H20 ROWHEDGE DOMINATE CUP FINALS
With five Cup finals to be played this week in the Colchester and District Table Tennis League The H20 Rowhedge club will be represented in four of them, and boast both finalists in the ‘blue riband’ Kiltie Cup for Division One teams!
The week’s action starts at 7:30pm at the Tollgate Table Tennis Club at Holmwood House School on Wednesday 18th April with the hosts represented by Tollgate A against H20 Rowhedge F. Tollgate made light work of Gt Horkesley C with Allan Smith, Richard Baxter and Karl Baldwin all undefeated against the ladies from the village team. The other semi-final produced a much closer game with St James opening up a 3-0 and then 4-2 lead. Michael Burrows, making the most of his handicap then led the recovery for Rowhedge, winning his two singles as Chris Brooks and Colin Powell won the match-deciding final doubles to clinch an unlikely 5-4 win in the absence of their captain! With both finalists likely to call on players from a mixture of divisions the match should be a fascinating one!
H20 Rowhedge H will take on Pegasus F in the Handicap Doubles Final as the Pegasus club supplied three of the four semi-finalists! Pegasus F won through 6-3 against their club mates taking the first and last three games! Having got back to 3-3 the ‘G’ team must have fancied their chances but Dave Haslam and Simon Bloyton take the plaudits winning an extraordinary first game; 25-23, 22-24, 23-21, in what must rank as one of the closest games ever played in the competition! The other semi-final saw H20 Rowhedge H beat Pegasus D 5-4 with Adam Cuthbert winning the first four games he was involved in. Oli Reynolds and Alice Rudge join him in the final with three wins apiece. The final should be an interesting blend of youth and experience which should be a close one!
The H20 Rowhedge Table Tennis Club stages the Knockout Cup Finals on Friday 20th April starting at 8:00pm. Division One champions and overwhelming favourites H20 Rowhedge A face their ‘C’ team in the Kiltie Cup Final with H20 Rowhedge D entertaining Pegasus B in the Intermediate Cup in what promises to be the closest of all the finals. Rivals Alan Burgess and Steve Noble lead the teams representing Divisions Two and Three. The only final not featuring a Rowhedge team is the Minor Cup for Division Four teams where St James D, the Division winners take on Pegasus F.
Both venues welcome all spectators in what promises to be an entertaining finale to the season!
The League season reached its climax which saw Tollgate A finish second in Division One following their narrow 6-4 defeat of third placed Gt Horkesley A. They were indebted to Men’s Singles Champion Andy Warner who won all three of his games. This included the match clinching final game in five sets against Mike Wright as both unbeaten players met to settle who would finish runners up.