The eighth round of table tennis league fixtures, sponsored by Welton Play Fun88, took place at the NSC last week.

Strathallan (0), Travellers A (10)

Travellers A delivered a crushing 10-0 victory over Strathallan as Malcolm Cummings, Liam Chan and Scott Lewis proved entirely too strong, all three securing a perfect nine singles points collectively.

Despite the whitewash, Strathallan didn’t concede easily, fighting valiantly in several sets. Andrew Patterson was particularly tenacious, pushing his opponents - including Cummings - to a five-set marathon. Patterson also challenged Chan and Lewis in four sets apiece.

Julian Briercliffe and Wayne Taylor struggled to gain a foothold for the hosts against the relentless Travellers attack. Taylor took a set from Cummings and pushed him close in another.

But Travellers proved insurmountable and the clean sweep was completed when Lewis and Chan secured a straight-sets win in the doubles.

Travellers B (3), Ramsey A (7)

Leaders Ramsey A faced a potentially challenging match against Travellers B, but secured a vital 7-3 victory to maintain top spot.

The match hinged on the phenomenal performance of Travellers’ John Shooter who took all three of his side’s points. He relentlessly won three matches that all went the distance, overcoming Adam Teare in a gruelling five-setter.

He prevailed in another five-setter against Darren Smethurst and completed his maximum against Becky Bayley in four sets.

Despite Shooter’s heroics, the overall strength of Ramsey A ensured the victory. Teare and Smethurst bounced back to claim two singles wins each. Smethurst, in particular, had a critical five-set win over Malc Lewis - a result that was pivotal in securing the overall victory.

Bayley added a key singles point with a hard-fought five-set win over Keeran Chan and combined well with Smethurst to win the doubles.

The doubles victory proved the final nail in the coffin for Traveller’s hopes of a draw, confirming the 7-3 scoreline and Ramsey A's continued dominance.

Desmond’s Douglas A (5), Tower A (5)

This was a nail-biting encounter between Desmond's A and Tower A who were both eager for points which culminated in a highly-competitive 5-5 draw.

Tower were without their talisman Dave Parsons but C team player Keith Whiteway did well to be competitive. Russ Kent had a great night, claiming two of his singles.

He lost a five-set battle with Mike Bayley then, after sweeping past Whiteway in three ends, he took the honours against a determined Ken Mitchell.

He was superbly backed up by team-mate Brandon Montgomery who also delivered two wins, defeating Bayley in four ends and earning a second point against Whiteway, but Mitchell edged past him in four close ends.

Neil Ronan found the going tough against Mitchell, losing in three, and then being pushed out by Bayley in the fifth end. Tower’s points were crucial, with Mitchell and Bayley contributing two singles wins each and the doubles.

Peel A (9), Tower B (1)

Peel A delivered a commanding 9-1 performance against Tower B, spearheaded by Jon Taylor Burt and Stu Perry who both registered flawless maximums in the singles.

Taylor Burt navigated a particularly tough encounter with Simon Radcliffe in four sets, impressively saw off Lee Alexander in four close ends and controlled the match perfectly against Steve Curtis in straight sets.

Perry’s clash with Radcliffe was a phenomenal five-set spectacle, demonstrating nerves of steel to take the decider. He secured his remaining points against Alexander and Curtis.

The single point conceded by Peel A came in the match between Ken Hegarty and Lee Alexander, but Hegarty quickly recovered his form in a splendid five-set comeback victory against Radcliffe and a comfortable three-set win over Curtis.

Peel rounded off their impressive night with Taylor Burt and Maggie Mulhern taking the doubles against Radcliffe and Alexander in a highly entertaining four-set match.

Arbory B (5), Travellers C (5)

Arbory B and Travellers C played out another gripping 5-5 draw, highlighting the fierce competition in the league's middle tier.

Arbory’s Daniel Levine excelled with two singles wins with straight-set victories over David Buck and Paul Mathieson-Nelson, then had an intense five-set thriller against Charlie Callow which eventually went Callow’s way in the fifth.

Dave Bufton, playing up for Arbory B, secured two more singles points but was denied a clean sweep by Callow in another five-set thriller.

Arbory's third player Sonja Shaw was desperately unlucky to lose two five-set matches, first to Callow and then to Buck, both by slim margins.

For Travellers, the singles were split evenly, with Callow and Buck contributing two points each.

The match was ultimately decided in the doubles which saw Shaw and Levine (Arbory B) demonstrate incredible teamwork to stage a comeback, winning against Mathieson-Nelson and Callow.

That five-set doubles win secured the vital fifth point for Arbory B and ensured the spoils were shared.

Travellers D (1), Arbory C (9)

Arbory C crushed Travellers D 9-1, Kevin Drewry, Rob Wright and Dave Bufton overwhelming their opponents. Drewry and Bufton were both flawless, dominating their singles matches in straight sets.

The only point for Travellers came from Adrian Tinkler who battled hard to secure a three-set win against Rob Wright.

Team-mates Margaret Forsyth and Maurice Campbell found no joy, collectively failing to register a single game. Arbory C finished the night with a comfortable doubles win from Drewry and Bufton, confirming the emphatic scoreline.

Travellers F (1), Ramsey D (9)

Ramsey D mirrored the dominant performance of Arbory C, sweeping aside Travellers F resoundingly 9-1.

The win was built on the stellar form of Teddy Clayton, Leigh Kennaugh and Tony Fallon who were all highly successful.

The only ray of light for Travellers F was Sydnie Weaver who opened the fixture with a gutsy five-set win over Teddy and pushed Fallon to a gripping five-setter that the latter took in the decider.

The rest of the night was controlled by Ramsey D. Max Doyle and Christine Wu found the Ramsey players' consistency too high to overcome and the doubles also went the way of Ramsey D in four sets, sealing a decisive win.

Travellers E (5), Tower C (5)

The mid-table intensity was again evident as Travellers E and Tower C battled to a 5-5 draw.

Travellers E was spearheaded by strong performances from Henry Weaver and Rhys Bufton, both of whom secured two singles wins. Weaver delivered a particularly ruthless opening performance against nine-year-old Ollie Robinson.

Wasim Khan added a crucial singles point, overcoming Keith Whiteway in a tense four-set contest.

Mark Webster-Smith was the star for Tower, achieving a fantastic 3-0 maximum. Webster-Smith ensured the draw remained possible by defeating both Weaver and Bufton in four and five sets respectively. Whiteway added one singles point with a solid four-set victory over Bufton.

The match came down to the doubles, which saw Weaver and Khan secure the point for Travellers E in straight sets, ensuring the points were split.

Ramsey C (7), Ballakermeen (3)

Ramsey C secured a valuable 7-3 victory over Ballakermeen, a result largely driven by the flawless singles performance of Keith Herrington who was dominant, sweeping past his three opponents in straight sets.

He was well supported by Geoff Burchill who added two singles wins, including a determined four-set victory over Kaishi Huang. Darren Shaw added the other singles point for Ramsey.

Ballakermeen’s resistance was marshalled by Aditya Varshney who produced a superb two-point haul, including a four-set win over Shaw.

Kaishi Huang added the third point for Ballakermeen but the doubles went comfortably to Ramsey C’s pairing of Shaw and Herrington, sealing the 7-3 scoreline.

Desmond’s Douglas B (2), Ramsey B (8)

Ramsey B achieved a dominant 8-2 win, a performance that highlighted the consistency of their top players.

Adrian Slater and Twiki Choi both delivered flawless maximums, making it a near-impossible task for the Douglas side. They also teamed up effectively to take the doubles match against Richard Hill and Seth Hornby-Wheeler in a straight sets victory. Martyn Howard secured another crucial singles point for Ramsey, but lost to Hill and young Hornby-Wheeler.

For full results and statistics, go to www.tabletennis365.com/IOM

KEN MITCHELL