ROUND 9 of Sunraysia Table Tennis has seen a change at the head of the ladder for the first time this season.
The Regional Taxation Services trio of Matt Ljubic, Thanh Nguyen and Jamie Kealley have moved to top position by winning six of their past seven matches and are now four points clear of Mallee Bearings who have lost in the past two rounds after winning the first seven matches.
In this round Regional Taxation Services accounted for Tankard Dental who have now dropped out of the top four.
The scoreline of 8-3 reads as a one-sided affair however there were five five set matches with RTS taking four of these.
The very first game of the night was a real highlight with RTS number three Jamie Kealley taking on Rohan Reimers and this was close all the way. Kealley possesses a fast game and hits the ball hard however Reimers is a great defender, and many rallies went on and on, the fifth was exciting with young Kealley remaining calm to win 11-8 8-11 11-8 8-11 12-10.
Later, the first doubles was outstanding when Tankard pair Kate Carmichael and Reimers recovered from an 8-10 deficit in the fifth to steal the match over Matt Ljubic and Thanh Nguyen 11-6 9-11 12-10 9-11 12-10 a thriller.
In a further five set slog, Carmichael and Ljubic played an outstanding singles with Carmichael in control early winning the first two games, Ljubic clawed his way back to level the match as they traded many fine rallies.
It appeared Carmichael had hit more forehands in this match than for the whole season.
In an exciting finish Ljubic had managed a great recovery to win 8-11 4-11 11-4 11-9 11-9. Ljubic now moves to third on the singles aggregate.
Regional Taxation Services, late in the match, were able to get on a roll and win the last five rubbers to capture the four points and first place on the ladder.
For RTS, Thanh Nguyen played in two five set singles wins, while Rohan Reimers for Tankards was unlucky, losing his two five set matches by the barest of margins.
After losing their first three matches of the year, Weightmans Packaging have now moved into the top four by winning the fourth of their past five matches.
Their victim on this occasion was Mallee Bearings who, after winning their first seven, have now lost their past two as well as not claiming any points in the recent doubles round.
The standout player in this contest was the hard-hitting Reece Kurrle who inflicted only the second loss on singles aggregate leader Arhuang Lau.
Some may say this was a surprise but when Kurrle is “on” he has the game to beat anyone.
Kurrle is the number two for Weightmans, and in a big night he won three singles including a straight sets win over the consistent Mark Dorman.
He also teamed up with skipper Shannon Bowen to win the first doubles again in straight sets to inflict a rare defeat over the strong pair of Lau and Dorman.
Bowen also put on a strong display, winning two singles and taking part in both doubles’ victories. Victory came for Weightmans Packaging with a scoreline of 7-4.
Cookes Pools & Spas have locked into third place with a solid 7-4 victory over Choices Flooring Mildura despite Wayne Carmichael winning three singles for Choices. In an even team display the Cookes trio of Jackson Tung, Paul Kealley and Russell Walder won two, two and one singles respectively. A key factor in the victory was the success in both doubles which is always difficult when Wayne Carmichael is in the opposing team.
Without a doubt, the highlight match was the battle between the two skippers Cookes, Tung up against Wayne Carmichael.
Tung was on fire early hitting many fine forehands as only he can do and he took a two games to one lead; the fourth and fifth games were outstanding with Tung having many chances.
Despite this, Carmichael worked his way back in to the match. In an exciting climax Tung took a 9-6 lead in the fifth however, as everyone knows you cannot discount Carmichael at any time. Amazingly, he was able to win the next five points and take the match 8-11 11-8 6-11 11-9 11-9.
Tung had given his best, however a spectacular win by Carmichael who now draws level with Lau at the head of the singles aggregate and three clear of the inform Matt Ljubic.
Sunraysia Table Tennis 2025 Winter Pennant results Round 9:
PENNANT ONE:
Regional Taxation Services 8 (Matt Ljubic 3, Jamie Kealley, Thanh Nguyen 2) d Tankard Dental 3 (Kate Carmichael 2);
Cookes Pools & Spas 7 (Jackson Tung, Paul Kealley 2, Russell Walder 1) d Choices Flooring Mildura 4 (Wayne Carmichael 3, Liam Wood 1);
Weightmans Packaging 7 (Reece Kurrle 3, Shannon Bowen 2) d Mallee Bearings 4 (Arhuang (Wong) Lau 2, Mark Dorman, Tom Morrison 1)
PENNANT TWO:
Mallee Meats 6 (Jason Gifkins 3, Harry Gujral, James Jarvis 1) d Cookes Pools & Spas 5 (Quentin Clark, Duy Truong 2);
Weightmans Packaging 6 (John Fitzpatrick 3, Sony Sefer 2, Therese Fitzpatrick 1) d Pinnacle Packers 5 (Marcus Cimino 2, Deegan Kerslake 1)
PENNANT THREE:
Exposed Signage/Apparel 6 (Karly Leach, Deegan Kerslake 2,) d Sammy’s Slammers 5 (Ryan Hensgen 3, Koby Grace, Yen Hwak 1);
Regional Taxation Services 6 (Sam Campbell 3, Sabrina Fitzpatrick, Hayden Wilson 1) d Weightmans Packaging 5 (Nhat Dat, Steve Parker 2)
PENNANT FOUR:
Tankard Dental 9 (Leanne Wilson, Ildi Healy 3, Jakob Grzan 1) d Dunkley Scales 2 (Maria Starikov, Jenny Leach 1);
Weightmans Packaging 9 (Gary Leach 3, Glenn Leeson, Eddy Parker 2) d Mallee Meats 2 (Conner Burnett, Nathan Beard 1)
Pennant 1
Regional Taxation Services 28
Mallee Bearings 24
Cookes Pools & Spas 20
Weightmans Packaging 16
Tankard Dental 12
Choices Flooring Mildura 08
Pennant 2
Mallee Meats 24
Choices Flooring Mildura 20
Cookes Pools & Spas 12
Weightmans Packaging 12
Pinnacle Packers 04
Pennant 3
Weightmans Packaging 32
Exposed Signage/Apparel 24
Regional Taxation Services 16
Sammy’s Slammers 00
Pennant 4
Tankard Dental 32
Weightmans Packaging 20
Mallee Meats 08
Dunkley Scales 08
For further information on Table Tennis contact Gavin Carmichael 0408 237 907.
