Danny Reed and Alice Loveridge are the BUCS table tennis champions for 2015.
Commonwealth Games medallist Danny Reed (Sheffield Hallam) beat Chris Doran (Nottingham Trent) 3-1 in a brilliant Men’s Singles final which featured some excellent rallies throughout the match.
Paul McCreery (Nottingham) and Colin Dalgleish (Robert Gordon) were the unlucky semi-finalists but Colin had previously played a fantastic match against the returning Kenny Lindsay (Birmingham), coming back from 2-0 down to make the last four.
Several spectacular matches delighted the crowd, especially the match between Matthew Outhwaite (Warwick) and Jason Wong (Imperial), with the latter coming out on top 11-9 in the fifth.
In the Women’s Singles, Loveridge (Nottingham Trent) regained her crown by beating Emma Vickers (Nottingham Trent) in a five-game thriller which saw Alice come back from 10-6 down in the fifth to win the title for the second time. Abbie Milwain (Keele) and Yolanda King (Nottingham) were the losing semi-finalists.
A special mention must also go to Helen Rutherford (Manchester) in this event who, despite being unseeded, managed to make her way to the quarter-finals, taking the scalps of Natalie Slater (Keele) and See Xie Yi (Exeter) on the way.
McCreery and Liam McTiernan (Nottingham) were comfortable winners in the Men’s Doubles against Graeme Barella and Chun Yin Yu (Newcastle). Top seeds Doran and Emran Hussain (Nottingham Trent) had been beaten earlier in the day in a fantastic match by Michael Hahn and Prab Leelayudth (St Andrews).
Vickers and Loveridge (Nottingham Trent) once again were the champions in the Women’s Doubles, beating Tressa Armitage and King (Nottingham) in a high-quality five-set match which kept the crowd entertained right until the end.
In the Mixed Doubles, Doran and Vickers again showed Nottingham Trent’s strong table tennis ability with a comfortable win in the final against McCreery and King (Nottingham). Bronze went to Hussain and Loveridge (Nottingham Trent) and McTiernan and Armitage (Nottingham).
Joshua Reynolds
February 23, 2015