Table tennis back in action

AFTER resuming from the school holiday break round six action of the Sunraysia Table Tennis senior pennant got underway recently.

Mallee Bearings continued on their winning way just, against second placed Regional Taxation Services while bottom of the ladder Choices Flooring Mildura defeated third placed Tankard Dental to win their first match of the season.

Fifth placed Weightmans Packaging defeated fourth team Cookes Pools & Spas to join them on two wins as the ladder positions tighten up.

Mallee Bearings’ Arhuang Lau continued on his undefeated run with three singles victories again in his team’s narrow 6-5 victory over Regional Taxation Services who tried bravely to inflict the first defeat on their opponents.

For RTS youngster Jamie Kealley again won two singles for the fifth round in succession.

Included in his victories was an outstanding five set win over the experienced Mark Dorman who himself has enjoyed a successful season.

This match contained many fine rallies with a mix of defence and excellent forehand drives from both players. In the end it was Kealley who took the points 10-12 11-9 12-10 9-11 11-7 a thriller.

Earlier Kealley took it right up to Lau with their match going to five before Lau dominated the fifth.

With Lau winning his three singles as usual, Dorman scored a key victory in the overall result when he defeated opposing number one Matt Ljubic in a lengthy five setter.

Dorman played some outstanding forehand drives to take the points against his talented opponent 7-11 11-3 6-11 11-5 11-9 an excellent win after trailing one game to two, a vital result given the closeness of the final score in the battle for the four points.

After a sluggish start to the season Choices Flooring Mildura showed good form defeating third placed Tankard Dental to record their first victory of the year.

Wayne Carmichael led the team well winning three singles while teammate Liam Wood won two including a solid three set victory over Rohan Reimers in the first match of the night to set his team off to a good start.

When Wood combined with Carmichael in the first doubles to defeat Kate Carmichael and Reimers in a classic five setter, 12-10 in the fifth, the scoreline read 3-1 in Choice’s favour and from here Tankards could not recover.

Another crucial match was the five set win by Daniel Jansen over Ed Hung, a match of long rallies resulted in Jansen winning 11-6 11-5 4-11 6-11 11-9, Hung fought back bravely from a 0-2 deficit however Jansen was able to remain steady in a tense fifth.

Weightmans Packaging were able to avenge their first-round loss to Cookes Pools & Spas winning 6-5 and in doing so have joined their opponents on two wins and are fifth, only percentage from fourth.

The match was dominated early by Weightmans number one and two Shannon Bowen and Reece Kurrle.

Bowen won both his first two singles as expected however for the second time this season Reece Kurrle outplayed opposing number one Jackson Tung in a lengthy five setter.

This was a match of power hitting from both players and good retrieving by Tung however Kurrle came out on top 11-9 16-14 6-11 7-11 11-7 in a top-class match.

When Bowen and Kurrle combined in the first doubles to win in another close five set tussle over Tung and Paul Kealley it looked good for Weightmans.

At one stage they took a 5-1 lead, and it looked like a big win was coming up however Cookes were able to win four of the five final rubbers to make the score more respectable.

They almost made it five from five when Jackson Tung took a two games to one lead over Shannon Bowen in another amazing five set result.

Bowen was able to recover and win his third singles enabling Weightmans to record their second win of the season.

This was the second time Bowen had won three singles and if he can maintain this form Weightmans will be dangerous as teams tussle for a top four position.

Results

PENNANT ONE: – Weightmans Packaging 6 (Shannon Bowen 3, Reece Kurrle 2) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Paul Kealley 2, Jackson Tung, Russell Walder 1); Mallee Bearings 6 (Arhuang (Wong) Lau 3, Mark Dorman 2) d Regional Taxation Services 5 ( Jamie Kealley 2, Matt Ljubic, Thanh Nguyen 1); Choices Flooring Mildura 7 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Liam Wood 2, Daniel Jansen 1) d Tankard Dental 4 (Kate Carmichael 2, Rohan Reimers 1)

PENNANT TWO: – Choices Flooring Mildura 7 (Ashley Morrison 3, Andrew Jones 2, Terry Martin 1) d Pinnacle Packers 4 (Marcus Cimino 2, Peter Midgley 1); Weightmans Packaging 6 (John Fitzpatrick, Sony Sefer, Therese Fitzpatrick 2) d Mallee Meats 5 (Jason Gifkins 3)

PENNANT THREE: – Weightmans Packaging 8 (Nhat Dat, Steve Parker, Leo Parker 2) d Exposed Signage/Apparel 3 (Deegan Kerslake 2, Karly Leach 1); Regional Taxation Services 8 (Sam Campbell 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick 2, Hayden Wilson 1) d Sammy’s Slammers 3 (Ryan Hensgen 2, Koby Grace 1)

PENNANT FOUR: – Tankard Dental 6 (Leanne Wilson 3, Ildi Healy 2) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Glenn Leeson 2, Gary Leach, Eddie Parker 1); Dunkley Scales 6 (Maria Starikov 3, Jenny Leach 1) d Mallee Meats 5 (Wendy Simpson, Curtis Crabtree 2, Conner Burnett 1)Ladder

Mallee Bearings 24

Regional Taxation Services 16

Tankard Dental 12

Cookes Pools & Spas 8

Weightmans Packaging 8

Choices Flooring Mildura 4

– Gavin Carmichael