Intriguing battles as table tennis returns

TABLE tennis has returned to the Irymple Leisure Centre with round one of the new senior Winter Pennant under way.

A feature of the round was the closeness of the final scores, with all matches decided by a 6-5 result.

Sunraysia’s leading player Joel Thomas, veteran Andrew Cannard, and exciting youngsters Dylan Wood and Casper McCarthy are making a return after a break, while Daniel Jansen and Edi Re have made their debuts in Pennant 1.

Despite trailing 2-4 halfway through the match, Weightman’s Packaging rallied to win the next four rubbers to secure the four points against Cookes Pools & Spas.

Weightman’s skipper Jackson Tung started the season well, winning three singles matches, including a straight-sets win over Kate Carmichael. He also teamed with teammate Lee Leeson to win the second doubles, a vital victory.

Teammate Wood also played a key role defeating both Russell Walder and McCarthy in lengthy five-setters.

For Cookes, Kate Carmichael won two singles, while McCarthy and Walder won one each.

Choices Flooring Mildura started their match strongly against Tankard Dental, racing out to a 5-1 lead after Wayne Carmichael and Leon Brown won their first two singles respectively. They then combined to win the first doubles in four sets over Reece Kurrle and Thahn Nguyen.

Carmichael went on to win a third singles to enable his team to grab the four points as Tankard attempted a fightback.

Despite his team going down, Paul Kealley enjoyed a good night, winning two singles as well as partnering Kurrle in the second doubles to a four-set win over Carmichael and Ed Hung.

In a further close tussle, Thomas steered his Mallee Bearings team to a 6-5 win over the determined Regional Taxation Services.

Thomas has returned successfully to competition after a break, winning three singles matches as well as teaming with Liam Wood and Daniel Jansen to taste success in both doubles.

With the scores locked at five rubbers all, Pennant 1 debutants Jansen and RTS new player Re took to the table to decide the four points.

Earlier, Re had been outstanding, defeating the talented Liam Wood in an excellent five-set scrap, 10-12, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 15-13.

Against Jansen he started strongly, taking the first game before Jansen steadied to go on to win in a solid four-set contest.

The grading committee had recognised the excellent form of Jansen in the recently concluded Pennant 2 competition and he showed why he deserved his promotion.

The RTS team of Cannard, Rohan Reimers and Re showed they could be a force as this pennant season goes on.

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Sunraysia Table Tennis 2024 Winter Pennant round 1:

PENNANT 1:

Mallee Bearings 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Daniel Jansen 1) d Regional Taxation Services 5 (Andrew Cannard, Rohan Reimers 2, Edi Re 1)

Weightmans Packaging 6 (Jackson Tung 3, Dylan Wood 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Kate Carmichael 2, Russell Walder, Casper McCarthy 1);

Choices Flooring Mildura 6 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Leon Brown 2) d Tankard Dental 5 (Paul Kealley 2, Thanh Nguyen. Reece Kurrle 1)

PENNANT 2:

Mallee Bearings 6 (Jamie Kealley 3. Terry Martin 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Marcus Cimino 2, Tom Morrison, Michael Hensgen 1);

Weightmans Packaging 8 (Quentin Clark 3, Brendan Alderton 2, Josh Arnold 1) d Mallee Meats 3 (Ashley Morrison 2, Rasin Bhuiyan 1);

Choices Flooring Mildura 6 (Jeremy Corrin, Jason Gifkins 2) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (John Fitzpatrick 2, Andrew Jones, Peter Midgley 1).

PENNANT 3:

Regional Taxation Services 7 (Peter Fitzpatrick, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Sam Campbell 2) d Sammy’s Slammers 4 (James Jarvis 3);

Weightmans Packaging 6 (Karly Leach 2, Ryan Peterson, Koby Grace 1) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 5 (Ryan Hensgen 3, Nick Kiapekos 2).

PENNANT 4: Mallee Meats 7 (Maria Starikov, Jenny Leach 2, Cetty Bonaccorso 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Ildi Healy, Nathan Beard 2);

Dunkley Scales 7 (Tom Gilmour, Deegan Kerslake 2, Glenn Leeson 1) d Weightman’s Packaging 4 (Curtis Crabtree 3, Gary Leach 1)

For further information on table tennis, call Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.