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Sunraysia Table Tennis Winter Pennant results round 11: –
PENNANT ONE: –
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Rick McMeekin 3, Shane Carmichael, Sony Sefer 1) d Bishop Builders 5 (Shannon Bowen 2, Arthur Paar, Jackson Tung 1)
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman, Ali Taheri 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Darren Robinson 1)
– Weightmans Packaging 5 (Mark Ljubic, Andrew Cannard 2) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3, John Gray 1)
PENNANT TWO: –
– Tankard Dental 8 (Nicholas Dorman 3, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2, Peter Fitzpatrick 1) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Matt Ljubic 2, Seval Fuat 1)
– Fishers IGA 6 (Andrew Jones, Cole Keegan 2, Lachlan Kelly 1) d Spanline 5 (Geoff Wright, Arnold Jago 2)
PENNANT THREE: –
– Bishop Builders 6 (Claire Ljubic, Graham Southwell, Sosefa Fevaleaki 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (Cole Keegan 3)
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Peter Mikhaeil 3, Roy Cubit 2, Ben Hosking 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Karly Leach 2, Mick Bacon 1)
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Michael Hensgen, Peter Edwards 2) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Jessica Dorman 3)
Fishers IGA player of the round: Sosefa Fevaleaki
Gavin ‘Richie’ Carmichael laying down the law with team mate ‘Hurricane’ Robinson after an indifferent Rnd 11 loss. Returning from Country Week with the B3 Sheild seemed to be old news as the race to finals warms up in local Stta Competition.
PENNANT ONE:
Close results were the feature of round eleven matches in pennant one as finals near. With fifth and sixth teams Mallee Bearings and Weightmans Packaging enjoying narrow victories over third placed Fishers IGA and second placed Pinnacle Packers respectively positions on the ladder have evened up with only two wins separating third to sixth.
– Max Miller Carpets 6 (Rick McMeekin 3, Shane Carmichael, Sony Sefer 1) d Bishop Builders 5 (Shannon Bowen 2, Arthur Paar, Jackson Tung 1)
In the mean time ladder leaders Max Miller Carpets moved one game clear on top of the ladder when they scored a hard fought 6-5 victory over fourth placed Bishop Builders on the stage court. The highlight match was the first doubles and crucial in the end result with Carpeters pair Rick McMeekin and Shane Carmichael outlasting Shannon Bowen and Jackson Tung 8-11 11-6 9-11 11-8 14-12 to level the match at two rubbers all.
The next block of three singles all went the way of Max Miller Carpets with Rick McMeekin defeating Shannon Bowen in three close games 12-10 11-9 11-8, this was a great match with one of their rallies going on and on and on. McMeekin again won three singles for the ninth time in eleven rounds and he is equal with Wayne Carmichael in the singles aggregate race.
The next singles featured a five set slog between Sony Sefer and fill in Arthur Paar who earlier had defeated Shane Carmichael in a five set thriller. On this occasion Paar would go down 7-11 in a lengthy five set match with Sefer proving too steady. Shane Carmichael then defeated Country Championships team mate Jackson Tung in three to give the Carpeters a 5-2 lead.
Bowen and Paar arrested the run on by defeating McMeekin and Sefer in the second doubles before McMeekin finished the match off when he defeated Paar in the next singles. The score line was made more flattering when Bowen and Tung won the last two singles.
– Weightmans Packaging 5 (Mark Ljubic, Andrew Cannard 2) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3, John Gray 1)
With both teams a player short due to injuries to Peter Midgley and Ross Humphreys, second placed Pinnacle Packers and Weightmans Packaging, who were languishing on the bottom of the ladder, were locked in a close duel on centre court. This match was decided by the one and only doubles and what a match this was. 
For Weightmans Mark Ljubic and Andrew Cannard fought back against experienced pair Wayne Carmichael and John Gray to win in impressive style 8-11 14-12 5-11 11-8 11-7.
For the victors Ljubic and Cannard also won two singles each while Wayne Carmichael won the usual three but not before he was put to the sword by Andrew Cannard in what was an entertaining clash. Carmichael hung on to win 7-11 11-9 11-4 10-12 11-8 a great attempt by Cannard to score a rare win over Carmichael.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Mark Dorman, Ali Taheri 2, Graeme O’Neill 1) d Fishers IGA 5 (Gavin Carmichael 3, Darren Robinson 1)
On the stage court Mallee Bearings moved back into fourth position by percentage when they scored a 6-5 victory over Fishers IGA. 
This match went right down to the wire and at five all Ash Morrison actually held two match points in the fifth against Mallee Bearings Graeme O’Neill before O’Neill snatched victory winning the fifth 15-13 in what was a thriller.
The star in the win by Mallee Bearings was the fast improving Ali Taheri who won two singles including a tremendous four set win over the talented Darren Robinson. Taheri also played a key role in the second doubles victory with Mark Dorman over Gavin Carmichael and Ash Morrison. Taheri almost caused the upset of the night when he took a 9-6 lead in the fifth in his singles match against opposing number one Gavin Carmichael. Carmichael was able to claw his way back to deny Taheri his first three singles success. 
Taheri enjoyed a successful week end at the Victorian Country Championships and his extensive training on a Monday night is now paying dividends for he and his team. His skipper Mark Dorman won two singles as well and with Graeme O’Neill recording one win Mallee Bearings showed they could match it with the top teams. For Fishers Gavin Carmichael won three singles including a rare win over Mark Dorman
PENNANT TWO:
Teams first and second on the ladder played off this week, as did teams third and fourth. Tankard Dental holding top spot showed too much form for Pinnacle Packers, and Fishers IGA held off Spanline.
– Tankard Dental 8 (Nicholas Dorman 3, Bernadette Fitzpatrick 2, Peter Fitzpatrick 1) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Matt Ljubic 2, Seval Fuat 1)
Fresh from his victorious weekend at the Victorian Country Championships, Nicholas Dorman led his side to a crushing 8 rubbers to 3 defeat of the side most likely to worry them in this competition.
Once again Dorman took three singles wins, and for the second week in a row, the team took both doubles.
Dorman did not have things all his own way. His opening singles rubber against fill-in Glen Bell caught him off-guard, and Bell almost stole the match. Perhaps Nick was still a little stiff from his weekend, but his usual reliable drives missed the table more often than they hit. This became evident as early as the second set. Having won the first 11-5, Dorman struggled to keep Bell at bay, but took the second 12-10. Then the rot set it, and it seemed he was powerless to do anything about it, Bell dominating the next two sets 11-7, 11-8. Dorman picked his way through the fifth set, and got the win 11-8 to take a hard-earned first win. He had less trouble with Pinnacle Packers number two Seval Fuat, winning that 14-12, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10 in a close match, but one where his form had returned. 
And the last rubber of the night, when the tie had already been decided, Dorman played off against his weekend partner Matt Ljubic. 
This match was really for bragging rights, and both players gave it their all. Ljubic took the first set quickly 11-7, and the players then settled down to some serious slugging. There were some great rallies; neither player, because of the quality of the shot coming at him, hitting the ball quite as hard as they would like, but hard enough so that their opponent could not get a full swing at it. Dorman struck back in the next two sets 11-6, 11-8, but Ljubic persisted and came back in the fourth to level 12-10. The fifth set was close throughout, but Dorman edged his opponent 12-10 to secure the win.
Bernadette Fitzpatrick picked up two wins – in four sets against Seval Fuat, and three against Glen Bell.
The final singles win came from Peter Fitzpatrick, who seeing how well Glen Bell had performed against Dorman wondered if he would get a look in. However, Glen played his best table tennis in that first match, and Fitzpatrick won this encounter in three sets.
Both doubles went the way of Tankard’s; Dorman and Bernadette Fitzpatrick shrugging off Ljubic and Fuat 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8, and later on Dorman and Peter Fitzpatrick, also in four sets against Ljubic and Bell 11-9, 11-3, 11-13, 11-7.
The only rubbers Pinnacle Packers could get were two from Matt Ljubic, defeating both Bernadette and Peter Fitzpatrick (in four sets and three respectively), and Seval Fuat one win, against Peter Fitzpatrick in three.
The result here was never in doubt, the scoreline was 3-1 after the first doubles, and the tie decided at the second doubles.
Final scores: 8 rubbers to 3 and 25 games to 17.
Nicholas Dorman now has a two game break over rival Matt Ljubic at the head of the aggregate table, 30 games to 28.
– Fishers IGA 6 (Andrew Jones, Cole Keegan 2, Lachlan Kelly 1) d Spanline 5 (Geoff Wright, Arnold Jago 2)
Spanline were once again denied victory in a match where they scored more games than the victors. Both captain Arnold Jago and Geoff Wright scored two singles wins, and they paired to take the first doubles, but it just wasn’t enough to see off the Fishers IGA side, in which all players contributed to the singles tally, Andrew Jones and Cole Keegan (subbing for David Balshaw) 2 each, Lachlan Kelly 1, and the two form players Jones and Keegan paired to take the second doubles.
This is the third time Keegan has come up from Pennant Three to fill for an absent player, and his form improves each time. On this occasion he saw off the hard-hitting Geoff Wright in five sets in an impressive performance. Keegan’s quiet ways are at odds with his ruthless play. After taking the first two sets against Wright 11-5, 11-9, Keegan found himself on the end of some of Wright’s lightning fast forehand drives. Wright forced his way back into the match in the next two sets, taking them 11-7, 11-7. Keegan, however, remained calm, and in a polished performance took the fifth 11-6. He later disposed of George Papanicolaou in four sets to (at that stage) give his side the lead for the first time at 5 rubbers to 4.
Andrew Jones lost to the powerful Wright in three sets, 4, 5 and 7. However, he bounced back against Papanicolaou, and in the final rubber to decide the round, he outsmarted Arnold Jago in three sets 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.
Lachlan Kelly took his singles win against Papanicolaou in four sets. These two play a similar type of entertaining game, and Kelly after dropping the first set 10-12, came out on top in the next three 11-5, 15-13, 11-8.
The doubles win for Fishers came courtesy of Jones and Keegan in a five set contest, defeating Jago and Papicolaou 11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-1.
For Spanline, Arnold Jago took two wins; in his first match against Cole Keegan, Keegan put him on notice that any win will be hard fought. Jago won 12-10, 11-8, 12-10. He later accounted for Lachlan Kelly 4,10, and 8.
Wright recorded wins against Jones 4, 5 and 7, and Kelly 9, 9 and 6.
An impressive win to Fishers IGA, Cole Keegan will certainly find a permant spot in Pennant Two before too long.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 19 games to 20.
PENNANT THREE:
In this round, ladder leaders Mallee Bearings had to come from behind to defeat bottom of the ladder team Dunkley Scales, Fishers IGA, who were joint leaders with Mallee Bearings lost to the second-to-last team Bishop Builders, and third placed Weightmans Packaging put another game between themselves and fourth placed Pinnacle Packers.
– Mallee Bearings 6 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Michael Hensgen, Peter Edwards 2) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Jessica Dorman 3)
Mallee Bearings were lucky to get away with a win in this Round 11 clash with bottom of the ladder team, Dunkley Scales. Dunkley Scales captain Jessica Dorman was the player no-one could beat in this game, but her teammates could not help her in her quest for 6 rubbers.
Dorman played good table tennis, after two very even sets,she defeated Peter Edwards in four 13-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5. Next she overcame Michael Hensgen in five 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 10-12, 11-3 to level the scores at 3 rubbers all, and then in the final round of singles she gave her side the lead at 5-4 when, after dropping the first set 8-11, she regrouped and went on to defeat Sabrina Fitzpatrick 11-6, 13-11, 11-8. Both doubles also fell to her side, and both in three sets. She and Sam Hensgen (subbing for Leonie Dunkley) were the better side in their 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 win over Fitzpatrick and Sam’s brother, Michael. And later she and Shirley Whitecross easily beat Fitzpatrick and Peter Edwards 3, 6 and 4, and in so doing inflicted the first defeat on this Mallee Bearings doubles pairing.
But for all her great playing, these rubbers were all that Dunkley Scales got in this round. The three Mallee Bearings players all scored two singles wins, and all against the remaining Dunkley Scales players, Sam Hensgen and Shirley Whitecross.
Final scores: 6 rubbers to 5 and 22 games to 16.
– Bishop Builders 6 (Claire Ljubic, Graham Southwell, Sosefa Fevaleaki 2) d Fishers IGA 5 (Cole Keegan 3)
Another game in which the losing side relied solely on one player for its rubbers. In this case Cole Keegan scored three singles wins and partnered his team-mates to wins in both doubles.
Keegan dropped only one set in his singles wins, this to Bishop Builders number two Graham Southwell. Southwell conceded the first 11-13 to Keegan, but then took the second 11-8. 
Keegan, however, then took control with scores of 11-6, 11-7 in the third and fourth sets to take the match. He had little trouble with Sosefa Fevaleaki, winning in three 6, 6 and 8, and later ran through Bishop Builders captain Claire Ljubic 3, 7 and 8. In both doubles, his side dropped the first set before taking the next three. He and Sam Hensgen winning 10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 against Ljubic and Southwell, but the contest he and Helen Frania had with Ljubic and Fevaleaki was much closer. Here they lost the first 8-11, had to wait a while for a result in the second, but got it 18-16, then played measured table tennis in the next two, winning them 11-9, 11-9.
Because Keegan was so dominant, Bishop Builders had to get their winning rubbers elsewhere. They came courtesy of singles wins against the Fishers pair of Hensgen and Frania.
Sosefa Fevaleaki, in particular, had two fighting wins. In the second round of singles he met Sam Hensgen, the player immediately ahead of him on the aggregate table, and Fevaleaki, after being 2 sets to 1 down, won 8-11, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 11-5. His second win gave his team the win, it being the eleventh rubber. In this game he met Helen Frania, and he hung on to take the win 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 5-11, 11-9.
Final scores: 6 rubber to 5 and 21 games all.
– Weightmans Packaging 7 (Peter Mikhaeil 3, Roy Cubit 2, Ben Hosking 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Karly Leach 2, Mick Bacon 1)
After being 4 rubbers to 2 down after six rubbers, Weightmans Packaging stormed away with the next five, to record a good win in this match.
Weightmans were without captain Peter Kelly, and Roy Cubit filled Peter’s shoes well, winning two singles. Cubit dropped a set on his way to a four set win over the improving Quentin Clark, and later dropped the first set 11-1 against Mick Bacon, but then found his range to take the next three 12-10, 11-5, 11-6.
Peter Mikhaeil was in fine form, winning all his singles, in five against Bacon, in four against Karly Leach and three against Clark. And Ben Hosking contributed one singles (against Clark) to make it six rubbers. Added to that the team took the second doubles, Cubit and Hosking easily defeating Bacon and Clark in three, 3, 6 and 8.
Earlier, the first doubles had gone the full five sets, the Pinnacle Packers pair of Bacon and Leach seeing off Cubit and Mikhaeil in a close 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7 win.
Karly Leach looked to be on for a good night, taking her first two singles in three sets (against Hosking and Cubit), but that was before she played Mikhaeil. Mikhaeil was in good touch, taking this rubber 12-14, 13-11, 11-8, 11-9.
Captain Mick Bacon had a quiet night, winning just one singles, against Weightmans number three Ben Hosking, 11-4, 15-13, 11-6.
A solid win to Weightmans, 7 rubbers to 4 and 23 games to 18.
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