South Devon and Torbay Table Tennis League round-up

In the Acacia Blinds 2010-11 South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League, champions Newton Abbot Batmen took another step closer to retaining the title for the third time as they added another two victories to their tally of 14 to remain clear at the top by 16 points ahead of nearest challengers Halwell. Although Halwell claimed a point more over the two last fixtures, time is running out for the 2006-7 champions to catch up and regain the Division 1 trophy. Batmen were in fine form away to Brixham Gulls to take the match 8-2, with Dennis Gibbs notching up his 14th maximum winning over Division 1 second seeded player David White to keep his number one status. White was able to keep his average above the 95% mark with wins over Tony Halse and Mike Dummett to score Gulls’ only two points. White’s big win came against Dummett coming from 2-0 down to win the final three games 11-7, 11-4, 11-4. Halse and Dummett were able to beat Brixham’s Michael Lu and Mick Mercer all in straight sets. In their home tie against Taverners, Batmen’s Sam Hurst was unlucky not to score in only his fifth appearance for the champions. His encounters against Nick Williamson and Colin Harrop ended in final set defeats, both by 11-9. Harrop took control in the first set against Hurst only to lose his way in the next two, before turning the game around to win 11-3 in the fourth and using all his experience to help win the final set. Hurst then again fell to a great comeback from Williamson who clawed back from 2-0 to forge Hurst’s first duck since February last year. Halwell were able to take advantage of the blip in Batmen’s ruthlessness, forging 8-2 wins away to Newton Abbot Academicals and at home to Full of Beans to halt Batmen flying away with the title with matches to spare. Halwell’s Mick Atkinson and Dave Wadling both took excellent hat-tricks against both teams with Rod Sugden bagging three points over the two matches for the team in second spot. The pick of the matches was in the Full of Beans contest in which Patrik Cincala pushed Atkinson and Wadling all the way through deuce games in both 5-setters to really make Halwell work for their points. Cincala was able to dispose of Rod Sugden in three straight and Martin Dilkes fought tooth and nail to win over Sugden 10-12, 14-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 to take a second vital point for Full of Beans who remain at the foot of the table but with matches in hand. The battle to avoid relegation is really hotting up as a resurgent Marldon claimed vital points over Taverners and Newton Abbot Academicals to squeak a point ahead of Full of Beans and keep within seven points of next best placed team, Brixham Trawlers. Marldon’s Helen Parton was the stand-out performer over the two matches with a maximum against Taverners’ Colin Harrop, Gerald Norton and Geoff Read, and a brace against Alan Tyrrell and Jim McIvor of Academicals. With Full of Beans and Brixham Trawlers losing heavily to Halwell and Brixham Gulls, it gives Marldon a fantastic opportunity to exploit their bad form and remain in the top flight. The remaining few matches will be all to play for. In Division 2, Newton Abbot Battlers, Dawlish Aces and Tykes all won handsomely to resume normal service at the top of the table. Battlers only dropped five sets as they completed a comfortable 10-0 whitewash over struggling Hasbeens, a scoreline repeated over the Bishopsteignton team by Denbury’s Tykes with only Hasbeens’ Richard Fitzgerald coming close to stopping the rot by losing out to Tykes’ Chris Garner who came back from 2-1 down to win 11-7 in the fifth. Tykes went on to claim a 9-1 victory over bottom placed Brixham Pirates who surely now must be resigning themselves to relegation status at 21 points behind Hasbeens with only three games in hand. Caolan Walpot won the sole point for Pirates in three sets straight against Tykes’ Chris Garner. Dawlish Aces meanwhile, kept up their challenge at the top with a 9-1 Dawlish derby demolition against fourth placed Diamonds. David Davies completed his fourth consecutive maximum and was joined by Ed Crawford who enjoyed his seventh of the season. Diamonds’ Dave Townsend was able to claim the point by beating Steve Cooper after Cooper came from two sets down to draw level, but was unable to finish the job. With Battlers and Aces yet to meet again for the third and final time this season, the Division 2 title is still very much up for grabs. In Division 3, 21 Down are the new division leaders recording two fantastic wins against Dawlish Dinosaurs and Brixham Rebels to leap above Newton Abbot Livewires and Dawlish Drifters to take the top spot. In the tightest of divisions in years, 21 Down’s Connor Adams and Daniel Brewer came through the matches unscathed and together with Rhys Lush and Austin Booth in support, claimed a massive 17 points from a possible 20 on offer. In addition, a well deserved 5-5 draw against Brixham Swifts who now occupy the third spot, now put 21 Down 12 points clear ahead of Dawlish Drifters who have only one game in hand. In the Swifts draw, it was Richard Johns who halted Adam’s claim to a seventh maximum this season beating him 11-9 in the final set, whilst Andrew Millman, drafted in from Brixham Swallows, was able to win over Brewer in three. Newton Abbot Livewires’ grip on their title hopes was weakened in a 7-3 defeat away to Brixham Swifts. Chris Meah won all his three games over Ashleigh Stephens, Andrew Tyrrell and Cheryl Stephens to help the new team from Brixham leap from fifth to third. The two defeats for Brixham Rebels saw them slip from fourth to fifth which only underlines how close this division is. For more information about the Acacia Blinds South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League, see www. sdt-tabletennisleague.co.uk. Report by Alan Maynard, results secretary.