The finals for the ELCC were held at Westfield Table Tennis Club, Wellingborough over the weekend of 2nd and 3rd July 2011. The weekend was a very enjoyable occasion with some superb table tennis and some very competitive matches. Our thanks go to everyone at the Westfield Table Tennis Club who made us so welcome, an excellent venue with excellent facilities and lovely food.

Saturday was the day for the Senior Competitions; the Wilmott Cup and J M Rose Bowl. Eight teams reached the finals and battle commenced at 10am. Sunday was juniors’ day with the Carter Cup (Junior Boys) and Bromfield Trophy (Junior Girls) being played for.

Wilmott Cup (Men)

There were two groups of four teams with all playing all in the groups and then crossover matches to give every team a placing.

Group A. Wembley & Harrow got off to a fine start defending their title by beating Hastings 4-1. The title holders Eli Baraty won both his singles and James Sprackling one, Nathan Darby for Hastings played well to beat James in the fifth for Hastings only win. The other match in the group was a much closer affair with Cambridge taking the honours 3-2 against Reading, the decider being in the fifth match. Tony West took both his singles for Cambridge, Mick Harper defeated Ramesh Gehlot with Hari Gehlot getting the better of Mick in the reverse singles. The second set of matches saw a fairly comfortable 4-1 win for Cambridge over Hastings with Tony West again getting a maximum, Kevin Gray, Cambridge’s second player defeating Matt Porter of Hastings and again Nathan Darby got the sole win for Hastings. Wembley & Harrow had a much closer game against Reading, Darek Zurowski and Ryan Maynard played the singles, Darek winning both with a close tussle in the first match which he won 12-10 in the fifth. Hari Gehlot won the only singles for Reading but teamed up well with Stuart Williams to win the doubles. Score 3-2 to Wembley & Harrow. The final set of matches in the group saw Reading defeat Hastings 3-2 with Hari Gehlot getting both singles and Stuart Williams one for Reading, Nathan Darby getting one singles and partnering Matt Porter for the doubles win for Hastings. Another close encounter in the second set of matches in this group saw Wembley & Harrow just squeeze past Cambridge to take the match 3-2 with match winner Eli Baraty taking Tony West of Cambridge in the fifth, his second singles win in the match. Ryan Maynard got the other for Wembley & Harrow whilst Tony West took the sole singles for Cambridge and the pairing of Martin Gray and Mick Harper the doubles.

In Group B last years runners-up, Stockton, started well with a 5-0 win over Kettering. Danny Welch and Tony Wilson playing well in the singles for Stockton. In the other first round match the youngsters, Matt Outhwaite and Laurence Sweeney had some good matches against the more experienced Potteries team of Brian Johns and Michael Cerven with a final 3-2 outcome for Leamington Spa. Matt won both his singles whilst Brian took one for the Potteries, who also won the doubles. Stockton had a close second set of matches against the Potteries clinching the win in the fifth with Andy Wilson winning his second singles against Michael Cerven, Tony Wilson had earlier beaten Michael Cerven but lost to Brian Johns. The Potteries also took the doubles. Leamington Spa versus Kettering saw Leamington Spa win all the singles with the Kettering duo of Jack Coleman and Chris Ross having a comfortable win in the doubles. The final set of matches and Stockton defeated Leamington Spa 4-1, only losing the doubles, Leamington Spa fielded Mark Jackson in place of Laurence Sweeney for this round. The Potteries in their final group match defeated Kettering 3-2 with Chris Ross of Kettering getting one singles and with Jack Coleman won the doubles.

The field of play was set for a repeat of last year’s final between Wembley & Harrow and Stockton. Stockton started well with Andy Wilson having a comfortable win over Eli Baraty, Danny Welch then stepped up to beat Darek Zurowski 12-10 in the fifth. 2-0 to Stockton. A change of players for the doubles with Andy and Tony Wilson versus Eli and Ryan Maynard which the latter partnership won fairly easily. Next up was Andy Wilson against Darek, a crucial match which Darek took in four. Scoreline 2-2. The fifth and final match between Danny Welch and Eli Baraty went right to the wire with Eli winning 11-7 in the fifth. A jubilant Wembley & Harrow retained the title and a disappointed Stockton again finished in second place. This match was one of the finest the competition has seen over recent years and one enjoyed by all the spectators who had the pleasure to watch it. Placings for third and fourth position saw Cambridge’s team of Kevin Gray, Mick Harper, Tony West and Martin Gray defeat Leamington Spa’s Mark Jackson and Matt Outhwaite 3-1. Leamington taking the doubles whilst Kevin Gray took two singles and Mick Harper one with Tony West and Martin Gray being on the losing end of the doubles. A very creditable third place for Cambridge. Potteries v Reading for fifth and sixth place and Potteries got off to a good start with Brian Johns defeating Ramesh Gehlot, next on Stuart Williams had a good game to beat Michael Cerven. The Potteries took the next two matches to win 3-1 and take fifth place. The final matches for seventh and eighth place saw Kettering’s pair of Jack Coleman and Chris Ross have a comfortable win over Hastings Nathan Derby and Matt Porter 3-0.

Final Placings
1. Wembley & Harrow
2. Stockton
3. Cambridge
4. Leamington Spa
5. Potteries
6. Reading
7. Kettering
8. Hastings

J M Rose Bowl (Ladies)

As in the Wilmott Cup eight teams qualified for the fianls. North Herts were the holders and Derby the top seeds. Leicester unfortunately had to make a late withdrawal.

In Group A the day started well for the Guildford duo of Sally Cimiotti and Sarah Horsnell who had a good 3-2 win over the North Herts pair of Janice Laing and Sandra Harper. It was a close match with three games going to five and two to four. The doubles match made the difference with Guildford winning 12-10, 10-12, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5. The other match in Group A saw a win for Derby 4-1 with Jane Vickers taking both her singles over the younger pair of Nicola Smith and Nicole Finn. Nicola won one singles defeating Abbie Milwain in five whilst Abbie defeated Nicole. Guildford carried on their winning streak overcoming the Leeds ladies with Sarah Horsnell winning both her singles and Nicole Finn and Nicola Smith taking one apiece. Again the doubles made the difference with Guildford clinching it in the fifth which helped them to a 3-2 win. Meanwhile on the adjoining table a real battle was going on between Derby and North Herts. Both of Sandra Harper’s matches went to five, winning one and losing one. Abbie played well to win both her singles. A 3-2 win for Derby. The last set of group matches and Derby had a comfortable 5-0 win over Guildford whilst a very close game on the other table, North Herts versus Leeds, was being played out. With the score at two all Nicola Smith defeated Janice Laing to give Leeds the 3-2 victory.

The result of the first Group B match between Hastings and Birmingham saw Hastings the 4-1 winners with Rose Rainton taking both her singles and Lisa Standen one in a titanic struggle against Helen Turner 16-14 in the fifth. Kate Hughes took the Birmingham singles against Lisa. The second match between Chester and Birmingham resulted in a clear 5-0 win for Birmingham albeit with some tight matches with two going to five, Suzanne Burgess had an excellent game against Kate Hughes which went very close in the fifth.. The last match in the group and Hastings met Chester winning the fixture 4-1. Helena Dennett had a close game against Lisa Standen just losing it in the fifth.

The crunch match for first and second place saw the game swinging one way and then the other. The first match went to Hastings with Rose Rainton’s powerful game too much for Jane Vickers. Abbie Milwain then triumphed over Lisa Standen. The doubles went to Derby. Rose then beat Abbie in four after a lengthy 17-15 first setter. The score 2-2. In the final game Lisa got the better of Jane Vickers in the fourth end to take the title. The third and fourth place play-off saw Birmingham finish in third place and Guildford fourth, the final score 3-1. Helen Turner and Kate Hughes winning one singles a piece, adding the doubles to their tally. Sarah Horsnell got the consolation singles for Guildford. Leeds finished fifth with Nicola Smith winning two for Leeds and Suzanne Burgess one for Chester, who finished sixth. Nicole and Nicola won the doubles making a 3-1 score line.

Final Placings
1. Hastings
2. Derby
3. Birmingham
4. Guildford
5. Leeds
6. Chester
7. North Herts

Carter Cup (Junior Boys)

The first group rounds started at 10am with matches in Group B between Leamington Spa and West Wilts and Hull versus Crawley/Horsham. The Leamington Spa team, both of whom had played the previous day in the Wilmott Cup, of Laurence Sweeney and Matt Outhwaite ran out 5-0 winners over West Wilts who saw Lee Phillips and Alex MacLachlan playing in the singles matches and Alex teaming up with Ashley Allsop in the doubles. The first three matches were fairly comfortable but Lee put up a tremendous fight to take Matt to five and similarly Alex played well to take an end off Laurence. Crawley/Horsham started well with Alex Forshaw defeating Reece Lo of Hull. However, it was one way after that with Michael Fraser taking both his singles. The final result was 4-1 to Hull with the less experienced Erik Van-Mal being Crawley/Horsham’s second player. The second set of matches saw Hull have a comfortable 5-0 win over West Wilts with Lee Phillips and Ashley Allsop playing the singles. On the other table Leamington Spa had a good 4-1 win over Crawley/Horsham with some close scores. 2.30pm saw the crunch match between Hull and Leamington Spa with the winner going through to challenge for the number one spot. The first match and Matt Outhwaite defeated Reece Lo in four. This was followed by an excellent match between Laurence Sweeney and Michael Fraser which Michael clinched 12-10 in the fifth. A turning point for Hull who won all their subsequent matches, a 4-1 win. Crawley/Horsham and West Wilts met for the third and fourth group places. Some more close matches which saw Crawley/Horsham take the match 3-2.

In Group A the late withdrawal of North Herts meant the placings for the group were fought between Plymouth, Birmingham and Reading. First off was Plymouth versus Birmingham which was a closely fought match. Birmingham emerged the victors when Jack Williamson beat Sam Rose in the fifth by 3-2. Dominic Sussex started well for Plymouth defeating Jack and Sam put Plymouth 2-0 up when he took the second match against Lee Holtham. Birmingham took the doubles when Jack partnered Amit Ubhi and they won the last two matches. Next on was Plymouth versus Reading with Plymouth making an excellent start with Dominic Sussex defeating Liam McTiernan but that was to be the only game they won. Daniel Moses won both his singles for Reading who also took the doubles. 4-1 to Reading the final result. The final group match between Reading and Birmingham saw Reading win comfortably 5-0.

The play-off matches for final placings saw Reading and Hull competing for first and second places with Reading winning 3-0 to take the title. Daniel Moses and Liam McTiernan both winning their first singles and then the doubles. The match for third and fourth place was also a straight 3-0 win for Leamington Spa over Birmingham. Crawley/Horsham finished fifth by virtue of winning 3-1 over Plymouth. Kevin Vandabona was unlucky not to win having two close matches, one going to five and the other to four. West Wilts finished in seventh place.

Final Placings
1. Reading
2. Hull
3. Leamington Spa
4. Birmingham
5. Crawley/Horsham
6. Plymouth
7. West Wilts

Bromfield Trophy (Junior Girls)

The finals saw a round robin of three teams – Plymouth, Derby and Chesterfield. The first match between Plymouth and Chesterfield was between two young teams of Naomi Jackson and Beth Wilson for Plymouth and Isobel Ashley and Jayden Budworth for Chesterfield. The first two matches went to four with Chesterfield winning both. The doubles was a very close run affair with Chesterfield just pipping Plymouth 12-10 in the fifth. The final result was 4-1 to Chesterfield with Naomi defeating Jayden in the final match.

Next on was Plymouth against Derby with Derby having the more experienced pair of Abbie Milwain and Sophie Neil. The experience showed and Derby ran out comfortable winners 5-0.

The decider was then between Chesterfield and Derby with Chesterfield getting off to a good start with Isobel Ashley beating Sophie Neil in four. The rest was fairly plain sailing for Derby, however, who ran out 4-1 winners and thus retained the title. Abbie Milwain won both her singles and Sophie won her second against Jayden Budworth. The Derby pair also won the doubles.

Final Placings
1. Derby
2. Chesterfield
3. Plymouth

As well as a big thank you to Westfield Table Tennis Club our appreciation goes to the band of umpires and the inimitable Mick Strode, our referee. Thanks also to Keith Ponting ETTA Vice Chairman (Competitions) and Mike Smith, ELCC Chairman for their support and assistance. And finally, thanks to the ETTA staff of Vanda Jones and Matt Porter.

Text and photographs by Diane Webb
ELCC Organiser