Avon
County |
TABLE TENNIS NEWS
April 2007
by Dave Banks
The Avon seniors had a 6-4 win over Devon 3rds, with newcomer Chris Burgess, Michelle Leonard and Ricky Jemmott having good wins. Sanghar Pratihar, another newcomer to the Avon County scene, had success over Vicky Smith and Debbie Whiting.
After this, the team had a heavy defeat against Cornwall 1sts, but this was followed up with a 6-4 win over Cornwall 2nds, Jess Orlik having success over Kate Alken, after a battle in the fifth. A tough match against Somerset followed, ending in a draw, with Alex Banks beating Steve Joel and Andy Hewitt. Ricky Jemmott and Chris Burgess fought well to defeat Jon Hughes, as did Sanghar Pratihar against Claire Howie. The final match was lost against Wiltshire. Overall quite a good weekend for us and many thanks to Cornwall for staging an excellent weekend’s table tennis..
The Avon junior first team finished off their matches in fine style, winning all and gaining promotion to Division 1 next year. The veterans have finished third in Division 2, following a draw against Herefordshire and a 9-1 win against Berkshire 2nds.
The 60th Bristol Closed tournament took place in March, with some top table tennis being played on the day. Paul Hooper was crowned open singles champion, with an attacking style, against the defensive David Reeves. Sanghar Pratihar won the ladies singles over Jessica Coggins and the veteran singles was won by Steve Hall over Eddie Roofe. In the juniors, Lloyd Gregory beat Joe Ratajczak in five sets and Hayley Ruderham beat Rebecca Seal. The Bristol league has been won by Filton Academy, with Failand A a close second.
In the Bath Closed tournament, Andy Hewitt beat Terry Parkins in the open singles and Clive Ellison beat Bob Murray in the veterans. Parkins and Murray gained some consolation however by teaming up to win the doubles. In the Bath league, Mayfield A secured top spot over Frys A.
The final tournament of the season, the Avon County Closed, took place in April and the mens singles was played for the first time in ten years! In the semis, David Reeves secured victory over Andy Banks and Clive Ellison had to save four match points against Alex Banks before winning. The final ended up being a battle of defenders, with David eventually winning against Clive. In the junior finals, Hayley Ruderham beat Jessica Coggins and Alex Banks beat Lloyd Gregory in a thrilling five setter.