CLOSE matches were the flavour of round seven of the Sunraysia Table Tennis senior pennant, however, the big news was the first defeat of ladder leader Mallee Bearings by fourth placed Cookes Pools & Spas, the scoreline 6-5 in favour of Cookes.
Mallee Bearings have been in excellent form, and it took a special win by Cookes number two Paul Kealley to inflict the first singles defeat on aggregate leader Arhuang Lau who had won his first nineteen singles of the season.
Kealley is a leftie bringing some unorthodox angles to his table tennis game. He also possesses some strong forehands which can confuse his opponent.
Lau took the first game comfortably, however, from there Kealley was able to control the next three games winning in four 3-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8.
This took Cookes to a three – one lead, and when Cookes skipper Jackson Tung defeated Bearings number three Tom Morrison, Cookes had moved to a 4-2 lead.
As expected, Mallee Bearings fought back and levelled the match courtesy of Mark Dorman winning two singles.
Lau was able to recover from a one game to two deficit in a top-class match to defeat Tung in a top class match consisting of many strong forehand rallies.
With the score at five rubbers all, Cookes Russell Walder was able to gain the ascendancy against Tom Morrison winning in three sets and more importantly the four points, as the ladder begins to tighten up.
With Mallee Bearings losing their first match, second placed Regional Taxation Services moved to within one win of first place when they outlasted Choices Flooring Mildura 7-4. Skipper Matt Ljubic showed the way winning three singles including a straight sets victory over the in-form Wayne Carmichael.
Carmichael was controlling the first game with a lead of 10-7, however, from here Ljubic took control going on to win 12-10, 11-6, 11-8.
Ljubic’s teammates Jamie Kealley and Thanh Nguyen also played key roles in the victory each winning two singles and each winning a five setter late in the match to secure an important victory for Regional Taxation Services.
Despite his singles loss Choices, Carmichael was able to win two singles and took part in both doubles wins.
Fifth placed Weightmans Packaging kept themselves in the finals race with a solid 6-5 win over third placed Tankard Dental. The two doubles proved to be the difference in this contest with Weightmans winning both.
Shannon Bowen and Reece Kurrle proved too consistent winning the important points against Tankard’s Kate Carmichael and Rohan Reimers taking the match in four sets 14-12, 10-12, 11-5, 15-13.
The second doubles was a lengthy five setter with Bowen combining with Lee Leeson in a nail biter to defeat Carmichael and Ed Hung 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9.
In the wash-up it was both the doubles and two singles wins each to Bowen and Kurrle to enable the Weightmans trio to take the important four points. For Tankards, Kate Carmichael moved to third in the singles aggregate with three singles victories alongside Matt Ljubic.
Sunraysia Table Tennis 2025 Winter Pennant results Round 7
PENNANT ONE: Weightmans Packaging 6 (Shannon Bowen, Reece Kurrle 2) d Tankard Dental 5 (Kate Carmichael 3, Rohan Reimers, Ed Hung 1); Cookes Pools & Spas 6 (Jackson Tung, Paul Kealley 2, Russell Walder 1) d Mallee Bearings 5 (Arhuang (Wong) Lau, Mark Dorman 2); Regional Taxation Services 7 (Matt Ljubic 3, Jamie Kealley, Thanh Nguyen 2) d Choices Flooring Mildura 4 (Wayne Carmichael 2)
PENNANT TWO: Choices Flooring Mildura 6 (Ashley Morrison 2, Terry Martin, Andrew Jones 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Duy Truong 3, Quentin Clark 2); Mallee Meats 8 (Jason Gifkins 3, Harry Gujral 2, James Jarvis 1) d Pinnacle Packers 3 (Marcus Cimino 2, Peter Midgley 1)
PENNANT THREE: Exposed Signage/Apparel 9 (Deegan Kerslake 3, Karly Leach, Brenden Johnson 2) d Regional Taxation Services 2 (Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Sam Campbell 1); Weightmans Packaging 7 (Steve Parker 3, Nhat Dat 2, Leo Parker 1) d Sammy’s Slammers 4 (Ryan Hensgen 2, Dave Tanner 1)
PENNANT FOUR: Tankard Dental 7 (Leanne Wilson 3, Ildi Healy 2, Jakob Grzan 1) d Mallee Meats 4 (Tom Gilmour 2, Curtis Crabtree 1); Weightmans Packaging 8 (Glenn Leeson 3, Gary Leach 2, Eddie Parker 1) d Dunkley Scales 3 (Maria Starikov 2, Jenny Leach 1)
LADDER ROUND 7
Mallee Bearings 24
Regional Taxation Services 20
Tankard Dental 12
Cookes Pools & Spas 12
Weightmans Packaging 12
Choices Flooring Mildura 04
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.
