THE highlight of round five of the Sunraysia Table Tennis senior pennant was the much awaited singles clash of undefeated pair Arhuang Lau and Wayne Carmichael – and they did not disappoint.
Their teams are at the opposite end of the ladder with Lau’s Mallee Bearings sitting undefeated at the head of the ladder, while Carmichael’s Choices Flooring is seeking their first win.
When Carmichael and teammate fill-in Jason Gifkins defeated Lau and Tom Morrison in straight sets in the second doubles the score stood at four rubbers all, and the bottom team was showing some fight.
The best singles match of the season then took place with Lau taking to the table against the experienced Carmichael and spectators witnessed some amazing rallies. Both players possess excellent forehands while Lau picked up several points early from his dangerous serve.
Lau took an early lead in the first, Carmichael fought back to go down 9-11 before he lifted to win the second comfortably.
Lau in the third took control to take a two-one lead and the fourth was an amazing game.
Lau has an outstanding back hand drive and hits the ball harder than any other, and when he took a 9-5 lead it looked like the match was over.
However, Carmichael had other ideas and rattled off five winners in succession to grab a game point. Lau then played a strong forehand which clipped the edge, he then was able to steady and go on to win 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 14-12.
The score now stood at 5-4 and Lau’s teammates, the reliable Mark Dorman and number three Tom Morrison, defeated their respective opponents to enable the top team to win 7-4 and keep their undefeated run intact.
Second placed Regional Taxation Services consolidated their position on the ladder with a solid 7-4 victory over the fifth placed Weightmans Packaging.
In an unusual twist, RTS were out of the blocks early taking the first three singles matches , the first was a highlight when Jamie Kealley outplayed Weightman’s Reece Kurrle in four sets. Both are power hitters and Kealley smashed his way to an 11-1 win in the first game before taking a two games to love lead. Kurrle fought back to take the third, however, young Kealley went on to win in four.
Weightman’s then bounced back winning three matches in succession themselves, including the first doubles won in five sets by Shannon Bowen and Kurrle who recovered from a 0-2 deficit to win in five against Matt Ljubic and Jamie Kealley.
In the wash up, it was the evenness of the Weightman’s trio of Matt Ljubic , Thahn Nguyen and Jamie Kealley who all won two singles each. Included in Nguyen’s victories was an impressive four set win over opposing number one Shannon Bowen.
After stumbling last round, Tankard Dental extracted their third win of the season with a hard fought 7-4 victory over Cooke’s Pools & Spas.
Tankards took early control of the match, winning two of the first three singles, they all went the way as was expected. The first doubles could now shape the result and it was the Cooke’s duo of Jackson Tung and Paul Kealley who took a two games to one lead. However, their opponents Kate Carmichael and Rohan Reimers were able to steady and win the fourth and fifth in a nail biter 12-10, 11-9 which enabled Tankards to take a three – one lead. From here Tankards took control to go on and grab the four points.
Tankards were well served by skipper Kate Carmichael who won three singles while teammate Reimers played a key role winning two. Carmichael capped off a successful night by taking part in both doubles victories.
Sunraysia Table Tennis 2025 Winter Pennant results Round 5: –
PENNANT ONE: – Mallee Bearings 7 (Arhuang Lau 3, Mark Dorman 2, Tom Morrison 1) d Choices Flooring Mildura 4 (Wayne Carmichael 2, Liam Wood 1); Regional Taxation Services 7 (Matt Ljubic, Thanh Nguyen, Jamie Kealley 2) d Weightmans Packaging 4 (Reece Kurrle 2, Shannon Bowen 1); Tankard Dental 7 (Kate Carmichael 3, Rohan Reimers 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 4 (Jackson Tung 2, Paul Kealley, Russell Walder 1)
PENNANT TWO: – Cookes Pools & Spas 6 (Duy Truong, James Jarvis 2, David Sergi 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Marcus Cimino 3, Peter Fitzpatrick 1); Weightmans Packaging 6 (John Fitzpatrick 3, Sony Sefer, Therese Fitzpatrick 1) d Choices Flooring Mildura 5 (Ashley Morrison 2, Terry Martin, Andrew Jones 1)
PENNANT THREE: – Weightmans Packaging 6 (Nhat Dat, Steve Parker 2, Leo Parker 1) d Regional Taxation Services 5 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick 3, Sam Campbell 1); Exposed Signage/Apparel 8 (Karly Leach, Brendon Johnson, Deegan Kerslake 2) d Sammy’s Slammers 3 (Ryan Hensgen 2, Koby Grace 1)
PENNANT FOUR: – Mallee Meats 6 (Curtis Crabtree 3, Conner Burnett 2, Nathan Beard 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Glenn Leeson 2, Gary Leach 1); Tankard Dental 6 (Levi Williams 3, Ildi Healy, Jakob Grzan 1) d Dunkley Scales 5 (Maria Starikov 2, Jenny Leach, Jake Hines 1)
Ladder
Mallee Bearings 20,
Regional Taxation Services 16,
Tankard Dental 12,
Cookes Pools & Spas 8,
Weightman’s Packaging 4,
Choices Flooring Mildura 0.
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.
