South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis: Newton Abbot Batmen extend lead at the top

The Acacia Blinds 2010-11 South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League Division 1 champions, Newton Abbot Batmen continued their fine start to the season with big wins over Marldon and Brixham Trawlers to extend their unbeaten run to six, eight points ahead of nearest rivals Brixham Gulls.

Dennis Gibbs, Mike Dummett and Sam Hurst dropped only two sets in their 10-0 whitewash over lowly Marldon, while only Chris Baron of Brixham Trawlers was able to claim a point against the champions beating Mike Dummett 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 in a complete reversal of form. Dummett came close to dropping a second point to Alan Maynard in a chess-game of a match which Dummett claimed check-mate 12-10 in the fifth. Tony Halse was the replacement for Hurst in the away tie against Trawlers, coming home with a fine maximum.

Brixham Gulls were five points short of a maximum in their tie away to Full of Beans with Brian Pengelly and Michael Lu both taking all their games whilst Mark Smith was just undone by Full of Beans’ Richard Jessop in the final set. The 9-1 win put Gulls in good stead for a challenge to Batmen at the top but a 6-4 loss against Halwell in which Halwell’s Dave Wadling once again proved his worth beating Mick Mercer, Lu and Smith, and a player short in Gulls’ 6-4 away win against Marldon, stunted Gulls’ progress up the table.

Another series of 6-4 wins for Taverners helped the Bishopsteignton team stay in touch with the leaders. Colin Harrop, Gerald Norton, Geoff Read and Nick Williamson all scored vital points against Newton Abbot Academicals and Full of Beans to help keep these opponents below them in the table. There were some very close games along the way in both with Academicals’ Jim McIvor and Full of Beans’ Richard Jessop coming away unbeaten to minimise their team’s defeats.

Brixham Trawlers meanwhile replicated Taverners’ scorelines against Marldon to keep the newly promoted team at arm’s length at the bottom of the table. In that fixture, Helen Parton put on a resilient performance to claim her first point of the season beating Alan Maynard 11-9 in the fifth.

Dawlish Aces are the new Division 2 leaders by a point over Tykes after top of the table clashes saw a stalemate against previous leaders Newton Abbot Battlers and a 7-3 home victory against Tykes.

A below strength Battlers did well to hold a 5-5 draw against Aces with Keith Hawkins keeping his unbeaten run intact with a fine maximum over Dave Davies, Ed Crawford and Karolina Czyz.

Ed Crawford was able to match Hawkins’ form in the match against Tykes beating Steve Metcalfe in three straight and scraping victories in the fifth sets against Pat Darch and Kevin Ayling to help the new leaders to a 7-3 home win. Crawford was well supported by Czyz and Steve Cooper, each notching up well deserved braces.

Denbury’s Tykes meanwhile took advantage of a short Dawlish Diamonds team and played in top form away to 21 Up to take 17 points from a possible 20 to see them jump a place in the table to second. It was Connor Lowe of 21 Up that proved to be too much to handle for Tykes’ Ayling and Chris Garner, beating Garner in three and Ayling in a close 5-setter, 11-6 in the last.

Hasbeens, 21 Up and Dawlish Diamonds meanwhile, were able to pull away from bottom placed Brixham Pirates as they all notched up points in tightly fought contests between each other. Richard Fitzgerald for Hasbeens was just able to win all three of his games to minimise their home defeat against 21 Up, whilst 21 Up fell at the last hurdle in a straight sets doubles win for Diamonds’ Don Beesley and Mike Coxhead to force a draw. Diamonds then saw a 4-3 lead become a 6-4 defeat as they were taken apart in the last few games of their home tie against Hasbeens, losing 13-11 in the fifth set of the doubles.

Newton Abbot Livewires succumbed their lead at the top of Division 3 and saw two other teams jump above them in the tightest league table for many a season with only eight points separating top from bottom.

No one team has claimed any more than a 7-3 victory so far as all seven teams battle it out for placings.

Livewires gave up their unbeaten record to an in-form Brixham Rebels following a close draw against 21 Down. In both matches, Andrew Tyrrell for Livewires was the star performer holding his own to come away with maximums in both encounters. He remains unbeaten.

New league leaders Dawlish Drifters were 7-3 victors in encounters against Brixham Swifts and Brixham Swallows and came in 6-4 winners against 21 Down. Drifters’ Tony Munson held off challenges from Rhys Lush, Daniel Brewer and Connor Adams of 21 Down and again against Aaron and Joshua Millman of Swallows before completing a fantastic unbeaten run against Andrew Millman 13-11 in the final set of their game.

Local derby draws for newly formed Brixham Swallows against Swifts and Rebels see all Brixham teams still in contention, while bottom placed Dawlish Dinosaurs lie only one point adrift of the new Brixham outfit with a game in hand. Dinosaurs’ defeats at the hands of Brixham Rebels and Brixham Swifts were minimised by straight sets wins from unbeaten Ozzy Dee.

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.