Liam Harris of Nomads Bobcats was given his sternest test so far against Walton E in Division Two of the Clacton & District League but he passed with flying colours.
Walton ended as 6-4 victors but the 13-year old Nomads’ junior inflicted defeats on Gary Stallwood, Mark Ratcliffe and Mark Gale, three players with top-flight pedigree, his toughest match an excellent 3-2 (8-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-8) victory over Ratcliffe.
The Walton players each won two singles but failed to take the doubles, Harris combining with Mike Wellum to win 3-1 (11-7, 14-12, 11-13, 12-10) against Ratcliffe & Gale.
Top team Brotherhood I met bottom team Nomads Jaguars and unsurprisingly won 10-0. John Owen, Fred Gallone and Graham Parkes recorded trebles with just one match extended to a final set, Parkes beating Caroline Page 10-12, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-4.
Every player picked up at least one point in the all-Windsor clash between the Buzzards and the Magpies. But it was John Harvey’s hat-trick which proved decisive, giving the Buzzards a narrow 6-4 win. Dave Martin got two for the Magpies.
Frank Burbidge and Woody Fitzpatrick were Brotherhood H’s maximum men as their side defeated Windsor Harriers 8-2. Tricia Salter’s two included the closest match of the evening, an 11-6 in the decider win over Ferdy Rodriguez. Isabel Barton was the Harriers’ best player, winning one singles and sharing a doubles success with Rodriguez against Fitzpatrick and Salter.
It was also 8-2 for Windsor Kestrels against Brotherhood G, Colin Beaumont winning his three. Graham Bunce and Bob Sawyer won two each but suffered unexpected defeats at the hands of Paul Metcalf.
In Division Three Brotherhood E took a massive step in their quest for a speedy return to Division Two when they inflicted a 9-1 defeat on promotion rivals Windsor Penguins. There were trebles for Duncan Dunne, Tony Edmonds and Rodney Betts, although Betts had to battle hard to beat Sue Chillingworth 11-5 in the decider and Darren Bunce 11-9 in the decider. A doubles win for Bunce and Paul Dale against Dunne and Betts preserved the Penguins’ unbeaten doubles record for the season.
Dave Harris emulated son Liam’s performance with a hat-trick for Nomads Pumas as his side edged past Nomads Leopards 7-3. His three included an 11-8 in the fifth victory over Dave Wright and an 11-5 in the fifth success against Bob Jillins. Lionel Goddard and Andrew Cousins got a couple each for the Pumas, as did Jillins for the Leopards. Jillins and Wright took the doubles for the Leopards, 11-5 in the fifth, against Harris and Cousins.
Windsor Falcons celebrated a first win of the season, beating Windsor Robins 6-4. Kayley Rodriguez won three and Mark Lamb two but it was the doubles which, as often happens, proved crucial, the two Falcons’ players defeating Bob Bales and Oleksandra Klymenko 13-11 in the decider. For the Robins, Bales won two, and Klymenko and Jo Parsey one each.
Brotherhood J beat Windsor Merlins 9-1, Morgan Harvey and Dan Still each taking three and Maci Harvey two. Windsor’s Sharon Gowlett had a 12-10 in the decider win against Maci Harvey and took Still close before going down 11-5 in the fifth.
In Division One the twists and turns at the top continued with Windsor Condors notching up a big win but Nomads Panthers losing for a second time this season, results which leave the Condors leading the table seven points ahead of the Panthers having played a game more.
Colin Stallwood and Greg Green were undefeated, and Annabelle Rodriguez won twice, as the Condors motored past Walton C 9-1. John Rankin’s win over Rodriguez was Walton’s only success.
The Panthers faced a Brotherhood C which included their top three players and it was Brotherhood who emerged 6-4 winners. Andy Warner took three, Kevin Gowlett two and Alan Burgess one. Paul Hume picked up a couple for the Panthers but James Denyer only one, his defeats by Warner and Gowlett his first reverses of the season.
Gowlett and Martin Edwards took trebles as Brotherhood C had a second 6-4 win, this over a Nomads Tigers’ side which won all four matches which went the distance. Kevin Pryor was Brotherhood’s unlucky player, losing 11-7 in the fifth to Daryl Lott, 11-8 in the fifth to Chris Parr, 14-12 in the fifth to Pawel Szemro and then, in the doubles, going down 11-4 in the fifth with Edwards to Lott and Szemro. The win for Brotherhood preserves their unbeaten record for the season.
The Tigers were involved in another 6-4 result but, this time, came out on top against Lawford, in a match where every player picked up at least a point. Phil Wolski starred with an unbeaten three whilst John Marshall and Daryl Lott, with a close win in five over Charlie Morris-Denholm, took a point each for the Tigers. Paul Hewitt won two, and Morris-Denholm and Richard Spence one each Lawford. The Tigers clinched the match victory in a somewhat unsatisfactory manner when Spence had to concede match ten through illness.
Walton A were 9-1 winners over a severely-weakened Windsor Eagles. Kevin James and Gary Young were unbeaten with only Phil Smith’s victory over Gavin Price preventing the white-wash.
Walton B and Windsor Hawks are locked together in the middle of the table and so it was little surprise their encounter ended all-square. Andy Vincent stayed unbeaten for the Hawks, Roger Hance defeated Paul Meikle 11-9 in the fifth whilst Vincent and John Barton took the doubles. Derek Willis and Jason Gale each won a couple for Walton with Paul Meikle completing the scoring with an 11-6 in the fifth victory against Barton.
RESULTS
Division 1
Walton C 1 Windsor Condors 9
Brotherhood C 6 Nomads Panthers 4
Windsor Eagles 1 Walton A 9
Nomads Tigers 4 Brotherhood C 6
Walton B 5 Windsor Hawks 5
Lawford 4 Nomads Tigers 6
Division 2
Windsor Magpies 4 Windsor Buzzards 6
Nomads Bobcats 4 Walton E 6
Brotherhood G 2 Windsor Kestrels 8
Brotherhood I 10 Nomads Jaguars 0
Windsor Harriers 2 Brotherhood H 8
Division 3
Windsor Merlins 1 Brotherhood J 9
Windsor Robins 4 Windsor Falcons 6
Nomads Pumas 7 Nomads Leopards 3
Brotherhood E 9 Windsor Penguins 1