Division 1 Roundup - Week 11
Avengers Storm up to Third whilst Sasaki Extend Lead at Top to Eight Points
The League may now have passed the halfway mark, but positions are still changing, with this week seeing four away victories (so much for home advantage?), including only the second and third 9-1 scorelines of the season in this Division - so, like buses, you wait ages for one, and then two come along together!
Milton Keynes Sasaki tighten their hold on top position, easing past seventh-placed Milton Keynes Spitfires, with a big 9-1 victory, to make it nine matches unbeaten, with eight wins and one draw in that run. Michael Wilkins and William Kit Liang each won all three of their singles, whilst Minesh Pitamber added two singles wins, against Barry Hammond and Graham Silversides, only losing out in straight games to Andy King, who thus grabbed the solitary Spitfires point. Andy also took Michael to five games, but lost out 11-8 in the decider, as Michael maintained his position at the top of the Averages. Barry also pushed Minesh to deuce in the fourth leg, whilst the doubles went down to the wire, with Minesh and William edging it 15-13 in the fifth against Barry and Andy, to give William a maximum on the night, but thatâs as good as it got for Spitfires, who remain seventh, still seven points behind the safety of sixth place. For Sasaki, they extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, and sixteen points clear of their next rival for the two promotion spots.
Second-placed Milton Keynes Phoenix had a scare on their visit to the bottom team, Mursley Hawks, before finally running out 6-4 winners, to extend their unbeaten run to ten matches, whilst Hawks have now lost ten in a row. Mervyn Phillips opened up for Phoenix with a comfortable win against David Bartlett, but Hawks hit back as Mick OâMahony defeated Gerald Ridgway & Martin Johnson did likewise against Ivor Howard, all in straight games. Mick and Martin then combined to take the doubles in four games against Mervyn and Gerald, to put the home team into a surprise 3-1 lead. Mick also took the first two legs against Mervyn, but couldnât hold off the fightback, as Mervyn eventually won in five games. Ivor easily went 2-0 up against David, but he had to battle from there; in the end just taking it 12-10 in the fourth, to bring the scores back to parity. Martin put Hawks back into the lead once again, as he hit through Geraldâs defences, to leave Hawks 4-3 up. Set eight was a see-saw battle between Mick and Ivor, but it was Ivor who battled back from being behind in the decider, to just take it 11-9, and Phoenix finally got the upper hand in the match, with Mervyn completing another treble as he easily beat Martin, leaving Gerald to secure the win for Phoenix by defeating David over four games. The result leaves Phoenix eight points behind the leaders, and still eight points ahead of third, whilst Hawks have marginally closed the big gap to seventh spot.
Equal fourth-placed Leighton Buzzard Avengers visited sixth-placed Milton Keynes Sharks, and it was Avengers who almost walked away with the full set of points, but did record just the third 9-1 scoreline of the season in the Division. The only one that got away was a 13-11 loss in the deciding leg, as Derick Rodrigues just gained the Sharks a single point in set two against Dave Broome, but other than that, it was one-way traffic in terms of the overall score, despite several close sets. Dave went on to win his other two singles against Rupert Greyling and Abhay Tijare, whilst his two teammates, Fabrice Spelta and Mateusz Browarnik, each won a maximum, including the doubles against Rupert and Derick. Both Derick and Rupert pushed Mateusz close, but they both went the way of Avengers. The result boosts Avengers up to third spot, whilst Sharks stay sixth, but they are now eleven points adrift of the fifth-placed team.
Equal fourth-placed Milton Keynes Pumas enjoyed a win on a trip away to third-placed Chackmore Hasbeens, returning with a 6-4 victory under their belts, thus reversing the scoreline from their initial encounter. Julie Snowdon was the star of the show with a maximum, although a couple of the sets were mighty close, as she first edged past Sam Willett 11-9 in the fifth, and it was close again as she and Adam Snowdon inflicted only the second doubles defeat of the season on Bub Burman and Andy Wainwright, at 13-11 in the fifth. Andy Smith added two singles to the Pumas total in beating Andy & Sam, but his run of nine singles wins in a row was ended with a straight games defeat by Bub. Adam was twice unlucky to lose out in tight deciding games, first 11-13 against Andy, then 9-11 against Sam, whilst Bub was the most successful of the Hasbeens with his two singles, backed up by one singles win each for Andy and Sam. The result drops Hasbeens down to fourth place, with Pumas now just one point behind in fifth place.
Next week will feature top versus bottom as Sasaki take on the visiting Hawks, whilst itâs second against fourth as Phoenix host Hasbeens. The other two matches are Avengers, in third, entertaining seventh-placed Spitfires, plus Pumas, in fifth, at home to sixth-placed Sharks.
Player of the Week : Julie Snowdon.
Team of the Week : Leighton Buzzard Avengers.