LADDER leaders Mallee Bearings proved too strong for second placed Tankard Dental in round 15 of Sunraysia Table Tennis Association winter pennant action.
At the same time third and fourth on the ladder were defeated leaving second to fifth positions open to positional changes with one round to play after the school holiday break.
In an abbreviated match with both number three players out, Mallee Bearings were never in danger against Tankard Dental.
As in the first match, Bearings number two Liam Wood defeated opposing number one Reece Kurrle in four sets.
Kurrle has been in good form and the victory by Wood was a good scalp.
Wood then partnered Joel Thomas to win the only doubles in straight sets over Kurrle and Thanh Nguyen.
Mallee Bearings are now well and truly clear at the top of the table, while Tankards are in jeopardy of losing the double chance if they lose in the final round.
Fifth placed Weightman’s Packaging made a surge toward the finals with a massive 10-1 victory over the undermanned Choices Flooring.
Weightman’s skipper Jackson Tung and teammate Dylan Wood were in fine form both winning three singles matches.
Tung has enjoyed a consistent season and currently sits in third position on the singles aggregate, his victory in straight sets over Bowen was a well-constructed win.
To make the finals Weightman’s will need to defeat Regional Taxation Services which they have not done in their two meetings to date.
They will need to rely on fourth placed Cookes being defeated by second placed Tankard Dental.
Regional Taxation Services belied their position at the bottom of the ladder with their second win in succession this time at the expense of Cookes Pools & Spas 6-5, despite Kate Carmichael winning three singles for Cookes.
The very first game of the night was crucial to both teams, and it was RTS number two Rohan Reimers who defeated Casper McCarthy in a five set struggle.
There were many excellent rallies and Reimers was able to blunt some strong McCarthy forehands with excellent defence.
Spectators witnessed an entertaining contest 7-11, 11-9, 15-13, 4-11, 11-8 in Reimers favour.
Later on Reimers was on the verge of an upset win when he took a two games to one lead over Carmichael before she lifted to take the fourth and fifth games comfortably.
Regional Taxation Services took a 5-3 lead courtesy of Andrew Cannard and Edi Re defeating Carmichael and Russell Walder in five sets 4-11, 11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6.
Carmichael then matched up against opposing number one Cannard and what a topsy turvy match this was.
Cannard took absolute control winning the first game 11-4, he then raced to a 9-2 lead in the second and at this point Carmichael flicked the switch winning the next nine points to steal the game 11-9.
She then took the third 11-8, the fourth started like the first and second and in no time Cannard took an 8-2 lead and again Carmichael was able to fight back and amazingly took the fourth and the match 14-12.
Carmichael’s teammate Casper McCarthy then outlasted the inform Edi Re to win in five sets to leave the scores at five rubbers all.
RTS number two Reimers then matched up against Walder.
The latter played well to take the first, a victory by him would have seen Cookes reach second spot on the ladder, but it wasn’t to be as Reimers proved too steady to win in four and now Cookes could miss out on the finals if they cannot defeat Tankard Dental in round 16.
LADDER
Mallee Bearings 53
Tankard Dental 31
Choices Flooring 31
Cookes Pools & Spas 27
Weightman’s Packaging 24
Regional Taxation Services 17
ROUND 15 results:
PENNANT 1: Regional Taxation Services 6 (Andrew Cannard, Rohan Reimers 2, Edi Re 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Kate Carmichael 3, Casper McCarthy 1); Mallee Bearings 6 (Joel Thomas 3, Liam Wood 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Thanh Nguyen 2, Reece Kurrle 1); Weightman’s Packaging 10 (Jackson Tung, Dylan Wood 3, Lee Leeson 2) d Choices Flooring Mildura 1 (Shannon Bowen 1).
PENNANT 2: Mallee Meats 6 (Ashley Morrison 3, Rasin Bhuiyan 2) d Choices Flooring Mildura 5 (Jason Gifkins 2, Kevin Johns, Harry Gujral 1); Pinnacle Packers 5 (Andrew Jones, John Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Sony Sefer, Therese Fitzpatrick 2); Cookes Pools & Spas 9 (Tom Morrison 3, Marcus Cimino, Josh Arnold 2) d Weightman’s. Packaging 2 (Brendan Alderton 2).
PENNANT 3: Exposed Signage/Apparel 8 (Marita Grace, Nick Kiapekos 3, Wendy Simpson 1) d Mallee Meats 3 (Dave Tanner, Hamish Smyth 1); Sammy’s Slammers 8 (James Jarvis, Nhat Dat 3) d Weightmans Packaging 3 (Karly Leach, Sam Campbell. Koby Grace 1).
PENNANT 4: Dunkley Scales 7 (Deegan Kerslake 3, Tom Gilmour 2) d Tankard Dental 4 (Nathan Beard 2, Derek Hung, Conner Burnett 1); Mallee Meats 6 (Maria Starikov 3, Jenny Leach 2) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Raj Gujral 2, Gary Leach, Curtis Crabtree 1).
