The team’s first round and limited cups in the Braintree Table Tennis League are invariably a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff.
And so it was this year, as in all but two matches the higher ranked team won.
The exceptions were wins for Sudbury Nomads, 6-3 over Black Notley A, and Notley B, 5-3 over Liberal B in the team KO cup.
There were extenuating circumstances. In the league, Nomads were just two points behind Notley A with a game in hand, and Notley B three points behind Liberal B with a game in hand.
In the first match, both Aron Jordan of Nomads and Luke Berridge of Notley won two out of two.
Notley B’s victory was notable for an excellent performance from Mike Fenech. Having no competitive experience this season, he recorded excellent victories against seasoned veterans Guy McKenzie and Richard Jennings.
The top two, Netts A and Rayne A, both came through safely. Netts A defeated their own B team 5-0, while Rayne defeated Sudbury Wanderers 5-2.
Rayne will be in the quarterfinals with five teams. The C and D teams both had byes while the B team came through comfortably, 6-2 against second division Yeldham Whitlocks A. Keith Martin and Dave Moles were undefeated.
Rayne E was the only team from the second division to achieve victory. They secured a convincing 8-1 victory over Netts C, with just two sets going beyond three games.
James Grimston and Richard Whiteside remained undefeated, while David Montgomery took Netts’ only win.
In the Limited Cup, all six ties fit the form, with only one even remotely close.
JJ Calisin and father Jimmy were responsible for bringing Netts D through against Rayne F, accounting for all the winning sets in a 5-4 victory.
In fact, the one that clinched the victory was Calisin junior’s 12-10 victory in the fifth match against Conrad Gomes.
Furthermore, the losing sides scored zero or one. Notley H declared at 8-0 against Netts E, Adrian Boeriu’s defeat to Mike Smith at 13-11 in the fifth inning was the closest Netts came, while Notley G took all five sets in consecutive matches against Sudbury Drifters.
Sudbury Strollers ensured the club was represented in the next round with an 8-1 win over Yeldham Whitlocks B – Steve Willis’ series-breaking victory over Ian Whipps – while Notley E and Netts F recorded 5-1 wins over Notley F and Rayne G respectively.
A commendable doubles win for Wendy Day and Aivars Taimins over Peter Davenport and Dave Parker gave Notley F a glimmer of daylight and it was Karl Bowden’s victory over James Howard that did the same for Rayne G.
#Braintree #League #real #setbacks #cups #Table #Tennis #England