New Isle of Man table tennis season begins in earnest

The Isle of Man Table Tennis Association Winter League sponsored by Fun 88 Welton Play got underway on Wednesday last week, with a full schedule of fixtures staged across both divisions at the NSC secondary hall.

During the close season Arbory TTC found a shirt sponsor, Arbory Kitchens, and also snapped up some new players. The club now has three teams in each division, making them the largest club in the island.

Arbory A (10), Intact B (0)

Arbory A made a statement in the opening round, securing a clean sweep against Intact B.

Sam Bailey led from the front to earn player of the match, winning all three of his singles matches in straight sets without dropping a game.

Team-mates Mike Tamarov and Amit Lanin also enjoyed undefeated nights in singles play. The tightest contest came as Lanin rallied back from 2-1 down against Lee Alexander to seal a five-set victory 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

Tamarov and Lanin completed the whitewash with a comfortable 11-7, 13-11, 11-2 win in the doubles.

Arbory B (5), Travellers C (5)

Arbory B and Travellers C played out a tightly fought 5-5 draw.

Travellers C’s Charlie Callow was player of the match after claiming two strong singles victories over John Magnall (12-10, 11-9, 11-9) and Dave Bufton (11-7, 12-14, 11-6, 11-9), alongside a four-set win against Malcolm Lambert.

The match produced several five-set thrillers: Dave Bufton dug deep to edge Luke Begley 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9, while Lambert did well to hold off Luke 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9.

Alex Buck earned a notable five-set victory for Travellers against Lambert (11-9, 11-6, 14-16, 7-11, 11-8).

Arbory secured the draw in the final doubles leg as John and Dave Bufton just outlasted Begley and David Buck 7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 10-12, 13-11.

Strathallan (9), Intact A (1)

Strathallan put on a dominant display against a hapless Intact A, dropping only a single match on the night.

Strathallan's Neil Quane put in a star performance to earn player of the match, securing three wins in his singles rubbers against Dave Parsons, Ken Mitchell and Mike Bayley.

Andy Patterson matched his team-mate's singles win count, highlighted by a marathon victory over David Parsons that included a remarkable 20-18 fourth-set epic before closing out the fifth set 11-9 (4-11, 11-7, 7-11, 20-18, 11-9).

Wayne Taylor also contributed two singles points, including an 18-16 fourth-set tiebreak win against Mike Bayley.

Travellers B (9), Peel A (1)

Travellers B enjoyed a comprehensive opening win over Peel A.

John Shooter was flawless throughout the fixture, surrendering no sets in his three dominant singles victories.

Will Shooter also registered a full house of three singles wins, surviving a tough five-set test against Stuart Perry (8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8).

Malc Lewis added two singles wins for Travellers B, only falling to a battling Jon Taylor Burt. In the doubles, John Shooter and William Shooter recovered from two sets down to beat Maggie Mulhern and Stu Perry 12-14, 7-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8.

Ramsey A (7), Arbory C (3)

Ramsey A kicked off their campaign with a solid 7-3 victory over Arbory C, despite only fielding two players.

Chris Holmes delivered an outstanding performance to pick up two singles victories and earn maximum individual points for his side, while Becky Bayley also picked up a pair of singles wins against Russ Kent and Liav Lanin.

Travellers D (2), Arbory E (8)

Arbory E earned an impressive away result against Travellers D.

Arbory’s Liav Lanin earned player of the match honours after winning all three of his singles rubbers in straight sets, including victories over Adrian Tinkler, Margaret Forsyth and Maurice Campbell.

Rhys Bufton and Seth Hornby-Wheeler were also in fine form, each picking up two singles wins. The latter showed great resolve to come back from 2-1 down against Campbell to win 8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6. Tinkler provided the primary resistance for Travellers D, overcoming Hornby-Wheeler in five sets (9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7).

Arbory D (10), Ballakermeen B (0)

Arbory D began their season with a clinical 10-0 victory against Ballakermeen B.

Former island champion Mark Johnson marked his comeback by winning all three of his singles matches in straight sets while dropping only nine total points across his singles rubbers, including a 11-1, 11-1, 11-1 demolition of Alan Sefia.

Team-mates Wendy Hogan and Geoff Burchill were equally convincing, completing unbeaten individual nights to ensure Arbory D didn't yield a single set during the entire match.

Intact C (2), Arbory F (8)

Arbory F scored an emphatic 8-2 victory over Intact C.

Kevin Drewry was the standout competitor, securing three singles victories alongside a doubles triumph.

Rob Wright and Brandon Montgomery both added two singles points each for Arbory F. Wright claimed a thrilling five-set victory against Keith Whiteway, edging out the match 15-17, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9.

Sam Sen scored both points for Intact C with four-set wins over Brandon and Rob.

Ramsey B (5), Peel B (5)

Ramsey B and Peel B contested a balanced encounter that ended in a 5-5 draw.

Peel B’s Alin Tanase was player of the match after putting in a tremendous unbeaten singles performance with wins against Twiki Choi, Xedrel Benosa and Janus Benosa.

Choi and Benosa led the scoring for Ramsey, each picking up two singles wins.

The doubles proved crucial to the overall scoreline, with Peel B's Sam Preece and Alin Tanase securing three consecutive tight deuce sets (12-10, 14-12, 14-12) to overcome Choi and Benosa.

Travellers E (4), Ballakermeen A (6)

Ballakermeen edged out Travellers in this competitive 6-4 fixture.

Balla’s Aditya Varshney was player of the match after securing a brace of singles wins against Henry Weaver and Sydnie Weaver.

Kaishi Huang also picked up two important singles victories for Balla, including a five-set battle against Sydnie (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9).

Henry gave Travellers a boost by defeating Jesse Zhang 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, while Wasim Khan bagged two valuable points with wins over Aditya and Kaishi.

Balla sealed overall victory by claiming the doubles rubber in straight sets.

- Friday night practice sessions continue each Friday from 7.30-9.30pm at the NSC Secondary Hall. All are welcome.

KEN MITCHELL