Rayne A have livened up the Braintree Table Tennis League by gaining an early victory over champions Liberal A.
New signing Weronika Bozek was to the fore in the 5-4 victory, with wins over both Terry Dowsett and Simon Webber, in both cases without dropping a game. She also stretched Peter Hayden to 3-1 (12-10, 12-14, 15-13, 12-10).
Lee McHugh beat Webber – at 12-10 in the fifth – and Dowsett while Adam Buxton’s win over Dowsett made it five.
Rayne also beat their own B team 8-1 to leave them two points clear at the top of the table. McHugh and Buxton were both undefeated this time.
Rayne’s and Liberal’s B teams also faced each other and the result was the same as in the A team match, 5-4 to Rayne.
No one remained unbeaten but Liberal B’s new signing Adam Cuthbert showed what an excellent acquisition he is with wins over Steve Pennell and Dean Andrews.
In division two, Liberal C established themselves at the top of the table with an 8-1 win over Notley B, but then slipped up against Netts C, who beat them 5-4.
The win against Notley B was particularly notable as the opposition had out a strong side featuring both Glen Laing and Steve Noble. But Noble’s win over Dave Razzell was all they managed. Gareth Davies won three out of three and Garry Fryatt two out of two.
Against Netts C, it was Fred Evans who was the stumbling block, including both Davies and Fryatt among his three victims.
Notley A’s match against Rayne C was the first to fall foul of the new Covid requirement of finishing before 10pm. The match ended 4-3 to Notley. There was still time for Peter Hance to register all three wins for Rayne.
In division three, Ted Sims was in excellent form for Rayne E but his three wins were not enough to prevent Notley E from taking five points.
Rayne F continued to motor along nicely at the top of division four with a 9-0 win over Rayne H, but Notley F have put themselves in the frame with two wins, 7-2 over Rayne H and 6-3 against Rayne G.
Peter Taylor won twice for Rayne H but found the fast-improving Paul Downes too much for him while against Rayne G it was Dave Whiting who took all three, with Downes, Steve Baines and Declan Baines all winning two for Notley F.
Jack Dearsley was the player of the match again for Netts E in their 5-4 win over Notley G while John Wickins, some 70 years his senior, won twice for Notley.