Interclub 2023

The last matches of the inter-club season were played last Thursday.

The three A Grade matches all ended in 8-4 victories.

The Horribles and Matt had already claimed top spot but cemented it with a win over The Hurrencanes. As he has done throughout this round, Matt Millar was in great touch, winning his three singles  without dropping a set and helping his teammates Graeme Jackson and Malcolm Honour to doubles wins. The chances of Matt making more than a couple of enforced errors in his five matches, is about as remote as the Ascension Island in the Atlantic. Graeme again played solidly for his two singles wins with his game being further enhanced with some consistent forehands to back up his reliable backhand game. Malcolm has been a revelation at number 3, picking up  vital wins during the season. Nathan Cross won two singles for his side with some consistent looping with fill-in player Chris Hood also getting on the board.

3 Cripples finished second, beating Fill-ins. At one stage it was 4-3 to fill-ins, before 3 Cripples won the last  five matches. All six players managed to get a singles win. Alex Kennedy won three singles for his side , with Billy Hebberd beating John Diamanti and Peter Welsh beating Peter Cowdrey. Mikey Kamson won two singles for his side but had to work hard to beat Billy by 9-11,13-11, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10. John beat Peter Welsh while fill-in player Peter Cowdrey beat Billy in five sets, finishing the match with  a great cross court forehand.

Jason Kennedy was to the fore as Box of Chocolates beat The Warriors. Jason won his three singles, with his hardest match being a five setter against Ken Thompsett. As in past years, Jason has been very effective with his ability to hit flat shots. Zac Cowdrey beat Oliver Phipps in four sets and just lost out to Josh Sim on five. Rob Honour beat Josh in four sets and lost to  Oliver in five. Ken picked up two wins for his side and it is great to see him playing after not being available for the first round.

This contest summed up the entire round of A Grade really, with numbers 4-12 capable of taking sets off each other.

The top two sides in B Grade met with Marion's Crew just getting past Warren's side  22 games to 20 after matches were drawn 6 all. Dennis Burkhart , playing at number 2, won two singles for his side and has really impressed this season with his wide array of shots.

Marion Wood won a single and  pushed Esteban Martinez to five sets. Sophia Dillon won a single and two doubles. Esteban from Chile was undefeated in singles. ( Esteban de Chile quedó invicto en individuales). Warren Haszard won two matches for his side and claimed a doubles win with Esteban.

In the 3rd/4th play-off The Rock Stars beat Steve's Team 7-5. This was  a tremendous match with only 4 matches being decided in straight sets. The ever-reliable Ray Zinsli won two matches for his side. Young junior Tommy Phipps battled hard to two two five set wins over his more experienced opponents. Peter Dillon  played a crucial role as well, winning a single and two doubles. Gerry van Kuyk had a great performance for Steve's team, finding the angles with some great shots to record three singles wins. Steve Rowsell also got on the board in singles and won a doubles with Vinny van Kuyk.

In the third B Grade match, David Stephens' Team beat David Foley's Team by 7-5. David Stephens led the way for his side and has impressed in his first table tennis season in Marlborough. Fill-in player Ray Herd played his his first matches of the season, and came away with two wins. Brayden Tierney is a young player in his first season of table tennis and won a vital doubles with David Stephens. . David Foley won two singles for his team with Marcus Osborne and Linda van Kuyk, one each. Marcus and Linda also won a doubles.

Points

A Grade

Matt 88, Alex 72, Jason 69, Nathan 65, Josh 49, Mikey 47

B Grade 1-4

Marion 26, Warren 19, Steve 17, Ray 16

B Grade 5-7

Peter Cowdrey 16,David Stephens 13, David Foley 11

The Horribles and Matt have claimed the second round A Grade title after the penultimate round of matches last Thursday.

They beat 3 Cripples by 8-4 to give them an unassailable 16 point lead. Once again, it was a great team  performance with singles wins going to Matt Millar 3, Graeme Jackson 2 and Malcolm Honour, 1. In his last singles match, Matt beat Alex by 11-7, 3-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7. It was another brilliant match between these two skilful  technicians, with some high quality rallies and good touch play. This reversed the result in the Closed, plated two weeks ago. Graeme  beat Billy Hebberd in five sets, to continue the trend of close matches between the pair this season. Malcolm beat Peter, reversing their first round result. For 3 Cripples, Alex won his remaining two singles while Billy beat Malcolm and combined with Peter for a doubles win.

Box of Chocolates beat Hurrencanes 8-4. Jason Kennedy and Zac Cowdrey won two singles each and Rob Honour one. This contest was the last to finish, with only three matches being decided in straight sets. Jason and Zac were both taken to five sets by Rory Osborne, in two hard hitting encounters. BOC took the doubles 3-0. Nathan Cross won three singles for Hurrencanes. Nathan has been very consistent again this season, with his winning combination of backspin and  sidespin shots. Kylie was rewarded  for some strong play, with an 8-11,8-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-6 win over Rob.

Fill-Ins beat Josh's Team 9-3. Mikey Kamson led the way with three singles wins. He was given a hard match first up, getting home in a five setter against Ken Thompsett by 11-7,11-3, 4-11, 7-11, 11-8 . Mikey was in charge in the first two sets , before Ken played solidly to force the deciding set. John Diamanti had a good night , winning a single and two doubles. His backhand flick over the table was working well. Josh Sim won two singles and showed good tactical awareness to best fill-in player Chris Hood , in four sets.Ken won the third point for his side. Young junior Harry Speakman filled in at number 3 and gave a really good account of himself, impressing with short pushes and forehand topspins .

In the B Grade play-offs, Marion's Crew beat Steve's Team 8.4. The singles points were won by Marion Wood 2, Dennis Burkhart 2 and Sophia Dillon, 1. Their team took the doubles 3-0. They have been the form  team in the B Grade in the second round..

Steve Rowsell literally rallied well to beat Sophia in five sets and Marion and Dennis in four  sets to remain undefeated for his side, Gerry van Kuyk also got on the board,

Warren Haszard led his side to a 7-5 win over  The Rock Stars. Warren didn't  drop a set in his three  singles matches. Esteban Martinez won two singles and played a great match against an enthusiastic junior, Tommy Phipps.  Tommy took it 6-11, 11-2, 4-11, 11-7, 13-11, with some good attacking play. Janice Thompsett combined with Warren for a close five set doubles win. For The Rockstars, Tommy won two singles, with Peter Dillon joining fill-in player Lucy Thom. on one win.

A clean sweep of the doubles, saw PBB beat David Foley's team 7-5. Earlier, Peter Cowdrey had won two singles for PBB and in his third match, lost in four sets  to David Foley. Barbara Burkhart and Blake  Hebberd also contributed singles points.

David went through undefeated in singles for his side with Marcus Osborne winning two out of three singles.

Points

A Grade- Matt 79, Alex 63, Nathan 61, Jason 60, Josh 45, Mikey 43

B Grade

Places 1-4

Marion 19, Warren 13, Steve 12, Ray 8

Places 5-7

PBB (Peter C) 16, David S 5, David F 5

It was business as usual for the leading teams in the competition as they had comfortable wins in last Thursday's interclub.

In the A Grade, The Horribles and Matt beat Box of Chocolates 7-5. They were 5-4 down in the singles, but came through 3-0 in the doubles with Malcolm Honour in good form. Earlier, Matt Millar led the way with three singles wins. Matt makes very few unforced errors and has great ball control. Graeme Jackson beat Zac Cowdrey in the last batch of singles. This  was a good win as Zac's forehand has been firing on all cylinders recently. For Box of Chocolates, Jason Kennedy won two singles. Rob Honour joined him on two wins, including a four set win over Graeme. Rob also managed to get a set from Matt , which is a hard thing to do. Zac beat Malcolm in the first match of the night.

The 3 Cripples beat the Warriors 8-4. As per last week, their singles points came from Alex Kennedy 3, Billy Hebberd 2 and Peter Welsh 1. In the match between the number one players, Alex beat Josh Sim 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 13-11. The match went against type as Josh was up to the table driving and smashing with Alex back defending. Josh had some success with some hard hits, while Alex showed his versatility with some great lobs. Billy beat Ken Thompsett in four sets, setting the ball up well for his backhand hits. Peter beat fill-in player David Foley in a close match. Josh won his two remaining singles, while Ken beat Peter in the first match of the night.

A great doubles performance saw Hurrencanes beat Fill-Ins 8-4. Nathan Cross and Rory Osborne, at numbers 1 and 2 respectively, won two singles each. Kylie Hurren beat John Diamanti and took a set from Mikey Kamson.

Mikey beat Nathan in four sets to end the night unbeaten in singles. Reuben Vira hit some impressive forehands to get on the board for Fill-Ins.

In the B Grade play-offs for places 1-4, Marion's Crew beat The Rock Stars 9-3. Marion Wood, who picked up two Marlborough Closed doubles titles last week, won three singles, including a five set win over the well-performed Ray Zinsli. Dennis Burkhart attacked well for two wins, while fill-in player Lucy Thom played well to win two singles and both doubles.  Ray won his two remaining singles.

Steve's Team beat Warren's Team by 7-5. This was a very interesting match with four players finishing on two singles wins each. Steve Rowsell  just lost out to Warren Haszard in five sets in his last match, while Gerry van Kuyk did likewise against Esteban Martinez.

Earlier Steve had beaten Esteban with Gerry beating Warren , with some great angled shots. The  overall competition this year has featured players with different styles, which has made for some interesting results. Vinne Van Kuyk also got on the board for Steve's Men.

In the places for 5-7, PBB beat David Stephens' team by 7-5, with 5 points coming by default, as unfortunately  a third player was injured on the day. Peter Cowdrey beat David in five sets and combined with Barbara Burkhart for a doubles win..

Harry Speakman won his three singles,with the young junior having confidence with his attacking shots. David won his two remaining singles, with the pen-holder producing some tricky reverse serves.

Points

A Grade

Matt 70, Alex 59, Nathan 57, Jason 51, Josh 42, Mikey 33

B Grade

1-4 play-offs

Marion 10, Steve 8, Warren 5, Ray 3

5-6 playoffs

Peter C 8, David S 5 (David Foley's team yet to play)

After Thursday's matches, The Horribles and Matt still have a 12 point lead in the A Grade, while Marion's team finished at the top of the B Grade after the round-robin. The B Grade play-offs start on 24 August.

Matt Millar again led his team from the front as they beat Fill-Ins 9-3. Matt's last match against Mikey Kamson was full of interest as Mikey had won their previous two matches. Matt played a  good tactical match, hitting some great angles to get home in four sets.

Mikey hit some very fast drives to win the third set. Graeme Jackson again put in a consistent performance , with his mixture of defensive shots and attacking forehands giving him two wins. Malcolm Honour won the first match of the night and also featured in two doubles wins. John Diamanti got on the board for Fill-ins with a five set win over Malcolm, with Mikey adding the two other points.

It was the same scoreline as 3 Cripples beat Box of Chocolates with all three team members getting on the board in singles. Alex Kennedy won his three singles, but dropped the first set to his dad, Jason. Billy Hebberd won his first two matches and then nearly made it three wins for the night, just losing out to Zac Cowdrey by 11-6,11-6, 8-11, 3-11, 12-10. Peter Welsh beat Rob Honour 8-11, 14-12, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11 in the last singles of the night. This was a very close match between two consistent hitters.

Zac  won his two remaining singles with Jason beating Peter in the first batch of singles.

There was a tremendous match between The Warriors and The Hurrencanes. The latter won it by 24 games to  20 after matches were drawn 6 all . Nathan Cross was in good touch, with a mixture of safe pushes, blocks and topspin drives. Rory Osborne beat Ollie Phipps 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6 in the first match of the night. Marlbrough's two leading juniors produced a thrilling contest with both boys smashing and looping on the forehand. Kylie Hurren just lost to Ollie in five sets, but won both her doubles. Josh Sim and Ken Thompsett won two each for The Warriors.

Marion Wood's Team finished the B Grade  round-robin unbeaten as they beat David Stephens' team by 8-4.  Marion and fellow left-hander Sophia Dillon won two each for their side. David was unbeaten for his team and played a tactical match against Marion, winning it in four sets. Blake Hebberd filled in and beat the well-performed Dennis Burkhart in four sets.

A great doubles performance saw Warren's Team beat David Foley's Team by 7-5. In the singles, Chilean Esteban Martinez  won two singles , with Warren Haszard and Janice Thompsett, one each. David was undefeated for his side , with some good all-round play.

Marcus Osborne backed him up with two wins , including a four set win over Warren.

The Rock Stars beat Steve's Men by 8-4. Ray Zinsli led the way with three good wins. Ray plays a thoughtful game, without many mistakes. Tommy Phipps won a single and two doubles. He also took Steve Rowsell and Gerry van Kuyk to five sets meaning this enthusiastic youngster played  five sets in all of his matches. Peter Dillon also won a point for the Rock Stars. Steve and Gerry shared the points for their team.

Points

A Grade

Matt 62, Alex 50, Nathan 48, Jason 46, Josh 38, Mikey 29

B Grade (after round-robin)

Marion 56, Warren 44, Steve 41, Ray 40, David F 36, David S 31, Peter C 25

8-4  was  the score line in 4 of the 6 matches played last Thursday.

Box of Chocolates beat Fill-ins. Jason Kennedy and Zac won two each and Rob Honour one. Rob had a great match with Reuben Vira, managing to block  Reuben’s fierce forehand loops to get home in five sets. Their side won the doubles 3-0. Mikey Kamson won three singles for his side, but was pushed all the way in a five setter with Jason. John Diamanti beat Rob in the last singles of the night in another close five setter.

The Hurrencanes beat 3 Cripples. In the last match of the night, Nathan Cross and Rory Osborne beat Alex Kennedy and Billy Hebberd 11-8, 11-7, 2-11,11-9. This was the only match that went past the third set. Earlier, Kylie Hurren joined Nathan and Rory on two singles wins. Alex powered his way to three wins and combined with Peter Welsh for a doubles win.

In the B Grade, David Foley's team beat PBB. David Foley and Marcus Osborne won two singles each playing in the number 1 and 2 positions respectively. Cora Wilson filled in at number 3 and the under-11 player came away with a singles win over Blake Hebberd and two doubles wins. Peter Cowdrey was unbeaten in singles for his side, with Barbara Burkhart also getting on the board.

A great doubles effort from Ray Zinsli, Peter Dillon and Tommy Phipps saw The Rock Stars home against David Stephens's team. Earlier Ray had won three singles for his team. Peter and Tommy won a single each. David won his remaining two singles while fill-in player David Smith matched that effort. Interestingly with the games up to 11, two of the games scores between Tommy and Braden Tierney featured a 24-22 and a 21-19 set.

In the remaining A Grade match, The Horribles and Matt beat The Warriors 10-2. Graeme Jackson has been in great touch of late, and he finished the night on three singles wins, with his brand of solid defence and controlled topspins. Matt Millar didn't drop a set in his singles matches. Malcolm Honour won a single and played a great match with Josh Sim, with Josh coming back from two sets to nil, to get the win. Ken Thompsett gained the other point for his side.

Gerry van Kuyk led the way as Steve's Men beat Warren's Team in a B Grade match. He won his three singles and  showed good placement around  the table. Steve Rowsell , playing at number one, won two singles  and had a close contest with Warren Haszrad, just losing out in four sets. Fill-in player Lucy Thom nearly got on the board  in the last singles of the night with Janice Thompsett  taking the match  11-8,11-9, 3-11, 7-11, 14-12. Warren won two matches for his side with fill-in player Sophia Dillon winning a singles.

Points

A Grade

Matt 52, Jason 43, Nathan 41, Alex 40, Josh 32, Mikey 26

B Grade

Marion 47, Steve 37, Warren 36, David Foley 31, Ray 31, David Stephens 27, Peter Cowdrey 25

The Horribles and Matt extended their lead in the A Grade last Thursday.

They beat The Hurrencanes 9-3. Matt Millar was again untouchable in the singles, winning 99 points in his single  matches and only conceding 32 points. Graeme Jackson backed him up with two singles wins while Malcolm Honour had  long matches, winning a five set encounter with Kylie Hurren. Nathan Cross won two singles for his side, with Rory Osborne also getting  on the board.

3 Cripples beat Fill-Ins 7-5. Alex Kennedy again led from the front with three good wins. Billy Hebberd won  a single and also took a set from Mikey Kamson. Peter Welsh helped his side to a clean sweep in the doubles.

Mikey won his remaining two singles. It is good to see Mikey back after being  unavailable at the start of the round. Fill-in player Tim Wilson, an ex Blenheim resident, also won two singles with his experience in the Wellington competition coming through in his five set win over Billy. John Diamanti beat Peter in five sets in the last single of the night.

Box of Chocolates beat The Warriors 7-5. Jason Kennedy had a good night ,  with three wins against strong opposition.  Zac Cowdey and Rob Honour won a single each. In the last singles of the night, Rob beat promising junior Ollie Phipps in five sets, with Ollie impressing with his relaxed style. BOC took the doubles 2-1  The dynamic duo of Josh Sim and Ken Thompsett won two each for their side.

In the B Grade, Marion's team  beat Peter Cowdrey's team by 9-3. Dennis Burkhart has been "on fire" this round and he won his three singles, including a  five set win over Peter Cowdrey.Marion Wood  gained two wins, playing at number 1. Sophia Dillon also won two singles, including a five set win over fellow junior Blake Hebberd. Peter won his remaining matches for his side and also picked up a win with Blake.

Warren's team beat David Stephens' side by 7-5. Warren Haszard and Esteban Martinez won two singles each and at one stage led 6 matches to 2. Interestingly, David Stephens and Harry Spoeakman also won two singles for their team . In a contest of unpredictable results, David beat Warren  in five sets and lost to Esteban. Harry lost to Warren in five and  beat Esteban in five. Janice Thompsett won a single and two doubles for Warren's team

David Foley's team needed the calculator out to get the result against Ray's Team. Matches and games were drawn 6 all, 23 all with David's team taking it 430 points to 406. It was  a real team effort with David and  Marcus  Osborne sharing four singles points . Fill-in player Lucy Thom beat Peter Dillon in five sets and just lost out to the enthusiastic Tommy Phipps, in her last match. Ray Zinsli had a tremendous performance for his side, with his consistent play earning him three singles wins and two doubles wins.

Points

A Grade

Matt 41, Alex 36, Nathan 32, Josh 30, Jason 26, Mikey 17. Jason and Mikey's teams have played one match less.

B Grade

Marion 47, Warren 31, Steve 29, David S 23, David F 22, Ray 22, Peter  21.  Peter and Marion have yet to have the bye.

There were some close matches in the A Grade last Thursday, while in the B Grade Marion's Crew continued  to dominate .

The 3 Cripples beat The Horribles and Matt 7-5 in the first A Grade match. Alex Kennedy was given a tough match first up, when Malcolm Honour came back from two sets down to force a decider. In the fifth set, Alex managed to maintain a lead to get the win but Malcolm mixed the game up well with some no-spin blocks and hard forehand hits. Alex just lost out to Matt Millar by 11-9, 10-12, 13-15, 11-8, 12-10 in his last singles match. It was a great spectacle, with Matt playing away from the table and getting tremendous height and placement on his lobs forcing Alex to smash the ball continuously. It really was that close. Billy Hebberd had a good night, picking up two singles wins and two doubles. He just got home in five sets against Graeme Jackson. Billy held off a comeback from Graeme and played attacking shots confidently in the fifth set. Peter Welsh beat Malcolm in five sets in the last singles of the night. Both players rallied for position in a real tactical battle .

Matt was undefeated for his side in singles with Graeme also getting on the board.

Nathan Cross led the Hurrencanes to an 8-4 win over Box of Chocolates. He didn't drop a set in his singles matches and dominated proceedings with tight serves and topspin loops. Rory Osborne won two singles and was quick to apply the topspin with some crashing  drives. Kylie Hurren again had a great performance with two doubles wins and went so close to getting a win in the singles, losing by two points in five set thrillers against Zac Cowdrey and Rob Honour. Kylie played steadily and won points with good backhand technique.

Jason Kennedy won two matches for his side , including an 11-9, 13-15, 11-8, 11-13, 11-8 win over Rory. Over the last couple of seasons, these two  players invariably go into a fifth set. Zac and Rob  shared the remaining points for their team.

Josh Sim won three singles as his side beat Mikey's Team  24 games to 23 after matches were drawn 6 all. Warren Haszard gave Josh plenty to think about in their match, as he blocked some strong drives in the first three sets. Josh changed  his game in the  fourth and fifth sets, hitting flat and mixing the play up to get the win. Ken Thompsett won two singles and just missed out against Chris in a five set match that could have gone either way. Esteban Martinez filled in at number three and won vital  games in his matches to give the team the overall win. Chris won two singles for Mikey's team , with Warren and John. one each. Warren was undefeated in doubles.

In the B Grade, Marion's Crew beat The Rock Stars by 10-2. Marion  Wood had a great performance for her team, winning three singles without dropping a set. Throughout the season, Marion has impressed with her variety of shots and returning ability. Dennis Burkhart, at number two, is another consistent player who attacked confidently for two victories. Sophia Dillon also picked up two wins, including a five set win over Tommy Phipps, the 2023 Intermediate Schools Champion.Ray Zinsli won two singles for his side.

David Foley's team beat David Stephens' side by 7-5. They lost the singles 4-5 (David Foley 2, David Smith 1, Luke Moratti 1) but came home 3-0 in the doubles. David Stephens has been in good touch since moving to Blenheim and the pen-holder picked up three wins, including a four set win over the well-performed David Foley. Young junior  Harry Speakman was in good form , gaining two wins with attacking play.

Steve's Men beat  PBB by 7-5. Steve Rowsell at number one  won his three singles. His toughest match was against Peter Cowdrey, winning it 11-8, 11-9, 9-11-9-11, 11-9. Gerry van Kuyk  had some long matches and almost emulated Steve with three wins, but just dipped out 15-13 in the fifth against Peter.  Fill-in player Lucy Thom did well to beat Barbara Burkhart in five sets, in the first match. Peter ended with four wins from five for his team. Blake Hebberd also got on the board..

There was more exciting fare in last week's inter-club matches.

In the A Grade, Box of Chocolates and The Horribles and Matt ended 6 matches all and  26 games all. BOC won the bonus point by 497 points to 481. It was a late night for these players with seven matches going into the fifth set.

Jason Kennedy won two singles for his side against Graeme Jackson and Malcolm Honour. Zac Cowdrey and Rob Honour won a single each with their side taking the doubles 2-1. Zac won 153 points in his singles matches, which all went to five sets.

After losing out to Malcolm by 16-14 in the fifth set, he played a tremendous match against Matt Millar just missing out by 11-9. 12-14,11-4, 4-11,12-10 going point for point with some crisp attacking play. In his last match he beat Graeme in five sets.

Matt won his remaining two singles with Graeme and Malcolm ending with  a singles win each.

The Warriors beat 3 Cripples 22 games to 19 after matches were drawn 6 all. Josh Sim and Ken Thompsett playing in the top two positions, won two singles each. Fill-in player David Foley played  a big role, with  a singles win over Peter Welsh and a doubles win  with Ken.

He also took Billy Hebberd to five sets. Alex Kennedy didn't drop a set in his matches, but had to work hard against Josh and Ken. Alex has the happy knack of being able to win points quickly without taking many risks. His side won the doubles 2-1.

Nathan Cross led the way as The Hurrencanes beat Mikey's team 8-4. Nathan's serve was working well and he was returning spin serves with some great topspin drives. Rory Osborne picked up two wins, including an 11-8, 10-12,11-8, 7-11, 12-10 win over the impressive Reuben Vira, from Vanuatu. Rory just missed out by 12-10 in the fifth set against fill-in player, Chris Hood in a match that could have gone either way. Kylie Hurren  was two sets to one down against John Diamanti before winning it by 3-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, finishing the match with a backhand winner. She came back from two sets down against Chris, before Chris just got home in a tight deciding set. Reuben won a single for his side  and played well against Nathan, returning serves with some very forceful forehands.

All three matches in the B Grade ended 7-5.

David Stephens' team beat PBB. Young junior Harry Speakman led the way with three wins, including a four set win over Peter Cowdrey. David also went well, picking up two wins . He also came back from two sets down against Peter Cowdrey, before Peter took the fifth set. Harry and Cora Wilson won their doubles match. Both players attended Southern Region coaching in Dunedin two weeks ago. It is probably safe to say that with a combined age of 22, they would be the youngest pair to win  a match in senior interclub for some years. For PBB, Peter won two singles with Barbara Burkhart and Blake Hebberd, one each.

Marion's Crew beat Steve's Men. Marion Wood won three singles, including a five set win over Steve Rowsell from being two sets down. Marion is just a model of consistency with a variety of shots. Dennis Burkhart won two singles to carry on his good form of late. He was close to a third win, losing in the fifth set to Steve. Sophia Dillon won a single and a double. Steve won two singles and Gerry, one. Fill-in player Lucy Thom won a double with Gerry.

Warren's Team beat Ray's Team . Warren Haszard had three comfortable singles wins. Fill-in player Luke Moratti worked hard for his two wins. He was also undefeated in doubles. Janice Thompsett won a double with Luke and played well against Primary Schools Champion, Tommy Phipps with Tommy taking it in the fifth set. David Smith  filled in for Ray Zinsli and won two singles. Peter Dillon joined Tommy on one win.

Points

A Grade

The Horribles and Matt 26, The Hurrencanes (Nathan) 20, 3 Cripples (Alex) 20 , The Warriors (Josh) 18, Box of Chocolates (Jason) 14, Mikey 6.

The match between Jason  and Mikey's teams was postponed  from 29 June.

B Grade

Marion's Crew 26, Warren 23, Steve's Men 21, Ray 14, PBB (Peter Cowdrey) 13, David Stephens 13, David Foley 7.

The teams of David Stephens, Ray and David Foley have had the bye.

On Saturday 29 July , the Marlborough A Team of 6 men and 6 women play Nelson in the annual Perry Shield match. The action starts at 10am at Simcox Stadium.

Players were back in action last Thursday , following a one week break.

In the A Grade, Box of Chocolates beat 3 Criples 24 games to 20 after matches were drawn 6 all. Jason Kennedy, playing his first match for three weeks, led the way  in the singles department with two wins. Zac Cowdrey won  a single and did well to take Alex Kennedy to five sets. Zac just lost out to Billy Hebberd in his last match in a close five setter, with Billy counter hitting well to get the win by 11-8 in the fifth. Rob Honour had a good night, picking up a single and two doubles wins. Billy won two singles to go with Alex's three wins. These two  players then combined for a doubles win.

In the second A Grade match, The Warriors beat The Hurrencanes  24 games to 21 after matches were drawn 6 all. Josh Sim was in sparkling form , picking up three wins.His ability to keep to keep the topspin going in the rallies was impressive.Ken Thompsett, who didn't play the full first round, won a single and two doubles. He went well against Nathan Cross, just losing out in the fifth set. Fill-in player David Stephens won  a vital doubles point with Ken. Rory joined Nathan on two singles wins. Rory beat Ken in four sets and  hit some tremendous backhand winners. Kylie Hurren won a single and a double.

In the third A Grade match, Matt's team beat   Mikey's Team 10-2 with 5 matches coming by default. John Diamanti and fill-in player Chris Hood played for Miley's Team with their third player being unavailable at the last minute.

Matt Millar again was the class act, winning his two singles and countering  his opponents shots with his effortless style. Graeme Jackson also won his two singles, showing good ball control in his five set win over Chris.

Malcolm Honour won a single against John and pushed Chris extremely hard in their singles match. The second point for Mikey's Team came in the doubles with John's ability to kill the high balls being the difference.

In the B Grade, a great team performance saw Marion's team beat Marcus's team by 10-2. Dennis Burkhart started things off with a four set win over the well-performed David Foley and ended the night unbeaten. Consistent left-hander Marion Wood also picked up three wins.Fellow left-hander Sophia Dillon won a single and two doubles. She nearly got a second singles win. losing out 11-9 in the fifth set against the big hitting Marcus Osborne. David won the second point for Marcus's team.

Warren's Team beat PBB 8-4. Warren  Haszard led the way from the number one position with three wins, including a win over Peter Cowdrey,a player he always has a tough match against. Esteban Martinez went well for two wins while Janice Thompsett won a single and two doubles from the number three position. For PBB, Peter won his remaining two singles, with Barbara Burkhart getting on the board with a five set win over Janice. Under-11 player  Cora Wilson, who won the Under-13 Girls' Doubles Title at the Otago Open last weekend, played well in the doubles with Peter.

There was a unique situation in the third match as Steve's Men beat David Stephens' team by 7-5. David's team had no regular players playing as David was filling in for the A Grade and two other  players were unavailable.

Steve Rowsell won his three  singles fairly comfortably. Gerry van Kuyk also won his three singles and showed good stamina to win two of them in five sets. Vinny won a doubles match with Steve.  Fill-in player David Smith was joined by Peter Dillon and Tommy Phipps from the "bye" team and all three players got on the board.

The new competition started Thursday with an A Grade of 6 teams and 7 in the B.

Matt Millar's team started the A Grade well with  an 8-4 win over Josh's Team. Matt  won his three singles as expected, but there was an outstanding performance from Malcolm Honour, who played in the B Grade last round. Malcolm won two singles including  a 13-11,11-7, 8-11, 11-8 win over Josh Sim. In this match, Malcolm managed to block some of Josh's best shots and  when the opportunities came, he managed to hit confidently into the corners. Graeme Jackson picked up a singles and a doubles win .He came  back from two sets  down against Ken Thompsett and just missed out 13-11 in the fifth in a match of narrow margins . Ken won two singles for his side and  combined with Ollie Phipps for a doubles win. Josh won the fourth point for his side.

Alex Kennedy led the way as his side beat Nathan's team 7-5. Alex showed his repertoire, with a series of well placed serves, flicks and topspin drives. Billy Hebberd won a single and played a part in his team's  clean sweep of the doubles, One particular shot in the doubles saw Billy end the long rally with a great backhand down the line. Peter Welsh, another player who played in the B Grade in the first round, played brilliantly in the doubles with Alex. He had some very effective serves which his opponents couldn't attack.

Nathan Cross picked up two wins for his side and got to "deuce" against Alex in two of the sets. Fill-in player Chris Hood also picked up two wins. Kylie Hurren, the outstanding player in the B Grade, beat Peter 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.

The third match between the teams of  Mikey and Jason was postponed.

In the B Grade, the Rock Stars beat PBB 8-4.  Ray Zinsli led from the number 1 position, winning his three singles and helping his team-mates Peter Dillon and Tommy Phipps to two doubles wins. Peter  gained two wins, including a five set win over Barbara Burkhart. The closeness of the match was such that Peter won 42 points to Barbara's 44. Tommy won  a single and a double.David Smith filled in for Peter Cowdrey and won two matches for PBB with Blake Hebberd also getting on the board.

Steve's Team beat David Foley's Team 7-5. Steve Rowsell and Gerry van Kuyk won two singles each for their side. Vinny van Kuyk won a single and a double. There was a unique occurrence in the first doubles with Bjorn Cowdrey being the only non van Kuyk out of the four players with Bjorn and Linda beating Gerry and Vinny by 9-11. 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 12-10. David  won three singles for his side but was taken to five sets by Gerry. David didn't play much at the start of the season but he is hard to beat.  Bjorn also notched up a singles win.

Marion's Team just managed a win by 23 games to 21 against Warren's team after  matches were drawn 6 all. Dennis Burkhart set the tone when he beat Warren Haszard in the first batch of  matches. He then went on to win another single and a doubles. Marion Wood and Sophia Dillon won a single each and combined for an 11-7, 5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4 win over Warren and Janice Thompsett. For  Warren's Team, Esteban Martinez stood  out with three hard fought wins, including a win over Marion by 11-9 in the fifth. Bueno partido Esteban. Warren played well to win his remaining two singles.

The competition takes a break and recommences on 13 July.

Oliver Phipps, Harry Speakman and Cora Wilson are attending the Southern Region Junior Squad Training in Dunedin later this week. Alex Kennedy was an assistant coach last year and this year is one of the coaches  who will be taking the various groups.

They will also be taking part in the Otago Open. The Open always attracts good entries which is testament to the work that Ben Duffy and the volunteers put in.

The A and B Grade titles were decided last Thursday but the results were in doubt until the last matches.

The Expendaballs team of Matt Millar, Jason Kennedy and Billy Hebberd took out the Tarrant Cup  when they beat Triple Threat in the A Grade Final by 7-5. Matt won two singles and Jason and Billy one each, to be 4-5 down after singles.

They came home 3-0 in the doubles to claim the title. Earlier Billy Hebberd beat promising junior Oliver Phipps 11-9, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6 to give his side a 6-5 lead. This was a very close match with Oliver really going shot for shot with Billy.

Matt and Jason, who have played doubles together for many years, beat Alex and Zac in the last match of the night. Alex won his three singles to remain unbeaten in singles for the season while Zac worked hard for his two wins.

Gream Team beat Left Right Left 8-4 to claim third. Michael Kamson was in explosive form for the winners, with his flowing forehand and backhand shots. Bra spel Mikey! Graeme Jackson and Rory Osborne won a single each. The trio played some outstanding doubles taking them 3-0 without dropping a set. Nathan Cross and Josh Sim won two each for their side. They had intriguing matches against Graeme in singles, both went to five sets with Graeme showing good tactics with his anti-spin rubber.

In the B Grade, Kylie's team beat PC Gone Mad by 7-5 which as it transpired was enough to give them the B Grade title. Kylie Hurren did what she has done all season, winning matches and inspiring her team-mates in the doubles. Indeed, since a first up loss on 4 May, she has won all her singles matches. Fill-in player Esteban Martinez went well for two wins. Young junior Blake Hebberd won a single and a double and has provided vital wins at number three this season. Peter Cowdrey won two matches for his side, with the big hitting Marcus Osborne also picking up a win. Vinny van Kuyk , in his first season, picked up a doubles win.

Malcolm's Team beat  What If 7-5 to claim second place. Malcolm Honour  won his three singles and only lost once during the season. Marion Wood was again her  normal consistent self, picking up two singles wins and being unbeaten in doubles. Linda van Kyk won the first double with Marion. Peter Welsh won two singles for his side but had to come from two sets behind to beat Marion. Harry Speakman won a single and took Malcolm to five. Janice won a single and a double with Peter.

The Braves beat John's Team 7-5 with a real team effort. Warren Haszard won two singles, including a win over John Diamanti. Young Tommy Phipps played really well, beating Gerry van Kuyk in his first match and then went on to win  a further single and a double.

Dennis Burkhart chipped in with a single. John Diamanti and Gerry each finished on two wins for their side, with Garry claiming a win over the well performed Warren,

Steve's Team got home  by 7-5 over Blenheim Battlers. Fill-in player David Foley joined regular number 1  Steve Rowsell on two wins with Peter Dillon picking up a win. David came close to three wins, just losing out in five sets to Ray Zinsli, who had a great night  for Blenheim Battlers. In the last single of the night, the winner was always going to be a Dillon, with Sophia beating dad, Peter.

Points

Kylie 54, Malcolm 53, PC Gone Mad (Peter Cowdrey ) 50, Steve 47, The Braves (Warren) 42, John 40, What If (Peter Welsh) 39, Blenheim Battlers (Ray) 38.

There were more intriguing results in last Thursday's inter-club matches.

In the A Grade, Triple Threat cemented their place in this week's final when they beat Left Right Left 9-3. Alex Kennedy was again in good touch, not dropping a set in singles and dominating in the doubles. Zac Cowdrey backed him up with two wins while Oliver Phipps won a single and two doubles. Oliver played Rob Honour in his first match and took the first two sets before just missing out in five. Nathan Cross won two singles for his team. David Stephens, who has been doing well in the B Grade, filled in for Josh Sim and gained a set from Oliver.

Every point counts as they say and it certainly did on the next table  as Gream Team beat Expendaballs 459 points to 457 as matches and sets finished 6 matches all, 25 games all. Michael Kamson had three wins, but had to come from 2 sets to 1 behind, to beat Billy Hebberd. Billy has the happy knack of really playing well against the top players. Michael led his team-mates Graeme Jackson and Rory Osborne to three doubles wins. Ken Thompsett filled in for Matt Millar and emulated Billy and Jason Kennedy with two wins.

This was Ken's second outing of the season, and his game is such that he is never out of form as he has a very consistent topspin technique.

The  final standings were

Alex 45, Matt 41, Michael 41, Nathan 29

This week is the final between Alex and Matt while Michael and Nathan playing for third place. To separate Matt and Michael , it went down to head to head between the 2 teams ( 7-5, 6-6) as incredibly both teams ended with 38 matches for and 34 against, with a plus 7 games ratio.

In the B Grade, Malcolm's Team beat Kylie's Team 21 games to 20 after matches were drawn 6 all. Malcolm Honour and Marion Wood won two each for their team and won the last doubles. Levi van Kuyk did well to win a doubles and to take Esteban Martinez to five sets.

Kylie Hurren was her usual consistent self, picking up three wins , while Blake Hebberd joined Esteban on one win.

Blenheim Battlers lived up to their name when they beat What If by the exact same score as the above match. Ray Zinsli won two singles with Barbara Burkhart and Sophia Dillon gaining a win each and Sophia was also undefeated in doubles.

Peter Welsh put in another strong performance with three wins for What If, while junior Harry Speakman backed him up with two wins.

PC Gone Mad beat John's Team 7-5. This was a great team effort with Peter Cowdrey and Marcus Osborne winning two each. Vinny van Kyk won a single and two doubles. John Diamanti was undefeated for his side, with Gerry van Kuyk, in only his second match this year, beating his son in four sets to get on the board.

Fill-in player David Foley led the way as Steve's Team beat The Braves 7-5. David is another one of those players who always seems in form, even with little practice. Steve Rowsell backed him up with two wins while Peter Dillon won his last single to take the contest into a doubles decider.  For The Braves, Warren Haszard won two matches and Dennis Burkhart one. Tommy Phipps just lost out in two five setters in singles, but won both his doubles matches.

Points (with one round to go)

Kylie 46, Malcolm 45, Peter  Cowdrey 45, Steve 39, Peter Welsh 35, John 35, Warren 34, Ray 33

The half way tournament is on 22 June with the new A and B Grade competition starting on 29 June.

There were some very interesting results from last Thursday's matches.

In the A Grade, Gream Team beat Alex's Team 9-3. Michael Kamson, Graeme Jackson and Rory Osborne won two singles with their side taking a clean sweep of  the doubles. Graeme became the first player locally to take Alex Kennedy to five sets.

Ken Thompsett filled in for Matt Millar as Expendables beat Left Right Left 8-4. Ken was in the action right from the start, winning two singles and two doubles. Jason Kennedy, playing at number 1, matched Ken with the same number of wins.

Billy Hebberd won a single  and helped his side win the doubles, all in the fifth set. Nathan Cross  won three matches without  dropping a set . Josh Sim also got on the board for Left Right Left.

Points;

Alex 35, Expendables (Matt) 35, Gream Team (Mikey) 34, Left Right Left (Nathan) 26

Expendables play Gream Team this  Thursday, with the winner advancing to the final on15 June, probably against Alex's Team

In the B Grade, What If didn't leave anything to chance beating John's Team 10-2. Harry Speakman set the tone , when he beat the well performed John Diamanti in five sets in the first batch of matches.  Harry ended the night undefeated as did  number 1, Peter Welsh.

Janice Thompsett beat Braden Tierney in four close sets and helped her team to a 3-0 doubles success. John and Gerry van Kuyk won a single each for their team.

Steve's Team beat Kylie's Team by 7-5. Steve Rowsell was in good touch picking up two wins as did fill-in player David Foley. Peter Dillon had a great match against young junior Blake Hebberd, just getting home in five sets. Kylie Hurren led the way for her team with three singles wins with fill-in player Luke Moratti winning  a single.

Malcolm Honour and Marion Wood  won three singles each as Mally's Team beat Blenheim Battlers 8-4. Fill-in player Lucy Thom won a double with Marion. Ray Zinsli, Barbra Burkhart and Esteban Martinez shared the points for their side.

PC Gone Mad beat The Braves 21 games to 20 after matches were drawn 6 all. Warren Haszard didn't drop a set in his matches with Dennis Burkhart and Tommy Phipps winning a single each.. Peter Cowdrey and Marcus Osborne won two each for their team with Vinny van Kuyk also getting on the board.

Points:

Kylie 40, Malcolm 38, Peter Cowdrey 37, Steve 31, John 30, Warren 29, Peter Welsh 29, Ray 26

Results from 25 May 2023  were

A Grade: Gream Team 7 Left Right Left 5

            Alex 8 Expendables 4

B Grade PC Gone Mad 6  Steve 6 (PC Gone mad won on a count back of points)

          Kylie 9   What If 3

          John 8 Ray 4

         Malcolm 7 The Braves 5

The excitement generated  at last weekend's Redwood Trust Marlborough Open, continued last Thursday with some very close matches in inter-club.

In the A Grade, Alex's team edged past Left Right Left  by 23  games to 21 after matches were drawn 6 all. Alex Kennedy has been in superb touch this season and won his three singles without the loss of a set. The most points that an opponent managed to win in a match was 19. Zac Cowdrey started things off with a win over Rob Honour  and then took the opposition number 1, Nathan Cross,  to five sets. Oliver Phipps, playing only his second match at this level, took a set off Rob and combined with Alex for a doubles  win.

Nathan won his remaining two singles , with Josh Sim matching him with two wins.

In the second A Grade match, Expendaballs had to work hard for their 7 -5 win over Gream Team. Matt Millar and Billy Hebberd won two singles each. Billy must like getting to 10 all in his matches, as he won sets by 12-10 (3 times) and 14-12 (once) in his two wins.

Jason Kennedy won a single and a doubles with Billy. Michael Kamson won three singles for his side. His four set win over Matt was an entertaining affair with some great rallies. Michael was relentless with his attack and even when the score was close, kept going for winners. Graham Jackson also go on the board.

In the B Grade, Kylie's Heroes beat The Braves 9-3. David Smith, playing his first match of the season , won his three singles including a win over the well-performed Warren Haszard. Number one Kylie Hurren also won her three singles and was undefeated in doubles.

Blake Hebberd won a single against Tommy Phipps  by 6-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 15-13. This would be a contender of match of the night as both young juniors were really "going for it" with their forehand drives. Even when the fifth  set was close, both boys were still attacking.

Tommy also took David to five sets, and was rewarded for his good play when he combined with Dennis Burkhart for a doubles win. Dennis and Warren shared the singles points for their side.

Malcolm's Team beat John Team's  by 7-5.  The win was confirmed when Marion Wood and Luke Moratti beat David Stephens and Esteban Martinez in five sets in the last match of the night. Earlier Marion won two singles, with Luke joining Linda van Kuyk on one win.

David won his three singles and got some good spin with his pen-hold grip. He was also impressive  with his tricky reverse pendulum serves. Esteban won two singles. Braden Tierney is playing inter club for the first time this year  and took a set from Linda.

Blenheim Battlers beat PC Gone Mad on a countback after matches were drawn 6 all. Ray Zinsli led the way with three singles wins and continued to show great ball control. Barbara Burkhart and Sophia Dillon won a single each and combined for a straight sets doubles win.

Peter Cowdrey and Marcus Osborne won two singles each for their side while Vinny van Kuyk picked up a doubles win with Peter.

Steve's Team beat What If by two games on the countback after matches were drawn 6 all. Peter Wells picked up two singles wins, including a win over promising junior Harry Speakman. Peter ,who has been in the top echelon of local table tennis for over 50 years, played some  amazing shots, often returning Harry's topspin drives low over the net with his anti-spin rubber. Steve Rowsell won a singles while Peter Dillon also picked up a win and added two doubles victories . Peter Welsh was unbeaten in singles for his side, while Harry won both his remaining singles.

Points (after 3 rounds)

A Grade

Alex 23 , Expendaballs (Matt) 22 , Left Right Left (Nathan) 17, Gream Team (Michael) 16

B Grade

Kylie's Heroes 25, PC Gone Mad (Peter Cowdrey) 23, Malcolm 21, John 19, The Braves (Warren ) 18, Blenheim Battlers (Ray) 18, Steve 17, What If (Peter Welsh) 15

Results from 11 May

A Grade

Expendaballs 8 (M Millar 3,J. Kennedy 1, B Hebberd 1), Left, Right, Left 4 (N. Cross 2, J. Sim 2). Doubles 3-0

Alex 7 (A. Kennedy 3, Z. Cowdrey 2) Gream Team 5 (M. Kamson 2, G . Jackson 1, R. Osborne 1). Doubles 2-1

B Grade

John 7 (J. Diamanti 3, D . Stephens 3)   Steve 5 ( S. Rowsell 1, P. Wells 1, P. Dillon 1) Doubles 1-2

The Braves 7 (W. Haszard 3, D. Burkhart 1, T. Phipps 1)  What If 5 (P. Welsh 2, H. Speakman 2) Doubles 2-1

Kylie's Heroes 7 (K. Hurren 3, E. Martinez 2, Blake Hebberd 1) Blenheim Battlers 5 (R. Zinsli 2, B. Burkhart 1) Doubles 1-2

PC Gone Mad 7 (P. Cowdrey 2, M. Osborne 1, V. van Kuyk 1)   Malcolm 5 (M. Honour 3, M. Wood 2) Doubles 3-0

The first competition night was last Thursday. In a departure from the past three seasons, the competition went straight into A and B Grades, with 12 teams taking part, from 10 last season.

In the A Grade, Alex's team beat Expendaballs by 7-5. Alex Kennedy  was in dominating form, with some nice touches close to the table and consistent forehand and backhand topspins. Zac Cowdrey won a single with some very heavy topspins. Chris Hood filled in for Oliver Phipps and also got on the board. Matt Millar won two matches for his side, showing good ball control coupled with an ability to put the loose ball away. Billy Hebberd picked up a singles win  with some hard hit backhands. Jason Kennedy showed good tactics to win both of his doubles.

Nathan's team beat Mikey's Team 423 points to 413 after matches finished 6 all and games equal at 23. Nathan led the way with three wins and had to adapt his game accordingly as Graeme Jackson played with anti-spin with Michael Kamson and Rory Osborne being all-out topspin attackers. Josh Sim backed him up with two wins, including a five set win over Rory. These two players invariably go  into the fifth set  and this match was no exception with both players "going for broke" with their forehands. Rob Honour nearly got on the board in singles but won a doubles with Nathan.  Michael won two singles and two doubles for his side with Graeme and Rory picking up a singles win each.

In the B Grade, PMV made a good start , with an 8-4 win over We Might. Peter Cowdrey was  undefeated for his side, but he was made to work hard in his last match, beating Peter Welsh in five sets. Marcus Osborne and newcomer Vinny van Kuyk won a single each with their team taking the doubles 3-0. Peter Welsh won his remaining two singles, while young under-13 player Harry Speakman did well to beat Marcus to also record two wins.

Malcolm Honour and Marion Wood were undefeated as their side beat Steve's Team by 7-5. Malcolm  continued his consistent form from  last season while Marion Wood played her usual game, with some good drives. For Steve's team, Steve Rowsell, Peter Wells and fill-in player Luke Moratti won a single each with Luke winning both doubles. Peter took sets from both Malcolm and Marion.

The Braves beat Blenheim Battlers 21 games to 20 after matches were drawn 6 all. Warren Haszard led the way with three wins including a win over the well performed  Ray Zinsli. Dennis Burkhart  won two singles and the last doubles with Warren. Young Tommy Phipps picked up vital sets in his singles and doubles matches. Ray won his remaining two singles with Barbara Burkhart and Sophia Dillon winning one each.

Kylie's Team beat John's Team 329 points to 293 after matches and sets were  drawn 6 all , 19 all. Kylie Hurren picked two wins with fill-in player  Bjorn Cowdrey joining junior player Blake Hebberd on one win. Their side took the doubles 2-1.

John Diamanti was in commanding form in the singles, using some good service tactics. Fill-in player Esteban Martinez played some good forehand shots to get two wins. Braden Tierney  was playing his first match at this level, but went well in his doubles with Esteban.