Division Three North
1st February 2010by Steve Kerns - British League Press Officer
The listing was posted by English Table Tennis Association
Results went pretty much to form in this division as the leaders Ormesby III won twice to move onto 18 points out of 20. They didn’t have it all their own way against St. Mary’s Hull and Formby but 6-2 victories were more than sufficient. Their no. three Michael Young was their most successful player winning all four of his singles. His victims were Mike Fraser, Rachel Baker, Cherith Graham and Rob Wylie. Formby no. one Jonathan Taylor gave them most to think about. He beat Martin Rutter by a last gasp 9-11, 11-8, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9 scoreline and he really turned it on against Ormesby no. one Simon Donnelly triumphing 11-7, 11-6, 11-6.
Second-placed Smiths Wood Bribar also won twice, but they trail by four points and know that they are realistically looking at finishing second. Their 8-0 victory over Drumchapel Glasgow IV was a little flattering as they won games four, five and six in the fifth end but it was still a strong team performance from Jack Williamson, Edward Lynn, Alan Caffery and Jack Styring. Williamsons’ win over Stephanie McCallum was arguably the hardest fought. Williamson had to fight back from 2-0 down before coming out on top 5-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. On the other hand Smiths Wood’s 5-3 victory over Rotherham Scorpions flatters the losers slightly as Smiths Wood had already moved into a winning 5-1 lead. Jack Williamson again won twice. He fought back from 2-0 down to beat Chris Cattell 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-5 and he also got the better of Lance Webster 11-6, 13-11, 12-10. Alan Caffery also did well to retrieve a 2-0 deficit and he came back to beat Richard Element 11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-8.
Third-placed Rotherham Scorpions lost ground when they were held to a 4-4 draw by Northfield II. Two games were decided at deuce in the fifth end. Northfield’s Mark Walpole levelled the scores at 2-2 by beating Mark Johnson after a really titanic struggle 11-5, 11-8, 19-21, 10-12, 12-10 and Rotherham’s Chris Cattell tied the scores at 3-3 by beating Jevon Chan 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10. Mark Johnson was in no mood to be denied a second time and he gave Rotherham a 4-3 lead by beating Tim Surrey 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 but it wasn’t enough to earn Rotherham the victory. The match finished all square as Mark Walpole won his second singles encounter, easing home 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 against Richard Element.