Northlands have returned to the top of Division 1 of the Southend Summer League after chalking up two 9-0 wins and now sit 7 points clear of Basildon and still with a game in hand. Their large squad of top ranked players continue to carry all before them and it is now just a question of how many individual games they might lose as they certainly won’t lose any matches on this form!
They started their week with a rearranged match at Hockley where Kim Shead, Dan Zeffie and Peter Barrett did the honours. David Chenery came closest for the home side leading 2-1 at one stage against Dan Zeffie before Dan stepped up a gear winning the last two games 11/5 11/5.
Two days later they were in action again against Invicta, Kim partnered this time by Paul Brown and James Elliott but no game went beyond four sets.
Second placed Basildon kept up their winning ways with a 7-2 win at RESSC. Tarun Goel and John Tendler got the points for the home side both getting the better of Garry Hartgrove and RESSC almost got a third point in the final doubles of the evening when John Holland and Tarun took on Ian Wall and Garry. Ian and Garry took the first two sets only to see a strong fight back ending in a decisive fifth set. Needless to say Ian and Garry took it 11/6. Les Hoey was POTM winning both his singles. Basildon are 21 points ahead of Brand Identity in third place who have no less then three games in hand.
Final game of the week saw Canvey take on Stanford and the away team travelled home with a 7-2 victory the match actually being level at 2-2 at one stage. Des Duffield and Kevin Walsingham got the Islanders off to a good start beating Peter Weatherall and Mark Downey in a closely fought five set match coming back from two sets down to win the last three 12/10, 13/11, 12/10. Two singles wins for Peter and Robert Salvage put Stanford in front only for Des to level things up with a straight set win against Mark. After that though it was all plain sailing for Stanford winning the next four games and then claiming the final doubles as Tony Westwell had to withdraw due to a back injury – fortunately not serious. Canvey stay bottom after this with just four points won from the four games played so far.
With the top two teams in Division 1 of the Southend Summer league without a game this week, the stage was clear for some of the chasing teams to make an impact and close the gap at the top.
Third placed Brand Identity must have been hoping for a good win against Invicta but found themselves in a see saw battle not settled until the final game of the evening. They certainly had the edge in the singles winning four out of the six on offer thanks to Steve Muth and David Jacob, both unbeaten, but Invicta won two out of the three doubles to keep them in the match until the final game. Invicta actually led 4-3 with two games to go but Steve Muth levelled things up to take it to the final doubles and Invicta must have been hopeful going into it. Tony Ayliffe and Lee Marson lined up for Invicta against Steve Muth and David Jacob but their hope of pulling off a shock win disappeared quickly as Steve and David ran out 11/9 11/5 11/7 winners to give Brand a 5-4 victory.
Hockley pulled off the biggest win of the week storming to a 9-0 whitewash of Stanford which keeps them in fifth place but now level on points with Invicta albeit they have played a game more. High points for Stanford were hard to find their best performance coming in the doubles between Mark Downey and John Handscombe for Stanford and Harry Sawford and Stuart Adshead for Hockley. Stanford held a 2-1 advantage at one stage before the Hockley boys turned up the heat and won the last two sets 11/6 11/8. Other than that Joseph Odegbami claimed the POTM award for his straight set singles wins against Chris Crooks and John Handscombe plus two doubles wins dropping just one set. Stanford stay seventh in the table.
RESSC finally won their first match of the season and lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with a hard fought 6-3 win at Hadleigh Forum. Four games went to five sets but the key to the win was in the doubles all won by RESSC. This must have been frustrating for Forum’s Tony Jacks who won both his singles and took the POTM award but still finished on the losing side. John Holland, John Tendler and Tarun Goel made up the winning team whilst Dave Bassett got Forum’s other point beating John Tendler.
On the 29th May Mossford TTC met to celebrate their 75th anniversary! Former Chairman Dave Humble writes as follows:-
“We had well over 200 attendees at our venue and, as an aside, raised well over £400 for a local child hospice charity. The day was an outstanding advert for table tennis both for devotees and newcomers. The Mossford committee has put on a wonderful show. Emotionally I am just about recovering today.
I was asked to put together a brief history of the club and this was available on the day and is also available on request by either hard copy or email attachment from the club. Josh Dye held court on the TT side with Sam Walker being the star attraction. Tony Cantale handled the presentation and some publicity, but as usual attempted to keep in the background – no chance. Our reasonably recent Chairman John Bath is a wonderful acquisition and is backed by a very strong team.
All in all, a fabulous day for a fabulous club.”
I’m sure everyone in the Essex table tennis community will wish to congratulate Mossford on their achievements over the first 75 years and hope for their continued success in the future.
We are into the fifth week of the Southend and District Summer League and already it’s not too hard to see who are likely to be the winners in Division 1. Northlands sit top having played and won three games, dropped just one point, and are two points clear of second placed Basildon who have played a game more.
The Northlands team is packed full of Premier Division talent being able to call on the likes of Kevin Read, Keith Adams, Gurjit Bhambra and Deborah Auvache, all top 40 ranked players. They have already beaten closest rivals Basildon 8-1 and that point was in the doubles so all their players boast 100% records in singles at the present time.
Basildon, having played the top team, have also played Brand Identity currently sitting third, and fared much better winning 6-3 with Ian Wall picking up two good wins beating the Jacob brothers Simon and David.
There is already a seven point gap between third and fourth where we find Hockley A and, a point behind them but with a game in hand, are Invicta A. Based on rankings it looks like Invicta have the stronger line up but it will be interesting to see how Sid Dorn performs for Hockley who returns to league action after some time, and they also feature Joseph Odegbami who is making his Southend league debut this season. Good to see young Harry Sawford showing improving form having won 5 of his 6 singles matches so far.
Hadleigh Forum haven’t made the best of starts but are full of experienced Div 1/Prem players like Dave Bassett, Anton Ranjit-Singh and Tony Jacks, and these three saw them to a first win of the season 6-3 against Hockley this week.
At the bottom of the table at the moment are Stanford and RESSC who may struggle to make an impact featuring players more used to Div 2 level. RESSC have enjoyed two highly successful seasons in the lower divisions but it will be interesting to see how this team of really experienced players will do against the top Premier players in this league.
In Division 1 Wakering are one of three unbeaten teams, and top the table at this stage, albeit that they have played more games than their closest rivals. The backbone of the side is the trio of Stew Mills, Paul England and Zac England. These three performed well in the recent winter league and their good form has clearly continued.
Hockley ‘B’ occupy second place, 6 points off the top having played a game less. With Paul Strutt and Ben Cook currently unbeaten in singles, and good experience at this level in their squad, they seem sure to be challenging for the title at the end of the season.
The third unbeaten team is Basildon ‘B’ who have games in hand on both the top two, although they have 15 points to make up. Another experienced squad includes Szymon Jarka who has only been beaten once in singles, and that defeat came against a tough Premier League opponent. Of the other 6 players who have turned out for Basildon, 3 of them remain unbeaten.
Runnymede are in fourth position and could yet challenge the top sides, but only if their quality players, Tony Millward and Dmitry Kisil, turn out together on a regular basis.
Of the other teams, Invicta ‘B’ seem likely to finish in the top half of the table. They have 2 players new to our league, Barbara Chabior and Martin Shaughnessy, who have both shown good form, Barbara is unbeaten and Martin has won 6 of his 8 singles.
Hadleigh Forum ‘B’ occupy the mid table position. They have a largely inexperienced squad but the experience and quality of Neal Barker has ensured that they have stayed away from the lower reaches of the division.
The remaining 5 teams are separated by only 4 points and have won only 3 matches between them.
Although winless, Megazone have picked up seful points in every match so far. Jonathan Allen is their leading player to date, and with a number experienced players to back him up, their first win is surely not far away.
Stanford ‘B’ and Invicta ‘C’ are locked together on 11 points after 5 games matches played. Stanford were the winners when these 2 sides met earlier in the season, and they have picked up good points in 2 other matches, but have also suffered two 9-0 defeats.
Trisha Winter is the leading player so far for Invicta ‘C’ with 5 wins from her 8 singles, but she will need some support from the rest of the squad if they are to move up the table.
Hockley ‘C’ are on 9 points but have played a game less than the 3 teams above them. Their sole win came against a Hadleigh Forum side who were without Neal Barker, but they have only managed to pick up 3 points in their other matches.
Canvey ‘B’ are bottom of the table and lost their first 4 matches, gaining only 2 points. However, they have recently added Jo Hills to their squad and this paid immediate dividends as she was player of the match when they defeated Invicta ‘C’ to record their only win to date.
Reports provided by Paul Strutt (Div 1) and David Woolmer (Div 2).
Calling our women and girls’ attention to this tournament in West Sussex on Saturday 1st July. These women and girls’ tournaments are becoming very popular and already 50 women and girls have entered this tournament. They have room for up to a hundred entrants so if you would enjoy a whole day of table tennis against other women and girls’ please drop Tournament Organiser Sally Hughes a line. Details below. Entry deadline is 23rd June.
Event: Sussex Women and Girls Summer 2 STAR Singles Table Tennis Tournament Venue: The Triangle Leisure Centre, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8WA Date: Saturday 1st July 2023 Start: 9am Deadline for entries: 23rd June 2023
Schedule9.00am – 1.45pm Girls U139.00am – 1.45pm Girls U159.00am – 1.45pm Girls U19 9.00am – 1.45pm Women 19-39 9.00am – 1.45pm Women 40 and over 1.45pm – 6pm Women and Girls Open (All Ages) Request an entry form from Sally Hughes at: sally@worthingttc.com Enquiries to Sally by email or tel: 07837406996
This week saw the players and officials from the Burnham & District Table Tennis League bedecked in their sartorial elegance as they descended upon the League’s Annual Awards Presentation Evening. “ I don’t recognise you with your clothes on” seemed to be the most common phrase as friends and foes united to support this year’s winners and runners up in both the league and tournament events. Big winners on the night were Maldon’s Harrison Hill who bagged 4 winners trophies, Eric Green (Cold Norton) who won 3 winners trophies and 2 runners up, for the biggest haul of the evening. Lin Roff (Mapledene) and Duncan Taylor (Cold Norton) both won 4 trophies with a nice even split on winners and runners-up. Alex Wilson (Woodham) chipped in with 4 awards including 1 winner. Some of us got nothing and we were happy with that!
Reece Seddon was presented with the coveted Men’s Singles Cup by League President Peter Ballard, and an unexpecting and unprepared Colin Napper was awarded the President’s Trophy for his services to the League once he had endured the slow handclap as he was plucked from the facilities. No handshake ensued!
Big thank yous to organisers Kath Little and Dawn Baldry, to Alan Dadswell for his compere stint and history lesson on the origin of each Cup, and Eamonn Hall for sourcing and managing the trophies and press duties. We were also delighted to have Wendy Richardson to present the Dan Richardson Trophy named in honour of her son who was taken from us way too early, Marina Partridge who was able to present the Bob Partridge Trophy awarded to the best junior at the tournament, and Dave Goody for presenting the Brian Ellis award for the best player in Division 2. The remaining trophies and awards, including the Peter Ballard Cup, were presented by League President Peter Ballard.
Pic 1 – Peter Ballard presents the Men’s Singles Cup to Reece Seddon of Mapledene TTC
Pic 2 – Colin Napper receives the Presidents Trophy from League President Peter Ballard
Pic 3 – Marina Partridge presents Harrison Hill with the Bob Partridge Trophy
Pic 4 – The Peter Ballard Cup presented by Peter Ballard to John Poysden of Fambridge TTC
Pic 5 – Members of the Stow Maries ‘D’ Team collecting their Division 3 Winners Trophy
Pic 6 – Lin Roff and the Ladies Singles Winner’s Rose Bowl – presented by Peter Ballard
Pic 7 – Peter Ballard with Duncan Taylor for one of his many awards of the evening
Pic 8 – John Poysden collects the Division 1 Trophy for his outstanding Fambridge Galacticos
Burnham Table Tennis League – Honours List 2022/23
Danbury F, runaway winners of division three of the Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League added the division three Knock Out Cup to their trophy haul with a 5-0 win over division three runners-up Danbury K. Chris Buer, Gus Heath and Steve Buer carried all before them. The opening doubles went to five ends but Gus Heath and Steve Buer prevailed (8-11, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6) against Mervyn Perriman and Denis Crapnell. Danbury F established a 2-0 win when Chris Buer defeated Denis Balic (6-11, 12-10, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4) and thereafter they cruised to victory.
Writtle B (Paul Sturton, Matthew Brown and Trevor Collin) excelled to win the division two Knock-Out Cup, beating a composite Galleywood B team 5-3 in the final featuring James Hicks of Galleywood A and John Holland and Mark Glenister of Galleywood B. Paul Sturton led the way with a five game win over John Holland (8-11, 11-5,10-12, 11-5, 11-6) and with his side leading 4-3 he produced a superb performance to beat James Hicks (11-9, 11-5, 11-9). Trevor Collin played his part with a vital (11-6, 13-11, 6-11, 2-11, 11-9) victory over Mark Glenister.
Favourites Chelmsford A (Harry Chivers, Saul Chivers and James Donald) annexed the Junior Knock Out Cup, beating Chelmsford B (Nikita Tkachuk, Harrison Hill and Omar Mohammad) 7-1 in the Final. Nikita Tkachuk scored an excellent (14-12, 11-7, 11-4) win over Saul Chivers and he also extended Harry Chivers to five ends before succumbing (11-13, 14-12, 11-7, 3-11, 5-11).
The Handicap Knock Out Cup final was another all Chelmsford affair and Chelmsford F emerged as 5-2 winners over Chelmsford C (Alesha Ellis-Austin, Emilie Guilloux and Todd Martin). Dion Fernandes (handicap of 37), Alex Tkachuk (51) and Cleon Fernandes (40) all played a part in this win with Chelmsford F taking the two three setters. Alex Tkachuk beat Todd Martin (41) (16-21, 22-20, 21-14) and he also beat Emilie Guilloux (40) (22-20, 13-21, 21-19) which turned out to be the match-clinching win. Cleon Fernandes powered to wins over Todd Martin (21-10, 21-16) and Emilie Guilloux (21-10, 21-11).
With division four still undecided Buttsbury A were crowned as Champions by beating Hatfield Peverel D 7-3. With 133 points they finished four points clear of Danbury L. Jamie Elliott who has enjoyed a magnificent season with an 89 % record led the way with three singles wins and Kevin Willis (71 %) won twice. Jamie Elliott showed his class by beating Neil Wood, the best of the Hatfield Peverel players (11-2,11-7, 11-9).
Buttsbury B (Ben Brown, Lucy Elliott and Oscar Hutt) completed their division five campaign with a 10-0 win over Galleywood D. The last game of the night looks to have been a roller-coaster encounter with Ben Brown defeating Paul Cockrell (8-11, 11-1, 11-6, 13-15, 11-5).
Buttsbury Bees beat Chelmsford Lions 3-2 in Junior division 2A. Grace Liu was undefeated for the Lions beating Thomas Lewis (11-3, 11-6, 11-5) and Charlie Ware (11-4, 11-3, 11-6).
Buttsbury Bats concluded their season in style, beating the higher placed Chelmsford Antelopes 5-0. Will Fullerton gave his side a winning start with a hard fought (11-7, 12-10, 11-13, 12-10) victory over Hugo Read.
The Chelmsford League Annual General General meeting takes place on Thursday 25 May 2023 at 19.30 hours at Old Chelmsfordians Association. Trophies will be presented. Copies of Officer’s reports will be available on the League Web-Site but printed copies will not be available on the night. Vacancies exist on the Chelmsford Committee for two Committee members plus a Press Officer. Steve Kerns is standing down as Press Officer after 31 years. Looking back at his stint in the role Steve recalls “the early years when Ken Cracknell helped him to write his reports with his extensive and well-informed notes”. Steve also commented on another immensely enjoyable spell in the job where he used to travel into London to work with Graham Turner, and they were able to swap score cards and details of notable performances on the journeys. Steve went onto say that “the Annual Championships were easily the highlight of each year with every single Championships throwing up it’s own head line making stories”.
Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
Last week saw the culmination of the Danbury Table Tennis Club annual championships. With both the Singles and Doubles Final going all the way to deciding 5th ends the crowds were kept enthralled right to the bitter end. Keith Adams got through a tricky semi-final against Dan Anderson and then had to come from behind in the Final to get the better of Ian Wall to retain his Title. Wall played superbly throughout having come through an epic semi-final of his own against ace defender Eric Green. He certainly took the game to favourite Adams and at times seemed to have the better of him with considered play and picking out when to attack with vigour. Adams held on and from the 4th game onwards cut out some of his errors and often pinned Wall against the wall! Wall was not out of it though and at 7-7 in the deciding leg he hit the most ferocious cross court forehand winner of the entire tournament to take an 8-7 lead. Unfortunately that wasn’t the fillip most expected it to be as Adams shrugged off the quality of his opponent’s finish and racked up the final 4 points to win out 11-8 in the 5th leg. A deserved Champion for sure but he was pushed all the way by the hard-working runner-up.
The doubles was an excellent sporting spectacle as both pairings had golden periods throughout a rollercoaster of a Final. Eventually we landed at 2-2 and went into a deciding set. Sanjay Saptarshi and Graham Naggs stormed into an 8-3 lead and seemed to have it in the bag. But the wily Eric Green and his young partner Oliver Martin were not done and eventually caught up at 10-10 having saved a couple of championship points. Then at 10-11 down it seemed Saptarshi and Naggs had somehow rescued defeat from the jaws of victory but Naggs served well and it was all square at 11-11. Saptarshi and Naggs survived the Green serve for another championship point and this time Martin could not return the forceful Saptarshi serve and the Champions collapsed in a heap of sweat and relief.
In the other competitions their were victories for Louis Gunn in the Restricted Singles, Daniel Anderson in the Handicap Singles, and a superb display of ping pong earned Bruce Kettle the Hard Bat Singles crown.
The Club also presented a couple of perennial trophies. Denis Crapnell was considered the most improved player within the Club and was presented with the Village Hall Cup, and Steve Martin was presented with the coveted Elizabeth Award for services to the Club over the season, in particular for his efforts in co-ordinating and managing the junior competitive teams.
Thanks also went to the chief organisers of the tournament Gordon Gatheral, David Gatheral, and Eamonn Hall.
Pic 1 – Danbury Singles Champion – Keith Adams receiving his trophy from Club President Norman Smith.
Pic 2 – Danbury Singles Final – Keith Adams versus Ian Wall (above)
Pic 3 – Danbury Singles Champion – Keith Adams
Pic 4 – Danbury Doubles Champions – Graham Naggs and Sanjay Saptarshi receiving their trophy from Club President Norman Smith
Pic 5 – Danbury Doubles Final – Sanjay Saptarshi and Graham Naggs v Eric Green and Oliver Martin
Pic 6 – Steve Martin being presented with the Elizabeth Award by Club President Norman Smith
All roads lead to Stow Maries for the Burnham & District Table Tennis League Team Handicap Cup Final 2023. An auspicious venue for an eagerly awaited Final. Players are handicapped according to ability and ranking at the start of the season to try and provide a level playing field for teams across all divisions to compete. The higher ranked players are heavily penalised and have to win a significant number of extra points, whereas the lower ranked players are given a tasty head start so they can relax and try and out hit or outsmart their opponents knowing they have a healthy lead and a few nets or edges will change the face of the game.
Our two Final protagonists come from different ends of the league spectrum so the points differentials were going to be massive – just what the baying crowds wanted to see. Cold Norton B have a wonderful selection of tried and tested top division players who play competitively every day of the week across the County and have recently achieved runners-up slot in the Ist Division. By comparison Woodham D play in the lowest division of the Burnham League and rotate their squad amongst a group of 5 or so players – however they had a very good finish to the season and come into the final on good form, and of course with those healthy handicaps. The Cold Norton trio have come through all the previous rounds pretty comfortably despite their heavy handicaps with the closest encounter being a 5-2 victory in the semi-final against Stow Maries A. Woodham D had a tough quarter-final against their own B team, winning through in the deciding leg of the deciding match, but were then comfortable 5-1 winners over Mapledene C in their semi-final where they used their handicaps to great effect.
The Final was hosted at the Stow Maries Arena in Smythe Hall – Cold Norton came out strong with a heavily handicapped trio of Ian Wall (-18), Eric Green (-16), and Captain Dan Anderson (-12). Woodham D in return fielded their semi-final winning trio of Joe Cooke (+6), Valerie Board (+6), and Alex Wilson (+15). It doesn’t take Einstein to work out that some of the points differentials were going to be huge with a maximum of 31 points in favour of Wilson should we get as far as match 7 when he is scheduled to take-on the Mighty Green.
So best of 9 matches, a mixture of 6 singles and 3 doubles interspersed across the evening’s entertainment. Up first Green and Anderson (-14) versus the dynamic duo of Wilson and Cooke (+10). Two very long ends ensued and the first went to deuce at 20-20 and then took another 6 points to eek out a winner as the underdogs from Cold Norton edged the very first leg to put the frighteners up Woodham, and a declaration that they meant business. The second leg was another close call but again the Cold Norton duo pulled back the deficit with some determined and patient play and won out 21-18. Next up was Wall (-18) against the lovable Val Board (+6). Board had a flyer and comprehensively won the first leg 21-5 but this only angered her opponent who showed there were no chinks in his wall as he tightened up the error count in leg 2 and eventually caught up the handicap at deuce and then went on to brake Board’s resolve with a 23-21 win and then took the final leg comfortably 21-12 for an overall 2-0 lead – but that could have gone the other way for sure. In the next leg Green (-16) had too much control and retrievability for the hard hitting Cooke (+6) and won out in 2 legs. So at 0-3 down who you gonna call – HandicapBuster Alex Wilson and his enormously flattering +15 starting point. A young player who has markedly improved across the season and needs to make the most of his early season handicap as he will never see the likes of it again! So Wilson (+15) is up against Cold Norton captain Anderson (-12). With family pride at stake the players face each other for the first time ever in a competitive environment. Anderson’s cagey and defensive style with the use of his favoured pimpled bat will not suit Wilson at all – this could be very close. Well that was the pre-match thoughts but Wilson paid no attention to that and battered his way to a very quick straight sets victory 21-0, 21-4 – family BBQ’s may be a bit awkward this Summer! So Woodham trouble the scoreboard at last but can they springboard on from here. In the next doubles encounter Wall and Green (-17) take on Cooke and Board (+6) and have a lot of work to do to chase down the lead. Again hard work and patience pays off as they force another victory to take the team closer to the edge of glory. In the sixth match-up we have Anderson on a -12 handicap, and with his tail firmly between his legs, against the plucky Board (+6). As in her previous singles match Board comes out all guns a-blazing and secures the first leg with some room to spare. Anderson is nothing if not determined so after a tete-a-tete with himself he knuckles down and as Board tires from all the exertion he starts to take control with thoughtful movement and variety of shots that flummox his opponent, and eventually takes the final two sets 12 & 17 for his redemption victory and more importantly the fifth win required to take the title and bring the Cup home to Cold Norton.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see Eric Green trying to overcome that 31 point differential that was scheduled for the next match – that would have been a fun one! Congratulations to both teams for all their efforts in getting to this Final, and of course to the Cold Norton trio who have shown incredible patience and resolve throughout this tournament.
Cold Norton B – Handicap Cup Winners 2023
Pic 1 – Cold Norton B – Team Handicap Cup Winners 2023 – Eric Green, Ian Wall, and Dan Anderson
Pic 2 – Woodham D – Team Handicap Cup Runners-Up 2023 – Joe Cooke, Valerie Board, and Alex Wilson
Pic 3 – Cold Norton’s unbeaten Ian Wall in action during the cup final
Pic 4 – Valerie Board taking both her opponents to a deciding leg in her singles matches.
Alesha Ellis-Austin unbeaten in Chelmsford Ladies Knock Out Cup Final
Maldon are the 2023 Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League Ladies Knock Out Cup Champions. However, their 3-2 victory over Chelmsford was extremely hard-fought with the hard-hitting Alesha Ellis-Austin winning both her singles. Alesha showed she meant business by beating Andrea Alleyne (11-7, 11-8, 11-3) in the opening encounter and in her second singles she scored a gem of a win, beating 2023 Chelmsford Ladies Singles Champion Dawn Baldry (9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 8-11, 14-12). It all came down to the doubles and Dawn and Andrea pulled through in five roller-coaster ends, against Alesha and Emily Guilloux (11-8, 12-14, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7).
First division Champions OCA A completed their Season in fine style with a 9-1 win over Chelmsford B. Brothers Mark and Matt Mulley were joined by Adam Buxton as OCA A produced yet another strong performance. Mark Mulley powered his way to three singles wins, beating Nikita Tkachuk (11-2, 11-8, 11-5), Wiktor Delimat (11-4, 11-7, 11-8) and Simon Jarvis (11-2, 11-5, 11-3). Nikita Tkachuk gave a fantastic account of himself against Matt Mulley (27 wins out of 27 / 100 %) before succumbing (6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 13-11, 9-11) whilst Simon Jarvis defeated Adam Buxton (8-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-7, 11-7). With 16 wins from 18 games and 129 points out of a possible 180 points OCA A never came under any real pressure.
Galleywood A, the division two winners also completed their fixtures with a 9-1 win, defeating Maldon A. They finished the Season with a massive total of 170 points out of 220 points with James Hicks and Peter Barrett both winning their three singles. The evergreen Steve Whiteley (Chelmsford Mens Singles Champion in 1974 and 1975) gave them lots to ponder missing out narrowly to James Hicks (11-5, 8-11, 13-11, 6-11, 9-11) and to James Mullane (5-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-13). Hamish Innes beat James Mullane (16-14, 11-7, 11-7).
Danbury L finished second in division four with 129 points, just four points behind Buttsbury A. Danbury L beat OCA E 8-2 after Dave Powell had remained unbeaten. Powell was the best of the Danbury L players with 84 % whilst Jamie Elliott (Buttsbury A) with 89 % also enjoyed a magnificent Season. Fast improving Harrison Hill (97 %) (Chelmsford G) enjoyed an even better Season. Chelmsford G were without Harrison Hill in their last game against OCA F which they won 6-4. Omar Mohammad led the way with three wins, beating David Bishop (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9), Stuart Wintle (11-3, 11-4,11-3) and Mike Morecroft (7-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5). Danbury M led by a maximum return from Tim Pulham beat Galleywood C 6-4. Graham Naggs won twice which included a last gasp (11-5, 8-11, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10) victory over Steve Peacock.
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) drew 5-5 with the higher placed Chelmsford J in division five. After leading 4-1 they might have expected more. Douglas Bawuah won his three singles and Bobby Suthisa won twice. Jacqui Smith notched up two singles wins for the Chelmsford side including an impressive (11-9, 11-4, 11-6) success against Bobby Suthisa. Chelmsford J also beat Writtle F 9-1. James Grimston and Peter Davenport were both undefeated. Davenport had a close call against Jo Hart, finally winning (11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9). Buttsbury B (Charlie Ware, Oscar Hutt and Lucy Elliott) ran out 8-2 winners against Maldon C. Ella Sach defeated Charlie Ware (9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-13, 11-8) in a well contested last game.
Chelmsford Tigers (eight wins out of eight and an all-conquering 35 points out of 40) were very comfortable winners of Junior division 2A. Pavanaj Srinavasmurthy (10 wins out of 10) completed an undefeated Season in their 4-1 win over runners-up Buttsbury Bears. It was a close call against Joseph Hutt and Pavanaj finally sneaked over the finish line (11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9). Joseph Hutt also had a monumental battle against Omar Mohammad and this time he won (6-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 12-10). Danbury Dragons beat Buttsbury Bears, this time 5-0, with Alex Wilson and Oliver Martin carrying all before them. Alex Wilson came through a gruelling five ender against Joseph Hutt (this is a recurring theme if ever there was one), winning (12-10, 11-8, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8).
Junior division 2 B was much closer and a mere three points covered the top three teams. Chelmsford Cougars (with 23 points from seven games) are Champions and they beat Danbury Griffins (4-1) and Buttsbury Bulldogs (3-2). Joshua Freeman was undefeated against Danbury Griffins with wins over Oscar Wyman (11-6, 11-7, 11-4) and Peter Harverson (11-3, 11-9, 11-6) whilst Amir Chetittah won his two singles against Buttsbury Bulldogs beating Freya Hart (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) and Francesca Hart (7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7).
Chelmsford Jaguars (Zane Kwantreng, George Gregory, Paras Jinturkar and Grace Liu) have won Junior division 2 C with 33 points from eight games. They finished six points ahead of Buttsbury Beavers. In their last game Buttsbury Beavers beat Chelmsford Leopards (4-1) with Charlie Gould winning twice. Charlie Gould beat Theo Peiris 3-0 although his game against Ryan Peiris was a close one and he eventually won (7-11, 15-13, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7). There was a first defeat for Vivaan Babbar who lost to Ryan Peiris (11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 9-11). Chelmsford Panthers came out on top 3-2 against Chelmsford Pumas. Harry Tarpletts beat Damon Chow (11-9, 11-6, 11-7) and Bernard Chow (11-2, 11-5, 11-2).
Steve Kerns Press Officer Chelmsford & District Table Tennis League
