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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant results Preliminary Finals: –
PENNANT ONE:
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman, Ali Taheri 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3)
Max Miller Carpets vs. Mallee Bearings in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
PENNANT TWO:
– Spanline 6 (Arnold Jago, Geoff Wright 2) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Matt Ljubic 2, Seval Fuat 1)
Tankard Dental vs. Spanline in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
PENNANT THREE:
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Michael Hensgen 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Peter Edwards 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Peter Kelly 2, Ben Hosking 1)
Fishers IGA vs. Mallee Bearings in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
Ali Taheri has been a pivotal player during this 2013 Winter Pennant helping Mallee Bearings climb from bottom of the ladder in Rnd 8 to the Winter Pennant Grand Final.
PENNANT ONE:
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman, Ali Taheri 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3)
Despite finishing fourth on the ladder at the end of the home and away games Mallee Bearings have outlasted Pinnacle Packers 6-4 to advance to the pennant one Sunraysia Table Tennis grand final.
Over the season these teams had met on three occasions with Pinnacle Packers successful on the first two meetings however Mallee Bearings had tasted success three weeks ago in round fourteen. The improved form over the season by Mallee Bearings’ Ali Taheri has resulted in Mallee Bearings having a real chance in the grand final this week against ladder leader Max Miller Carpets.
In the preliminary final it was Taheri who got his team off to a good start accounting for John Gray in straight sets. Packer’s skipper Wayne Carmichael then quickly disposed of Graeme O’Neill. Carmichael went on to win three singles over the night. Mark Dorman then gave Mallee Bearings a two-one lead when he defeated Peter Midgley also in straight sets.
The first doubles started with Mallee Bearings pair Mark Dorman and Graeme O’Neill out of the blocks quickly leading 7-1 against Wayne Carmichael and John Gray. This was an important match and the Packers pair after a horror start steadied to win 11-9 11-4 11-4 in what had been a good comeback. The score was now two rubbers all. The Packers then took a 3-2 lead when Wayne Carmichael had to lift a cog against Ali Taheri who pushed the aggregate leader. They probably played the match of the night with many fine rallies taking place. 
Mark Dorman then levelled the match at three rubbers all when he too had to fight off John Gray. Dorman narrowly took the first 12-10 and then Gray played well to take the second 11-6 before Dorman steadied to win both the third and fourth 11-6.
The next match featured Mallee Bearings Graeme O’Neill up against Peter Midgley. Both players have had injury interrupted seasons but would put that behind them to give their all for their teams. 
O’Neill controlled the first while Midgley battled hard in the second but it was O’Neill who stuck to his game plan who would win 11-4 12-10 11-9. With this win Mallee Bearings took a 4-3 lead going into the second doubles.
This doubles was now vital in particular for Pinnacle Packers and it was their pair of Wayne Carmichael and Peter Midgley who grabbed the first game 11-7. Mallee Bearings pair Mark Dorman and Ali Taheri then were able to take control and maintain a slight edge in the next three games to go on and win 12-10 11-9 11-7.
With Mallee Bearings now leading 5-3 the two skippers took to the table. Packers Wayne Carmichael won his third singles defeating Dorman 11-6 11-3 13-11 to reduce the deficit to 4-5.
Ali Taheri then matched up against Peter Midgley and proved too steady winning 11-8 11-5 11-4. Midgley had tried valiantly but it was Taheri, with his second singles win and by partnering skipper Dorman to victory in the second doubles, who was the difference between the two teams.
The grand final promises to be close and head to head this season Mallee Bearings hold the edge with two victories to Max Miller Carpets one. This could be a match that goes right to the wire with the doubles, as usual vital. Max Miller Carpets number three, Sony Sefer has used his week off to travel to Melbourne where he attended a secret training camp at the Coburg Table Tennis Centre under the watchful eye of leading Victorian coach Bruce Carter. Can Sefer repeat his match winning efforts of the second semi final in the grand final…………..time will tell. Ring on the Grand Final.
Max Miller Carpets vs. Mallee Bearings in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
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PENNANT TWO:
Spanline progress to the Pennant Two Winter 2013 Table Tennis Grand Final after a keenly contested, confident and steady display against Pinnacle Packers.
– Spanline 6 (Arnold Jago, Geoff Wright 2) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Matt Ljubic 2, Seval Fuat 1)
In this second knock-out match, Spanline proved too good, too strong for Pinnacle Packers. The Packers had no answer for Spanline’s relentless style of play. Of the nine rubbers played, five went to five sets, three to four sets, and only one in three. Pinnacle Packers had their chances, but Spanline overpowered them.
All members of the Spanline team played well: both Geoff Wright and Arnold Jago took two wins, and the team both doubles. And although he did not win either of the two singles matches he played, George Papanicolaou gave Matt Ljubic and Seval Fuat a fright – these matches went to five sets, after George led both, two sets to love.
Geoff Wright had a big win when he held out the careful and calculating Seval Fuat in five sets – a match in which Fuat held two match points at 10-8. Earlier that set Seval had led 8-4.
That levelled the scores at 1 all, and after wins to Arnold Jago against Glen Bell, and Jago and Wright in the first doubles over Ljubic and Fuat, Spanline had skipped away to a 3 rubbers to 1 lead.
Fuat got one rubber back with his hard-earned five set win over Papanicolaou, and Ljubic then levelled at 3 all with a straight sets win over Jago 11-6, 11-8, 11-3.
Sadly for Pinnacle Packers, that was where their run ended.
Geoff Wright had little trouble with Glen Bell, winning in four, and Wright and Papanicolaou took the second doubles, also in four sets against Ljubic and Bell.
That made it 5-3, with the final round of singles to come.
Fuat and Jago took a set apiece at the start of their match; Jago then completely lost his touch, and Fuat effortlessly took the third 11-6, and it seemed that Pinnacle Packers might live to fight on. 
But the canny Jago quickly regrouped, and held Fuat off 11-8, 13-11 in the final two sets to take the win in the rubber and the match for Spanline.
This was a high standard match, but Spanline were just too good, Geoff Wright spearheading the victory for his team.
Tankard Dental vs. Spanline in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
PENNANT THREE:
After being well beaten last week in their Semi Final clash with Fishers IGA, Mallee Bearings bounced back in this match against Weightmans Packaging to book a spot in this year’s Pennant Three Grand Final.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Michael Hensgen 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Peter Edwards 1) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Peter Kelly 2, Ben Hosking 1)
Mallee Bearings number two, Michael Hensgen, took over the role of number one for his team in this match. His captain, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, had a night she would rather forget … winning just one singles. Hensgen, though, was in fine form, sweeping all before him in his singles encounters, and narrowly missed a win in the first doubles.
Hensgen was on his game from the word go, and he needed to be, as his first encounter was with Weightmans’ captain Peter Kelly. Kelly has been in great form in recent times – in the last seven rounds he played in, Kelly has dropped only two singles rubbers. Impressive stuff. Hensgen, however, was in better form in this game. The first two sets were very close, and Hensgen, significantly took them both, the first 14-12, and the second 13-11. Kelly struck back in the third 11-9, but Hensgen swept Kelly aside in the fourth, running away with the set, and match 11-1. On this night, he had more trouble with Weightmans’ number three, Ben Hosking. Hosking led two sets to one, and only some truly determined play by Hensgen allowed him to take the match, the fifth set going to 13-11. In the third round of singles, he dropped the first set to Roy Cubit, but after that was in control, winning in four, although Cubit did push him in the fourth, losing that set 12-10.
Both Sabrina Fitzpatrick and 
Peter Edwards contributed one rubber, both these players defeated Roy Cubit in four sets.
Mallee Bearings sixth rubber came in the second doubles. Fitzpatrick and Edwards, along with Fishers IGA pair Cole Keegan and Helen Frania, are this pennant’s most successful doubles pairing, and they chalked up another win here. Kelly and Hosking made them work for it, the Weightmans pair took the match to five sets before conceding. The final score was 6 rubbers to 4.
That then, is the end of the season for Weightmans Packaging. Mallee Bearings will have to play a high standard of table tennis in the Grand Final against Fishers IGA, because Fishers have the aggregate winner Cole Keegan playing for them, and he is a real danger man.
Fishers IGA vs. Mallee Bearings in Grand Final Wednesday 14th
