UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX MOVE CLEAR AT TOP OF DIVISION THREE

Three further wins for the University of Essex saw them go twelve points clear at the top of the Colchester & District Table Tennis League Division Three.

The first, a 6-4 win against a strong St James D, saw Matthew Horrocks win his three, all in four sets. He repeated this feat against Tollesbury B, his team winning 8-2 with Oli Pink also winning three. Tony Eversden of Pegasus C suffered at the hands of the students, failing to win for the first time this season in a 10-0 loss.

Gt Horkesley E are on course for promotion as they too recorded three wins by exactly the same score lines. Steve Holland once more led from the front with four successive maximums including an 11-8 win in the fifth end to give his team a 6-4 win and the bragging rights over their ‘D’ team who remain third.

Both the two Horkesley teams recorded maximum 10-0 wins over bottom team CRGS who look doomed. Gt Horkesley D also drew with H20 Rowhedge H 5-5 with no player undefeated. Fourth placed H20 Rowhedge G got the better of their ‘H’ team by the same result despite Oli Reynolds fine treble for the losers. Terry Smyth did the same in a losing cause for the ‘G’ team against Lawford C in a 6-4 defeat.

Dedham A have games in hand and were once again indebted to Mel Rampton’s unbeaten performance against Pegasus D in their 7-3 win. Pegasus also went down by the same score to Tollesbury B with Tom Lewis untroubled.

Pegasus did however, enjoy some success beating CRGS 9-1. Rampton was joined by Tony Watson, both undefeated in a 7-3 victory over H20 Rowhedge H for Dedham A. Tony Eversden returned to winning ways with three wins as Pegasus C beat Lawford C 6-4.

Gilberd A won the match of the week against title chasing rivals Tollgate D 7-3 to remain the only unbeaten team in the league. Neil Huatan however, lost his first game of the season, going down to the wily Mick Taylor who came back from two sets down to win.

The school team also had good wins; 9-1 against Lawford A and 8-2 at Gt Horkesley F with Huatan unbeaten in both. Taylor of Tollgate D was the player of the match in a 7-3 win against Pegasus E that keeps them second. Dedham B are third with a win and a draw, 10-0 against Pegasus G and 5-5 Pegasus F. Marjorie Culham and Marlene Smith both winning five, missing out to Simon Boyton of Pegasus in four and five sets respectively.

Chris Jones and Jennie Clarke led Gt Horkesley G to an emphatic 9-1 success, Derek Miller with the consolation win over Denise Thompson. The Horkesley ladies struggled against Dedham B though, Marlene Smith wining three and Thompson battled alone wining two. In their other two matches Miller starred again in two 6-4 wins for Pegasus G, only losing to Roger McNaughton.

There was a close finish in the Division Two match between H20 Rowhedge E and promotion chasing Gt Horkesley C. Both Wudong Liu (3 wins) and Lloyd-Bennett-Smith (2 wins) triumphed 13-11 in five set encounters!

Leaders Walton C had a narrow 6-4 win over second placed Tollesbury A thanks largely to a Matt Watson treble. Third placed Tollgate C went down by the same score at home to fourth place St James B with no player unbeaten as six teams are still in with a shout of promotion.

Lawford A are one of those with George Berry completing an excellent maximum against H20 Rowhedge F in a 7-3 win including a four set win over Chris Brook who won two. Lawford’s B team also won well, 9-1 against Pegasus B, Robert Wood taking the player-of-the-match along with Peter Freeborough, both undefeated.

In Division One H20 Rowhedge A appear to have given up their crown following another defeat, 6-4 against Pegasus A. Ian Whiteside and Toby Turner both won three. H20 Rowhedge B’s season still has not got going with a string of postponed matches and failing to win in their last two matches.

Antony Greenwood won three in a 7-3 win for their ‘C’ team and Kevin Gowlett was unbeaten in a 5-5 draw with Walton A. Gt Horkesley A took advantage of Tollgate’s free week beating Walton B 9-1 with Tollgate B beating Gt Horkesley B 7-3, Gary Young only winning one, losing to Andy Warner and Charlie Fulcher.