Division 2 Roundup - Week 1

Published 22/09/2023 at 09:11:15 by Martin Johnson; edited 1 times, last on 22/09/2023 at 10:15:15 by Martin Johnson.

A new season and a fresh start for everyone, with a competitive looking division 2 getting underway again for the 2023-2024 season.

After just one week, we have a couple of leading teams, although it's obviously early days, with Leighton Buzzard Spitfires and Newport Pagnell Lagondas up front.

Leighton Buzzard Spitfires visited Milton Keynes Powers, down from division 1, and came away with a fine 8-2 win.  Graham Silversides and Barry Hammond lead the way for Spitfires, each picking up three singles wins, backed up by Syed Ali with two wins, whilst for Powers, the main resistance came from Peter Tillotson with one win, plus the doubles alongside Paul Tompkins, with reserve Malcolm Whetstone completing their team.  Despite the scoreline, it was not one-way traffic, with only one set won in straight games, as the opening set went to a decider, whilst the remainder all went to four games.

Newport Pagnell Lagondas, who narrowly missed promotion last season, started well with a 7-3 win over promoted Greenleys Valiants, as their trio of Tony Ardis, Glen Davison and Michael Howard each won twice, as well as Tony / Michael taking the doubles against Lewis Copp and James Carter.  For Valiants, Lewis made an impressive debut, winning all his singles, for the loss of just a single game, whilst despite some close legs, teammates James and Slava Volokha were unable to add any wins.  Only the final two sets of the night went to four legs, with the remainder being three straight.

Greenleys Sultans of Spin, last season's division three winners, took on Milton Keynes Pioneers, down from last season's division one, and the result was a 5-5 draw.  Sultans of Spin's Daniel Carter was the most successful player, winning his three singles, and teammates Rob Anderson and Ricky Jackson each won once, whilst for Pioneers, Terry Lau and Kareem Omar each won twice, plus Andy Frearson pairing up with Kareem to take the doubles against Daniel / Ricky.  As might be expected in a 5-5 draw, there were some close sets, and although the opening three were in straight games, the rest went to four or five, including the final set where Ricky secured the draw in a close final game decider.

The final match of the week saw the possible title favourites, Woburn Sands Mosquitoes, down from division 1 despite finishing sixth, taking on Mursley Hawks, fourth in division 2 last season.  The result was a battling 5-5 draw, with plenty of close sets.  James Molloy resumed where he'd left off in this division two seasons ago, when he won all his singles, by continuing that trend to move to a run of 36 consecutive singles wins.  He was backed up by Andy Jenkins and Rob McPheat, who each won once.  The main resistance for Hawks came from Mick O'Mahony and Martin Johnson, with a pair of wins each, plus the doubles win by the finest of margins against James / Rob, as it finished 11-9 in the decider, whilst Hawks' captain, David Barlett, won one leg in each of his sets, but couldn't add to his team's tally.

Interestingly, next week will see the top two play each other, as Spitfires take on Lagondas, whilst mid-table Pioneers and Mosquitoes play each other.  Elsewhere, Hawks entertain Pioneers and the two Greenleys teams play each other, with Valiants taking on Sultans of Spin.

Player of the Week : Lewis Copp.