this match, MJM Automotive on four wins, Weightmans Packaging on three. A loss by MJM Automotive would have seen them in a three-way tussle for third and fourth spots on the ladder. In the event, they took the win, and now are equal second on points with Dunkley Scales.
Weightmans Packaging’s Huseyin Ismail kept the MJM trio honest with three wins for his side. 
Only captain Karly Leach could add to his tally, but with just a single win, this against MJM Automotive number three Anthony Sergi.
After losing a close five setter to opposing captain Mick Bacon early in the night, Leach might well have expected to make it two wins when she faced John Fitzpatrick in the tenth rubber, as earlier in the season she made short work of their clash, winning in straight sets, 6, 7 and 2. But not so. Enjoying his night out, having previously won three singles rubbers in the Fishers IGA-Tankard Dental match, youngFitzpatrick kept the lid on his game, restricting this match to just three sets, albeit close, 13-11, 12-10, 11-9.
MJM Automotive picked up wins against Ross Douglass, who is relishing his role as a fill-in, perhaps wondering why he didn’t take the game up ages ago, and importantly, both doubles. Bacon and Fitzpatrick were too good for Leach and Ismail, winning in four, and later Bacon and Sergi, after being two sets to love down against Leach and Douglas, came good in the last three sets to win 10-12, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.
Final scores: 7 rubbers to 4 and 25 games to 16.
