Interclub 2025

There were two A Grade matches this week while in the B Grade, it was play-off time with all 3 matches going to a count back on sets

A Grade

Matt Pigou 7 Nathan Watson 5

What a match this was. Matt's team were 5-4 down before taking the last three matches to get the win. Matt levelled the match score at 5-5 when he beat Nathan Watson 8-11,12-10,6-11, 11-4, 15-13 in a tremendous match. 

Matt and Nathan didn't play in the first round, but their skill levels are still very high. Matt also won both of his doubles matches with Rob Honour and Kylie Hurren, who both did well in the Marlborough Closed last week.

Rob and Kylie also got on the board in singles. Fill-in player Ping Muanwong joined Nathan on two wins and also won a doubles match with Supreya Prasertsakda.

Jacqui 8 Nathan Cross 4

Jacqui led the way with three singles wins. Jacqui is another player who didn't play in the first round and has shown her skills in the second round. David Stephens started the contest well with a four set win over Nathan Cross.

Zac Cowdrey won two singles and played an absorbing match with Nathan, with Nathan winning it by 11-7,11-7, 9-11,9-11, 14-12. Ken Thompsett and Tommy Phipps got on the board in singles for their side. In the last single of the night, Tommy beat David by 9-11, 12-10,11-4,8-11, 11-6

Points

Jacqui 67, Nathan Watson 62, Matt Pigou 43, Nathan Cross 41, Matt Millar 36, Ollie 36

(Note: Matt Millar's team has played two matches less and Ollie's team has played one match less)

B Grade Play-offs

After the matches on 7 August 2025, the final round-robin points were

Ray 55, David 40, Fletcher 39, Warren 38, Peter Cowdrey 35, John 34, Gerry 32

Gerry 6 (23 games) David 6 (21 games)

What a cliff-hanger this was. Gerry and Levi Van Kuyk beat David Foley and Cora Wilson in four sets to get the win. Earlier Levi had won two singles for his side, with Gerry and Liv Earl winning one each. David was impressive in singles, not losing a set in his singles matches. Cora was in good touch too, her two wins included a close 11-8,2-11, 8-11, 11-7, 13-11 win over Gerry.

Warren 6 (23 games) Peter Cowdrey 6 (22 games)

David Smith and Yunfei Wei beat Peter Cowdrey and Lucy Thom 6-11, 11-6, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 in the last doubles to win the overall contest on a count back. David, filling in for Warren Haszard, won two singles with Yunfei and Vinny van Kuyk winning one each. Peter led his side well with three good wins while Lucy beat Yunfei in five sets to record her second win.

Fletcher 6 (27 games) John 6 (20 games)

The third play-off game also went to a count back. Fletcher Phipps, Marion Wood and Ali Pottinger won a single each and they claimed a clean sweep in the doubles to get the win. Earlier, fill-in player Malcolm Honour and regular Dennis Burkhart were undefeated in singles for their team.

A Grade

Nathan Cross 8 v Matt Pigou 4

Graeme Jackson filled in for Nathan Cross and came away with three wins including a 12-10,6-11,7-11, 11-9, 11-9 over the well performed Matt Pigou. Ken Thompsett also had a good night, with his only loss coming against Matt.

Tommy Phipps beat Rob Honour and lost to Kylie Hurren in a five setter. Matt and Kylie again combined well for a doubles win.

Jacqui 8 v Matt Millar 4

Team regulars, Jacqui Wood, Zac Cowdrey and David Stephens all won two singles, with David in particular having to work hard to beat fill-in player Malcolm Honour by 12-10, 10-12, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9.

Matt Millar won three singles for his side, which included his usual hard hitting encounter with Zac. He also combined with Esteban Martinez for a doubles win. This was Esteban's last match of the season.

Gracias Esteban por tu juego y contribución al tenis de mesa de Marlborough.

Nathan Watson 9 Ollie 3

Nathan's team for the second week in a row, had a clean sweep of the doubles. Nathan kept his winning singles run going but he was pushed to four sets by Ollie. Billy Hebberd hit well to win two singles while Supreya Prasertsakda won the last single of the night.

Jason beat Supreya in the first match of the night while Ollie won his remaining two singles.

B Grade

Warren 7 Peter Cowdrey 5

Warren led from the front with three wins. Yunfei Wei backed him with two wins, including an 11-7,7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 win over Lucy Thom. Vinny van Kuyk won a single and played a big part in a doubles win with Warren. The ebullient Peter Cowdrey won two singles for his side, with Lucy also getting on the board. Lucy combined with Oscar Duncan for a comeback win in the first doubles of the night.

John 6 (22 games) Fletcher 6 (21 games)

Peter Dillon filled in for John Diamanti and had a pretty impressive night, winning  two singles and both doubles. He was pretty close to a third win, just going down to young junior Fletcher Phipps by 11-9,11-7,9-11, 22-20. Dennis Burkhart and Levi van Kuyk finished the night with one singles win and one doubles win each. Fletcher  was unbeaten in singles on the night with the consistent Marion Wood picking up two wins.

Ray 9 David 3

Ray's team has dominated the round-robin play and it showed in this match, with Ray Zinsli and Caitlin Exton again winning all of their singles matches.In a phrase often used this season, Barbara Burhart won both doubles. David Foley and Cora Wilson accounted for all of their team's points.

Points after round-robin

Ray 55, David 40, Fletcher 39, Warren 38, Peter C 35, John 34, Gerry 32

The last day of July saw five exciting matches of local inter-club.

A Grade

Nathan Watson 6 matches (25 games)  Jacqui 6 matches (22 games)

It was a dominant performance from Nathan, who  displayed all his skills in his matches and helped his team-mates Billy Hebberd and Supreya Prasertsakda to win the doubles 3-0. His match against Zac Cowdrey was a hard hitting affair with Zac working hard to win the third set with some fierce topspins. Billy and Supreya played their part too in the singles matches. Supreya led Zac by two sets to  nil before Zac mounted a comeback to lead in the fifth  to eventually get home by 12-14, 9-11,11-3,11-5, 11-9. Similarly, Billy Hebberd led David Stephens by two sets before David staged a comeback to win the deciding set. Zac and David both joined number 1 ,Jacqui Wood, on two wins.

Ollie 7     Matt Pigou 5

In his own quiet  way, Ollie Phipps dominated his singles matches.  He was up against three opponents with differing styles,but he always managed to play the right shot at the right time. As usual, his retrieving game was working well coupled with some crisp attacking shots.

Jason Kennedy backed him up with two wins and came so close to getting a third, just going down to fill-in player Graeme Jackson in a five set thriller, by 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 10-12, 11-9. Peter Welsh had to withstand  a great fightback from Rob Honour in their match,before finally winning it by 13-11 in the fifth. For Matt's side, Graeme won his two other singles matches and Kylie Hurren also got on the board in singles. Rob was undefeated in doubles.

The match between the teams of Nathan Cross  and Matt Millar will be played at a later date..

B Grade

Ray 8      Warren 4

This was another great performance from Ray Zinsli, who won his three singles matches. He was two sets down against Warren Haszard, before mounting a great comeback. Fill-in player David Smith won a single  and  two doubles. Barbra Burkhart also  won   a single and as usual played positively in the doubles,helping her team to a clean sweep. Warren won his two remaining singles, while Yunfei Wei battled hard for his two wins.

Peter Cowdrey 7 John 5

Peter led from the front with three convincing singles . Regular Lucy Thom won a single and was undefeated in doubles. Fill in player Liv Earl won a single and combined with Lucy  for a doubles win. Fill-in player David Foley won two matches forJohn's team with Dennis Burkhart doing likewise but he had to work hard to beat Lucy by 12-14,10-12, 11-6, 11-6, 11-6. Ellie van Kuyk did well  in combination with David, to win their doubles match.

Gerry 7 Fletcher 5

Gerry's team led 3-0 after the first batch of matches with Levi van Kuyk beating Ali Pottinger in five, Peter Dillon winning in five against Fletcher Phipps and Gerry van Kuyk beating Marion Wood. The first two matches in the last round went the way of Fletcher's team with Marion beating Levi and Fletcher getting a five set decision over Gerry to make it 5-5.  Peter then beat Ali 13-11 in the fifth, before Gerry and Levi won their doubles match for their seventh point.

A Grade

Nathan Watson 9 vs. Matt Millar 3,

Singles - Nathan 3, Billy 2, Supreya 1 vs. Matt 2, Harry 1

Fantastic match between Billy Hebberd and Harry Speakman with Billy taking it 11-7, 11-7, 11-13, 8-11, 18-16

Jacqui 8 vs. Matt Pigou 4

Singles - Zac 2, David 1, Fill-in Chris 2 vs. Graeme Jackson -fill-in 3, Rob Honour 1

Good comeback win for Zac after being two sets down to Rob

Ollie  7 vs. Nathan Cross 5

Singles - Ollie 3, Jason Kennedy 3 (including a default due to a broken bat) vs. Nathan 1, Bradley Roberts -fill-in 1, Tommy Phipps 1

Doubles - Nathan's Team 2-1

Brilliant five set match between Tommy and Peter Welsh with Tommy taking it 11-9, 11-8, 4-11, 5-11, 13-11

B Grade

David 7 vs. Warren 5

Singles -David Foley 3, Cora Wilson 2 vs. Warren Haszard 2, Yunfei Wei 1, Vinny van Kuyk 1

Doubles - David's Team 2-1. Ellie van Kuyk 2 wins

Ray 11 vs. John 1

Singles-Ray Zinsli 3, Caitlin Exton 3, Barbara Burkhart 2 vs. Dennis Burkhart 1

Great start for Ray's team with Barbara beating fill-in player Peter Dillon in five sets

Peter Cowdrey 7 vs. Gerry 5

Singles-Peter Cowdrey 3, Lucy Thom 3 vs. Gerry 1, Levi van Kuyk 1, Liv Earl 1

Doubles- Gerry's Team 2-1. Liv two doubles wins.

Peter beat Gerry in a tight five setter.

Results from the 4th round (plus catch up game from the 3rd round)

A catch up A Grade game from the third round (10 July) was played on 15 July.

Nathan Watson 8 - Matt Pigou 4

Supreya Prasertsakda kicked things off with an 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 10-12, 14-12 win over Rob Honour. Nathan then beat Kylie Hurren before Matt got his side on the board with a win over Billy Hebberd. That was the only match that Billy lost all night as he went on to record two singles wins and was undefeated in doubles. Nathan maintained his 100% singles record, but was pushed all the way by Matt, before getting home by 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 14-12. Kylie beat Supreya in five sets to go with Matt's two wins. They then combined for a doubles win to give their side a fourth point.

Results from 17 July:

A Grade

Nathan Cross 6 matches 22 games - Nathan Watson 6 matches 23 games

The contest went down to the last doubles when Nathan Watson and Billy Hebberd beat Nathan Cross and Ken Thompsett in a come-from-behind five set thriller to earn their side the sixth point and a win on the countback. It was a high quality match with all four players playing positively. Earlier Nathan Watson had won his three singles for his side. Billy Hebberd won a single, while Supreya Prasertsakda picked up a doubles win. Nathan Cross won his two remaining singles matches. Ken Thompsett joined him on two wins but had to come from sets down to beat Billy. In contrast, his team-mate Tommy Phipps was two sets up against Supreya before winning it by 11-8, 11-8. 7-11, 9-11, 11-9.

Matt Millar 7 - Matt Pigou 5 

Once again, Matt Millar was in superb touch, winning his three singles and combining with Esteban Martinez for a doubles win. His match against Matt Pigou was very watchable with some tremendous rallies. One in particular stands out, with Pigou absolutely pounding his forehand shots to the backhand with Millar lobbing.  Millar took the point when he changed tactics and looped the ball back. Harry Speakman won two singles and very nearly got a third win, just losing out to Matt by 11-9 in the fifth. Esteban played steadily to beat Kylie Hurren in a close four setter. Matt won his two other singles while Rob Honour won a single and was undefeated in doubles.

Jacqui 9 - Ollie 3

Jacqui had an outstanding night with five wins. She had to work hard against Jason Kennedy after being two sets down. Zac Cowdrey played well at number 2, recording two wins but like Jacqui, had to come from two sets behind to beat Jason in a match that could have gone either way. David Stephens came away with a singles win and helped his team win the doubles 3-0. Josh Sim filled in for Ollie Phipps and won two singles, including a five set win over Zac. Jason did get on the board, which was a good reward for the effort that he put in all night.

B Grade

Fletcher 7 - David 5 

This was a great team effort from Fletcher Phipps, Marion Wood and Ali Pottinger. Fletcher and Marion won two singles each. The match between Fletcher and Cora was an attacking affair with Fletcher winning it by 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5. Ali Pottinger provided a vital singles win and was undefeated in doubles. David Foley was in great touch, winning his three singles. The other points came from a singles win to Cora and a doubles win to David and Cora.

Warren 7 - John 5

Warren Haszard and Yunfei Wei beat Dennis Burkhart and Peter Dillon by 4-11, 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 in the last doubles to get the win. Warren had earlier won two singles while Yunfei and Vinny van Kuyk also got on the board. Dennis Burkhart was undefeated in singles but really had to work for it. Firstly, he beat Yunfei 13-11 in the fifth and then had to withstand a spirited comeback from Warren in their match, to get home in five. Fill-in player Peter Dillon was in good touch too, winning two singles.

Ray 9 - Gerry 3

There were outstanding performances for the second week in a row from Ray Zinsli and Caitlin Exton as they both won three singles. Caitlin's five set win over Gerry van Kuyk was a particularly good effort. Barbara Burkhart, as usual, provided the finishing touches with a singles win and a doubles win. Gerry got on the board for his side as did his grandson, Levi. Olivia Earl combined well with Levi for a doubles win.

Five matches were played last week, with some convincing scorelines.

A Grade

Matt 7 Ollie 5

Matt Millar was unavailable, but Graeme Jackson filled in admirably winning his three singles, which included a win over the very consistent Ollie Phipps. Harry Speakman played his normal positive attacking game to record two wins and combined with Graeme for a doubles win. In the last singles of the night, Esteban Martinez hit some good topspins in his four-set win over Peter Welsh. Earlier, Peter had shown his doubles process, coming away with two wins. Ollie won his two remaining singles.

Jacqui 10 Nathan Cross 2

The scoreline doesn't show the closeness of the contest as Jacqui's team won the four 5 setters plus four other matches which went past the third set. Jacqui ended the night with five wins in total, with some impressive attacking play. Zac Cowdrey backed her up with four wins in total. Fill-in player  Chris Hood just got past Ken Thompsett and Tommy Phipps in tight five setters. Nathan Cross varied the play well to win the two points for his side. One particular rally stood out in particular when Nathan defended cleverly to withstand a barrage of attacking loops from Zac. Ken played one of the shots of the night when he heavy chopped a fast drive from Jacqui for a winner. Tommy was playing his third A Grade match, but you wouldn't know it as he really took the play to his experienced opponents with some confident play.

The match between the teams of Nathan Watson and Matt was postponed.

B Grade

Warren 7 Fletcher 5

Yunfei Wei played three singles which all went to the fourth set. He won them all, which was a great reward for this player who works hard at his game. The ever-reliable Warren Haszard won two singles. He nearly made it three but was just pipped by Fletcher Phipps by 13-11 in the fifth. Vinny van Kuyk provided a vital win in the doubles with Yunfei. Marion Wood and Peter Dillon won a single each, to go with Fletcher's two wins.

Ray 10 Peter Cowdrey 2

Ray Zinsli is in a rich vein of form at present, and this showed as he recorded three impressive wins. Caitlin Exton also impressed, especially when she came from two sets down to beat the experienced Peter Cowdrey in five sets.

Barbara Burkhart 's doubles prowess came through once again and she added a singles win as well. Peter and Lucy Thoms won the points for their side.

David 10 Gerry 2

David Foley led from the front with three good wins. Dennis Burkhart was taken to four sets by all of his opponents but managed to win them all. Ellie van Kuyk played against two family members and won a single and two doubles.

Gerry van Kuyk and Olivia Earl got on the board for their team.

A Grade

Nathan Cross 6 matches, 25 games Matt Pigou 6 matches, 21 games

Ken Thompsett was back for Nathan's team, having not played last week. He was joined by fill-in player Josh Sim and they each won two singles to give their side four points. Tommy Phipps played a big part too as he paired with Ken and Josh for doubles wins. 

Tommy has moved up from B Grade this round and apart from his doubles success, he took Matt Pigou to five sets, just going down by 8-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5. Matt won his other two singles matches with Rob Honour and Kylie Hurren also getting on the board in singles.

Nathan Watson 9 Ollie 3 

The scoreline looks convincing but all three of the five set matches went to the winning side. Billy Hebberd won two of those against firstly, Peter Welsh and then against Jason Kennedy. Supreya Prasertsaka beat Peter 12-10 in the fifth. As expected, Nathan won his three singles and had a big influence in the doubles. Ollie Phipps got two wins for his side, with Jason Kennedy picking up a win and ran Nathan close.

Matt Millar 7 Jacqui 5

Matt was in good touch but was taken to four sets by both Zac Cowdrey and Jacqui Wood. Matt also won two doubles. Graeme Jackson was his normal consistent self to get two wins while Esteban Martinez played a big part in his doubles win with Matt when they overcame a two-set deficit to get the win.  Bueno juego Esteban. Jacqui won her two remaining singles with Zac and David Stephens winning one each.

B Grade

John 7 David 5

John Diamanti had to work hard for his three wins. Firstly, he saw a two-set lead against Cora Wilson evaporate before he won it 11-7 in the fifth. In his last match, he came from 2-1 down in sets to beat David Foley. Dennis Burkhart backed him up with two wins while Linda van Kuyk won a vital doubles with John. David won his two remaining singles, while the other singles points came from a win each to Cora and Ellie van Kuyk.

Gerry 8 Warren 4

Gerry's team took the singles by 5-4. Interestingly, Gerry van Kuyk beat Warren Haszard and lost to Yunfei Wei while Levi van Kuyk beat Yunfei and lost to Warren. Barbara Burkhart came away with two doubles wins and a singles win.

Peter Cowdrey 6 (22 games) beat Fletcher 6 (18 games)

Great performance from Ray Zinsli, who was filling in for Peter Cowdrey. He won his three singles, showing the benefit of recent coaching. Lucy Thom won a single, with Olivia Earl doing likewise and adding a doubles with Ray.

Fletcher Phipps and Marion Wood won two each for their team, with Ali Pottinger getting on the board in doubles.

The second round of inter-club started last week, with features being  new teams and the return of three top players who didn't play in the first round.

A Grade

Jacqui's Team 7  bt Nathan Watson's Team 5

 The scores were  level at 5-5 before  David Stephens beat Supreya Prasertsakda 7-11, 13-15, 11-9,11-9-6, 13-11 to put his side 6-5 up then  Jacqui Wood and Zac Cowdrey beat Nathan Watson and Billy Hebberd in the last doubles match, to give the team the seventh point. Earlier, Jacqui and Zac had won two singles each  for their team. Jacqui, who was playing her first inter-club match since representing New Zealand  last October, was  undefeated in doubles. Nathan was playing his first matches in Blenheim  after several years away. His powerful topspins and touch play were in evidence throughout the night. He beat Jacqui 4-11,15-13, 11-8,11-5 in a high quality match. Billy Hebberd beat David in a five setter and combined with Supreya for a doubles win.

Matt Pigou's Team 6 (24 games) bt Ollie's Team 6 (21 games)

Matt Pigou showed that he has lost none of his skills after several seasons of not playing, as he won his three singles convincingly. His serves were consistent and he set the play up well for his forehand attack. Fill-in player Graeme Jackson won two singles and  played an almost unbelievable match against Ollie Phipps.  Ollie won it by 12-10, 11-2, 5-11,3-11, 13-11. The fifth set couldn't have been scripted any better, with Graeme leading 5-1, then Ollie leading 7-5 then Graeme took the next five points before Ollie, still playing his usual game, saved match points before just getting home. It was so close ,with a couple of forehands from Graeme  just missing by a whisker. Ollie won his remaining two singles with Jason Kennedy picking up a singles win and two doubles wins while Peter Welsh kicked things off with a win over Rob Honour.

Nathan Cross's Team 7 bt Matt Millar's Team 5 

This was another close contest with the three five setters all going to Nathan's Team. Nathan won two singles for his side and was hitting his forehand well.  Fill-in player Bradley Roberts impressed with two singles wins and two doubles wins. Bradley, who hasn't played for decades, won a NZJunior title back in his junior days in the Hutt Valley . He beat Harry  Speakman 11-13, 11-7, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9 in a great match with many rallies. Tommy Phipps has been promoted from the B Grade and he brought his enthusiasm to the A Grade  and he picked up a doubles win with Bradley before beating another promoted player Esteban Martinez in five sets. Matt won his three singles. His match with Bradley was interesting as the  two players had played each other in junior Canterbury/ Hutt Valley matches.

Harry beat Tommy in four sets, in a match between two of Marlborough's top juniors. Matt and Esteban won their doubles match.

B Grade

David's Team 7  bt  Peter's Team 5

A 2-1 success in the doubles, saw David's Team home.  Earlier, David had won two singles. Cora Wilson joined him on two wins, but only after a tight  five set win over her mother Lucy, by 13-15, 12-10,14-16, 11-8, 11-9. Peter Dillon won a single and won both his doubles.

Peter Cowdrey was in top form as he notched up three singles wins. Lucy won a single and combined with Peter for a doubles win.  Young junior Oscar Duncan,  who was playing his first matches at this level,  went close in his singles match with Cora.

John's Team 7 bt Gerry's Team 5

John Diamanti carried on his form from the last round, with three comfortable singles wins. He also won doubles matches with Dennis Burkhart and Vinny van Kuyk. Dennis Burkhart was impressive , winning two singles including a win over the well performed Gerry van Kuyk. Levi van Kuyk won two singles for Gerry's team , including a win over Dennis. Liv Earl also got on the board in singles and doubles with Gerry adding the fifth point..

Fletcher's Team 9 Ray's Team 3

Fletcher Phipps led from the front with three wins. He had to work hard to win five setters against  Ray Zinsli and Caitlin Exton. Fletcher is one of a number of Marlborough juniors who have been selected for the South Island Coaching Squads. The ever-reliable Marion Wood also won her three singles, and like Fletcher, had to play well to beat Ray.  Ali Pottinger, playing at number 3, also went well in singles and doubles. Ray's team's points came from singles wins to Ray and Caitlin and a doubles win to Ray and Barbara Burkhart.

Round one of inter-club wound up last Thursday with the A Grade Final and some exciting matches in B Grade.

A Grade Final

Fast and Furious 8 bt ROK 4

These two teams played on 5 June, with ROK coming out on top by 8-4, taking the singles by 7-2. The final saw Jason Kennedy, Josh Sim and Zac Cowdrey win two singles each with Jason being unbeaten in doubles, for a complete turnaround. Quite remarkably, Fast and Furious came close to taking the other three singles matches too. Ollie Phipps beat Jason in five and then just edged out Zac by 7-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 13-11. This was a tremendous match with Zac having the upper hand in the early exchanges of the fourth set with some powerful forehands, before Ollie found his range back from the table to set up a grandstand finish in the fifth. Ken beat Josh in five. Josh showed his attacking ability and moved well around the table to beat Ollie in straight sets. Rob Honour was close to getting sets in his matches but certainly played a part in getting his team to the final.

A Grade 3rd Place

Slow and Sweet 7 Nathan 5

Matt Millar won his three singles comfortably and helped his team-mates Billy Hebberd and Peter Welsh to doubles wins. Billy played two five set matches. He just lost out to Harry Speakman in his first match but beat David Stephens 11-9 in the fifth, in a real tactical match.

Harry ended with two wins, emulating his captain, Nathan Cross. David also got on the board in singles.

B Grade

Esteban 6 (25 games) bt Tommy 6 (24 games) 

Despite losing the match on a countback, Tommy's team had just enough points to win the B Grade, which was a round-robin competition. Tommy Phipps again won his three singles but had to come from behind to beat Esteban Martinez by 9-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7-11-8.

Levi van Kuyk chipped in with two wins, to continue his good form, while the hard working Yunfei Wei beat Dennis Burkhart. Esteban won his two other singles, with Caitlin Exton also getting on the board. Dennis led the team to a clean sweep in the doubles.

Peter Cowdrey 7 bt John 5

Peter and Ali Pottinger led the way with two singles wins each, with Ali being undefeated in doubles. Fill-in player Blake Foley won a singles. John Diamanti again showed his class with three comfortable wins. Ellie van Kuyk, playing at number 2, won a singles and combined with John for a doubles win.

Kylie 8 Warren 4

The contest was close, with only four of the matches being won in straight sets. Kylie Hurren again led from the front, with three singles wins and two doubles wins. Lucy Thom showed good attacking skills to get two wins. Barbara Burkhart, as she has done all season, picked up another two doubles wins.  Warren Haszard gained two wins for his side, with Fletcher Phipps and Olivia Earl winning a single each.

Supreya 7 Ray 5

Supreya Prasertsakda is another player in form and she finished the first round with three singles wins, which included wins against the consistent duo of David Foley and Ray Zinsli. Marion Wood won a single and took both David and Ray to four sets. Fill-in player Vinny van Kuyk also got in on the act, with three wins in total. David and Ray won the doubles to gain the fifth point for their side.

Final B Grade Points

Tommy 53, Peter Cowdrey 51, Kylie 50, Esteban 50, Supreya 46, John 42, Ray 38, Warren 34

Two families played a prominent role over the seven weeks of the competition.The Burkhart/ Phipps family had five regular players and one player filling in with  the van Kuyks having four players playing regularly, with a fifth filling in.

Special mention too for Blake Foley and Kingston Manila. These two young guys came down on a Thursday night to support a family member, but have played on a couple of occasions to help us out.

The Half Way tournament is on Thursday 19 June.

The second round with new teams gets underway on 26 June with Nathan Watson, Jacqui Wood, Matt Pigou, and Malcolm Honour due to make their first inter-club appearances of the season.

The penultimate matches of the first round were played on 5 June with some thrilling table tennis in both grades.

A Grade

Ken 8 bt Jason (Fast and Furious) 4

On paper it looked convincing but five matches went to a deciding game, with Ken's team winning all five. The fifth set in all of those matches were very close too. Ollie Phipps won his three singles but had to battle hard for his wins. In the second batch of singles, he beat Jason Kennedy 7-11, 9-11,11-5, 11-7, 12-10 in  a tremendous match , which could have gone either way. Jason was playing well and slightly mistimed a loop at 11-10 in the fifth. Ollie  took the first two sets  against Josh Sim but it wasn't over, as Josh as usual fought  back to take the next two, before losing 11-7 in the decider. Ken Thompsett worked hard for his five set wins over Jason and Zac Cowdrey. Rob Honour again showed his skills as he came away with two wins. In his last match, he beat  Zac by 11-9, 9-11, 5-11, 15-13,12-10 in a thrilling match, with Zac saving several match points with some sidespin loops. Josh won his two remaining singles with Jason being undefeated in doubles. The two teams clash again this Thursday in the A Grade final.

Slow and Sweet 7 bt Nathan 5

Matt Millar again showed his class with three singles wins and helped  his team-mates Billy Hebberd and Peter Welsh to doubles wins.  Nathan Cross played well against Matt and really took it to him in the first set,with some angled smashes. Graeme Jackson also went well against Matt, causing problems with his combination bat. Billy won a single and took Graeme to five sets. Peter played tenaciously against David Stephens, just losing out by 11-6,11-5, 10-12,9-11. 11-7. Nathan and Graeme won two singles each for their side.

B Grade

Warren 6 Matches (24 games) bt John 6 matches (21 games)

Dennis Burkhart had a great night picking up two singles wins and two doubles wins. He won a pivotal match against Gerry van Kuyk to get his side back in the match. Warren Haszard won a single and a double as did Olivia Earl.

John Diamanti  has hit a rich vein of form  and was again undefeated in singles  . Gerry backed him up with two wins while Ellie van Kuyk played steadily to win a doubles match with John.

Tommy 7 bt Supreya 5

Tommy Phipps, Yunfei Wei and Levi van Kuyk all won two singles for their side with the standout result being Levi's win over the well-performed Supreya Prasertsakda by 8-11-10-12, 11-3,11-4,16-14. Supreya was desperately close against Tommy, again just losing out by two points in the deciding set. Tommy played a five set match against Marion Wood with Marion pushing consistently in the deciding set to get home by 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9. Marion won two singles on the night, losing her third single to Yunfei. Supreya beat Yunfei to get on the board.

Peter 9 bt Esteban 3

Stu Cordue, whose son John is one of the top players in the country, again played outstandingly to record three singles wins. Stu is playing his first season in Marlborough and has impressed with some really strong attacking shots. Peter Cowdrey had two wins as did the ever-improving Fletcher Phipps.  Esteban Martinez won two singles for his side  and lost a close setter to Stu in his third match. Esteban teamed with Cora Wilson for their team's third point.

Kylie 7 beat Ray (Ray Guns) 5

Kylie Hurren was at her best as she won her three singles including wins over  David Foley and Ray Zinsli, who have both been in good form this season. Lucy Thom and Barbara Burkhart won a single, with Barbara being unbeaten in doubles. David and Ray won two each for their side and combined for a doubles win in the last match of the night.

Points

A Grade 

Jason 50, Ken 48, Matt 35, Nathan 23

B Grade

Tommy 47, Esteban 43, Peter Cowdrey 43, Kylie 41, Supreya 38, John 37, Ray 33, Warren 30

A Grade

Fast and Furious 9  NDH 3

(Josh Sim 3, Zac Cowdrey 2)   (Nathan Cross 2 for NDH, H Speakman 1)

Slow and Sweet 6 (23 games)  ROK 6 (23 games)

(Matt Millar 3, Billy Hebberd 1, 2 doubles wins)    (Olly Phipps, 2, Chris Hood 2).Matt and Billy won the last doubles in straight sets to tie the match . After a points count back they won 428 points to 408.

B Grade

Tommy 7, Warren 5

(Tommy Phipps 2, Yunfei Wei 2, Cora Wilson 2)     (Warren Haszard 3, Peter Dillon 2 doubles wins and came close in two of his singles marches)

Kylie 8 John 4

(Kylie Hurren 2, Lucy Thom 2, 3-0 doubles)  (John Diamanti 3, Gerry van Kuyk 1)

Peter Cowdrey 8 Ray 4

(Peter Cowdrey 2, Stu Cordue 2, doubles 3-0)  (Ray Zinsli 2, David Foley 2). Peter beat David and lost to Ray. Stu beat Ray and lost to David.

Esteban 7 Supreya 5

(Esteban Martinez 3, Caitlin Exton 1 and 2 doubles)   (Supreya Prasertsakda 2, Marion Wood 2)

There was another exciting night of table tennis at Simcox Stadium last Thursday.

A Grade

ROK 10 beat NDH 2

The scoreline doesn't indicate how close this contest was. When most of the matches on the other tables had finished, which was around 10pm, this contest had just completed 6 matches, with ROK leading 5-1. Looking at it, it could have been 5-1 the other way around, it really was that tight. The first batch of singles matches saw Graeme Jackson beat David Stephens 11-6, 9-11, 8-11,11-8,11-5 with Ken Thompsett beating Harry Speakman 7-11,11-5, 11-9,7-11, 18-16 to give ROK a 2-0 lead. Nathan Cross beat Ollie Phipps 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5 to get NDH on the board. Nathan later beat Ken and was a whisker away from getting a five set decision over Graeme. David came up from the B Grade in the second half of last season, and has impressed with some consistent attacking strokes.

Harry went very close in two of his singles and one of the impressive things about this junior's game is that he is always looking to play positively and not wait for the opponent to make a mistake.

Fast and Furious 7 beat Slow and Sweet 5

This was another consistent team effort from Jason Kennedy, Josh Sim and Zac Cowdrey as they each contributed two singles wins. Matt Millar was playing his first competitive match for a month and as usual showed no signs of rustiness as he won his three singles matches comfortably. He also combined with his team-mates Billy Hebberd and Peter Welsh for two doubles wins. Billy nearly got on the board in singles, just losing out to Jason by 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-3. Peter was pipped in a tight four setter by Zac in the last singles of the night.

B Grade

Supreya's Team 6 (25) beat Stu's Team 6 (24) (Peter Cowdrey didn't play)

Supreya continued her fine form this season with three wins, including an 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 6-11, 14-12 win over the rapidly improving, Fletcher Phipps. Cora Wilson won a single and was undefeated in doubles. Marion Wood won a doubles match and took the well performed Stu Cordue to five sets. Fletcher matched Stu on two wins with Ali Pottinger winning a crucial singles.

Ray Guns 7 beat Warren's Team 5

Ray Zinsli won three singles for his side, showing the benefit of attending recent coaching sessions. David Foley was in good touch too, recording two wins and played a close match with Warren Haszard. These two players have had some great battles over the years. Warren came out on top in this one by 10-12, 6-11,11-7, 11-9, 11-7. Linda van Kuyk won a vital doubles match with David. Peter Dillon and Liv Earl won a single each to go with Warren's two wins. Warren combined with Liv for a doubles win.

Falcons beat Kylie's Team 8-4

Esteban Martinez, Dennis Burkhart and Caitlin Exton all won two singles for their side. Dennis beat Lucy Thom 11-4, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11,11-9 to give his side the seventh point. Caitlin carried on her form from the Marlborough Open several weeks ago with some solid play and won both her doubles to go with her singles wins. Kylie Hurren won her three singles and was most impressive in her last match against Esteban, with her trademark backhand drive winning points regularly. The fourth point came when Kylie combined with Lucy for a doubles win.

John's Team 7 beat Tommy's Team 5

John Diamanti led the way with three wins, including an 11-7, 13-15, 9-11, 11-8, 19-17 win over the well performed Tommy Phipps. Gerry van Kuyk also went well, picking up two singles wins and two doubles wins. He was pretty near to three wins, just losing out in a five setter to Tommy. Ellie van Kuyk won a vital doubles match with her grandfather. Tommy won his remaining two singles with Levi van Kuyk and Yunfei Wei also getting on the board.

Points after 3 rounds

A Grade

Jason 28, Ken 22, Matt 15, Nathan 13

Leading players (singles)

Ollie Phipps (Ken) won 9, played 9,  Graeme Jackson (Matt-fill in) 8/9, Nathan Cross (Nathan) 5/6, Jason Kennedy (Jason) 6/9, Josh Sim (Jason) 6/9, Zac Cowdrey (Jason) 5/9.

B Grade

Tommy 26, Esteban 23, Supreya 21. John 19, Kylie 19, Peter Cowdrey 19, Ray 16, Warren 13

Leading players (singles)

Tommy Phipps (Tommy) 9/9, Supreya Prasertsakda (Supreya) 8/9, Stu Cordue (Peter C) 8/9, Esteban Martinez (Esteban)  5/6, Fletcher Phipps (Peter C) 5/6, John Diamanti (John ) 7/9, David Foley (Ray) 7/9, Ray Zinsli (Ray) 6/9, Kylie Hurren (Kylie) 6/9, Warren Haszard (Warren) 6/9.