Colchester & District Table Tennis League News

Gt Horkesley A turned in the performance of the season so far when defeating Colchester & District Table Tennis League Division One leaders H20 Rowhedge A 7-3. Colchester Vets champion Mike Wright was in prime form winning his three, including an incredibly close five-set win over Men’s champion Steve Joslin that featured no fewer than four games decided in deuce, eventually winning 13-11, 7-11, 10-12, 14-12, 12-10! Wright also beat Michael Andrews in three-straight sets who beat Horkesley’s Richard Goodhand 11-9 in the fifth end. With the scores level going into the doubles Gt Horkesley pulled out all the stops winning the last four games which included an excellent Goodhand three set win over Joslin. Rowhedge were without Antony Greenwood, his replacement, Mark Mulley failing to score for the first time in Colchester after he lost to Jimmy Farrow in the last game of the evening. Tollgate A took full advantage with a 9-1 win at Lawford A who used their squad to good effect with Martyn Green joining Gary Young unbeaten and Sue Welham winning two as the old St Mary’s players teamed up for the first time since forming the Holmwood House school based team. This moves Tollgate A back to the top with Rowhedge second, three points back with a game in hand and Gt Horkesley a further three points adrift in third having played the same number of games. Tollgate B are fourth following a 6-4 win at Walton B thanks to a magnificent treble from Martin Hogg including James Denyer’s first defeat in all competitions as he won two.

Lawford B had their lead in Division Two cut to two points as they were held to a 5-5 draw at Pegasus B. In a close encounter no player made it through the evening without defeat and surprisingly only the doubles went to five sets. The closest match came between the two Committee members of Steve Noble and George Berry, Noble winning; 11-9, 17-15, 9-11, 11-5 in the first game of the night. Second placed Walton D managed to beat Pegasus A 7-3, again no player unbeaten with Ian Whiteside wining two on his debut for the Marks Tey team losing to David Hall 11-9 in the final set a feat Hall repeated against Toby Turner. However, Pegasus skipper Steve Noble beat Hall, surprisingly his only win! With those two results Pegasus move up to third with H20 Rowhedge E dropping to fourth as they lost at home to Clairmont 6-4. Peter Kirkland won two including victory over the prolific Paul Tracey but Paul Hewitt did well to beat the Rowhedge Super-Vet as he won two. H20 Rowhedge D went down 7-3 at home to Walton D but managed a win by the same score line at fellow strugglers Tollesbury A. Alan Burgess was missing at Walton where James Denyer and Chris Petrou were unbeaten but returned to win his three against Tollesbury.

St Peters have taken a grip at the top of Division Three with two big wins, 8-2 against H20 Rowhedge G and 10-0 at home to Pegasus C. In Carter was undefeated in both. Lawford C go second as they drew 5-5 at Gt Horkesley D with Phil Wolski completing a good maximum. A draw and a win for Pegasus B takes them fourth as Tony Eversden won three in the draw with Tollesbury B as did Paul Woolnough in an excellent 8-2 win at Lawford C. Essex University accounted for bottom club Dedham A 8-2, Julian Capron and James Down undefeated. Second bottom H20 Rowhedge G went one worse with a 9-1 defeat at home to relegation rivals Pegasus C. Nigel Parmenter and John Richie wee both undefeated.

It’s not often you get five women playing in the same match but in Division Four of the Colchester and District Table Tennis League Gt Horkesley E’s all female team beat Lawford E 8-2. After a slow start to their campaign, losing their first two matches they are since unbeaten in five and following relegation from Division Three are top of Division Four, one point clear of Lawford D. Christine Jones continued her excellent form and was joined by Denise Thompson who, following a trip to Tees Sport Summer School appears to finally be reaping the rewards! They both won three supported by Jennie Clarke winning one. Horkesley won the last five games including the final three all in five sets! Sandy Haffenden, playing against her old teammates took the first two sets against Clarke who fought back to win as did Thompson against Maggie Earle in the penultimate match! Jones sealed the match win; 11-13, 12-10, 10-12, 8-11 3-11 against Nigel Foakes. Lawford B would have been top but their ‘vintage’ team lost their unbeaten record to a rampant Pegasus E 8-2 with Paul Weston winning three. Best match of the night was Vic Little’s epic five set fight back against Len Betts; 13-15, 19-21, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6. H20 Rowhedge H move up to third following an 8-2 success over Lawford E with the Li’s again unbeaten, both now averaging 89.9%! Jacky Leung boasts the best individual record in the League making it eighteen straight wins which helped CRGS to a 5-5 draw with H20 Rowhedge I for whom young Ben Jackson won his first league match.

Reigning Division One champions H20 Rowhedge A have got over the shock of losing their opening match of the season, dropping just two games out of the next forty! This week it was Lawford A who were put to the sword in a 10-0 defeat as Rowhedge hit the top spot for the first time. Antony Greenwood has dropped only one game so far and was joined by Michael Andrews and Mark Mulley, undefeated. H20 Rowhedge B accounted for their ‘C’ team 7-3 with Kevin Gowlett once more winning three. Gt Horkesley A are right in the mix with just seven points separating the top five making it one of the most exciting title races in many years. Pimple specialist Richard Goodhand won three, joined by Mike Wright who had a hard-fought 9-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 win over Dave Binns in a 9-1 win over Walton B for whom Neil Crook won the opening game against Ladies Champion Amy Sparkes that was to be their only win of the night! H20 Rowhedge C had a comprehensive win over Walton C with Mark Smith and John Patrick winning three apiece.

Lawford B are the surprise leaders of Division Two and lead by stalwart George Berry and Peter Armes they beat Walton E 8-2. They also defeated Tollesbury A 7-3 with Tommy Malster undefeated. Third placed H20 Rowhedge E slipped up losing 8-2 at Gt Horkesley C who are the only team in the league to hold a one hundred percent record and with games in hand look a good bet for promotion. Lloyd Bennett-Smith and Wudong Liu were both unbeaten. Clairmont are enjoying a fine start to the season and they drew 5-5 with Gt Horkesley B, Paul Tracey capping his maximum with a five set win over Ken Lewis returning from injury.

Following a 10-0 win over University of Essex that saw League President Mick Buckley make his first appearance of the season and a 6-4 reverse at Pegasus C, H20 Rowhedge F top Division Three.

With one quarter of the Colchester & District Table Tennis League season gone things are starting to shape up. In Division One the match of the week was between H20 Rowhedge B and Tollgate A. Rowhedge held a one hundred percent record but after a hard fought match they had to settle for a 5-5 draw. Kevin Gowlett stole the show with an excellent maximum, including a close encounter with Nigel Hodder which he finally won 15-13 in the fifth end. His two other victims were Gary Young and Greg Green who both won two for Tollgate. Hodder secured a 5-5 draw as his team takeover at the top from their ‘B’ team with Rowhedge moving up to third. Walton’s James Denyer is unbeaten in all forms of Table Tennis so far this season and once again he was on the money playing up for the first time in Division One as his team hammered Lawford A 9-1. He was pushed hard by Jon Mills, winning12-10 in the final set with Mills having the consolation of taking Lawford’s solitary point, beating Walton B’s Dave Binns.

In Division Two Walton D continue to impress and they beat Tollesbury A 8-2 who remain without a win. Paul Meikle and David Hall were unbeaten as Tollesbury suffered a similar defeat at H20 Rowhedge E who move up to second. The two Pete’s; Simmonds and Giles lead the way with six wins, a feat their team could not match when going down by another 8-2 result at third placed Pegasus A. Toby Turner recorded his second consecutive maximum, joined by skipper Steve Noble despite nursing a knee injury. Due to a mixture of injuries and postponements Gt Horkesley B find themselves at the foot of the table without a win and they managed to draw 5-5 with H20 Rowhedge D thanks mainly to Graham Farmer’s treble.

Like in Division One the top clash in Division Three ended all square between leaders Lawford C and second placed St Peters. No single player avoided defeat, the pick of which was Andrea Alleyne’s five set win over the wily Roger Warren. She did lose, once more in five sets to Hazel Hume as the telecoms team won the last three games to ensure honours ended even. Lawford did manage a big 8-2 win over H20 Rowhedge G thanks to Richard Spence who won three. Gt Horkesley D are third following two 8-2 wins, the first over Dedham A and the second Tollesbury B. Steve Holland, Phil Wolski and Peter Witton shared the spoils each with five wins out of six. Nigel Claydon’s fireworks lead H20 Rowhedge F to a 7-3 win over Pegasus B as they stay fourth. Pegasus B recorded the biggest win of the week, 9-1 over Dedham A. Paul Woolnough and Mike Sant were both in top form, undefeated.

Lawford D head Division Four and are unbeaten but they could only manage a 5-5 draw with CRGS. The School’s Jacky Leung top’s the tables averages as he secured his fifth straight maximum but lacked support as Lawford’s Steve Marr and Peter Lewis both recorded a brace of wins. Second placed Pegasus D slipped up at H20 Rowhedge H going down 7-3 as once again Jimin and Jane Li completed the evening without defeat. Pegasus fought back with an 8-2 defeat of Dedham as Alistair Woodcock won three on his first match of the season. Pegasus F hammered bottom team Gt Horkesley F 9-1 who also lost to CRGS 7-3 and finally the ladies of Gt Horkesley E struck gold with a 10-0 whitewash of H20 Rowhedge I with Chris Jones, Denise Thompson and Jennie Clark winning all their games in three straight sets!

The Tollgate club occupy the top two places in Division One of the Colchester and District Table Tennis League. Ironically it’s the B team that lead following three big wins. The first an 8-2 win over Lawford A came courtesy of two debut maximums from Colin Stallwood and Trevor Carter. They then accounted for H20 Rowhedge C by the same score, Stallwood was again unbeaten as was Martyn Green, who was taken to five sets in all of his games! Gt Horkesley A were their latest victims, 7-3 as former Chelmsford champion Keiron Lally returned from Sweden to win his three. Tollgate A are just one point behind also beating H20 Rowhedge C, 9-1 and going one better, beating Walton C 10-0 with Nigel Hodder and Greg Green undefeated in both. H20 Rowhedge A are third following a 9-1 win over Walton C and their ‘B’ team, who still boast a one hundred percent record, bettered that with a 10-0 win over Walton B.

In Division Two, Walton D take over at the top following a 7-3 win against Gt Horkesley B and a 5-5 draw with H20 Rowhedge D. A Paul Meikle maximum was the highlight against Horkesley for whom Graham Farmer made his debut winning one. Mark Gale just pipped Farmer 14-12 in the fifth end but lost to Wudong Liu, who, won two. Alan Burgess was in dominant form for H20 Rowhedge D, winning his three to clinch a draw against the table toppers with Gale joined by Matt Watson, winning two. Clairmont are the surprise team, whose two wins take them second. They beat Pegasus A 6-4 despite an excellent maximum from Toby Turner which culminated in a fine five set win over Paul Tracey who returned the compliment in defeating Steve Noble, both matches ending by the same 11-3 score line in the final set! The Pegasus trio of Tracey, Paul Hewitt and James Tindle all won two for Clairmont against H20 Rowhedge D where once again Burgess won three, his team’s only points. Rowhedge also suffered a heavy defeat to Lawford B, without Burgess, they were no match, the only surprise was Andrew Harvey’s excellent victory over George Berry. Gt Horkesley C thumped Tollesbury A 8-2 with Wudong Liu and Lloyd Bennett-Smith unbeaten. James Denyer again impressed for Walton E but despite another maximum his team went down 7-3 to H20 Rowhedge E, Pete Giles coming the closest to Denyer as he and Pete Simmonds both took him the full five set distance.

St Peters with four straight wins hit the top of Division Three as Roger Warren and Ian Carter won all their games in a 7-3 win over Dedham A. They also accounted for second placed Tollesbury B by the same score line, with Warren again undefeated. Bottom team Pegasus C recorded their first win of the season, 6-4 as the University of Essex once again failed to support their star player Rob Bozier who won three. John Richie clinched the victory with a last gasp 11-9 win in the final set of the final game against Nathan Nicol.

Lawford D maintain their lead at the top of Division Four despite being held to a 5-5 draw by Gt Horkesley E. No single player went through the evening without defeat as Chris Jones surprisingly only won one for Horkesley but that secured the draw in the last match of the evening. Second placed Pegasus D beat Lawford E 8-2 with Nick Murray and Kevin Turner unbeaten. H20 Rowhedge I move up to third with a superb 9-1 win over Lawford E as Alice Rudge, Adam Cuthbert and Ollie Reynolds all won three apiece.

Lawford C and Tollesbury B share the honours at the top of Division Three of the Colchester and District Table Tennis League despite Lawford’s 8-2 victory over Tollesbury. Lawford have a one hundred percent record mainly thanks to Warwick University graduate Luke Swain with nine wins from nine and he led the way with another youngster, Tom Malster also winning his three. The pair have contrasting styles, Swain with an excellent forehand drive and Mallster a slow spinney loop. Both are unbeaten, in the Division and it was left to Rob King and Mark Shorney to pick up Tollesbury’s two points. Previously Lawford whitewashed Pegasus C 10-0 with Martin Webb joining the maximum men with three wins, the best of which was a five set win over Nigel Parmenter. Shorney won his three for Tollesbury in a 7-3 defeat of the same Pegasus team and his team had a 9-1 success over H20 Rowhedge G. The highlight of this match was the father versus son match of Martin and Thomas Lewis in their first ever league meeting. Inevitably the match was tense with Lewis senior having dropped the first set coming back strongly to hold three match points in the fourth. However, Thomas had other ideas eventually winning the set 14-12 and took the fifth at a canter, a victory for youth over experience! Jake Elms-Larkin made amends for H20 Rowhedge G’s earlier defeat winning his three in a 7-3 win over a two-player Dedham A. The Rowhedge F team are third with the tenacious Colin Powell leading the way with two maximums, the first in a 9-1 win over their ‘G’ team and the second a 7-3 win over Gt Horkesley D. Sandwiched in between these was a 7-3 reverse against St Peters A, who despite having a one hundred percent record are seventh as they have played only two. Ian Carter got the better of Powell and won his three as did an unbeaten Rob Bozier in the University of Essex’s 6-4 success over H20 Rowhedge G. His side were held to a 5-5 draw by Pegasus B as Tony Eversden and Mike Sant’s four wins drew the scores level. Eversden again recorded a brace in another draw this time against Gt Horkesley D as no player was unbeaten. Gt Horkesley’s consolation came in defeating the University 6-4 despite Bozier’s best efforts.

In Division Four It’s Lawford D that lead the way with four straight wins as Steve Marr and Ivan Jarred are both in good form with eight wins from nine, Marr’s only slip up a five set defeat by Maggie Earle in a 6-4 win with only two players. Jarred was the star marking his Lawford debut with a maximum but the then lost out 12-10 in the final set to Dedham B’s Nigel Parker in an 8-2 win for his team. They blew away Gt Horkesley F 10-0 with Len Betts joining in with a maximum. H20 Rowhedge H are second with father and daughter Jimin and Jane Li spearheading their promotion push. Two players that stood in their way were Ed Rudge for the ‘I’ team, he won three in a 5-5 draw and Jacky Leung for CRGS as Rowhedge won 6-4 Apart from those the Li’s are unbeaten with two further 7-3 successes over Gt Horkesley E and Pegasus E. Gt Horkesley E are third thanks mainly to Chris Jones who remained undefeated in two good wins over Dedham B and Gt Horkesley F respectively. Pegasus D are third beating CRGS 7-3 and drawing with their ‘E’ team 5-5 with Vic Little beating all three of his club mates. Gt Horkesley F are struggling with just six points from four matches. They suffered a heavy 9-1 defeat to Lawford D and a 6-4 loss to H20 Rowhedge E with Oliver Reynolds unbeaten and the Claydon brothers winning one apiece. H20 Rowhedge I suffered two defeats at Dedham B and Lawford D, and a Barry Steggles treble led Pegasus E to a 6-4 win at Lawford E