Runaway leaders ease to victory to Leamington Table Tennis League

Jack Green won two, falling to Mike Rinnhofer, and Sam Weaving also won twice, losing to Craig Allen 8-11 in the 5th. Green and Wong took the doubles. St Georges A moved into 4th place in Division 1 with a 7-3 win over Lillington Free Church B. Tony Deren, Damon Fenton and Gary Jackson all returned braces, though Fenton was taken to 11-9 in the 5th by Tom Brocklehurst. Deren and Fenton won the doubles in 5. None could master Church number one James Berry who presently enjoys an 81 per cent average. Georges A, with a match in hand, are serious contenders for runners-up spot. Rugby A currently sit second and overcame WCC Bats 7-3. Ryan Lines and Matt Outhwaite were responsible for all their points, though Lines had a close encounter with Simon Griew who took him to 11-8 in the 5th. Nilton Green, Griew and Martin Hunter shared the Bats’ points. Nomads Aces retained their top spot in Division 2, beating Rugby C 8-2. Andy Davies starred with a hat-trick and the doubles with Paul Rowan, who won twice. Tony Thomas also bagged two. Marina Ndumnego (2) responded for Rugby. Free Church D overcame Whitnash 8-2 and are second. Jeff Harris led the way with 3 wins, Ollie Endersby and Owain Jones grabbing two apiece and the doubles. Andy Coonan (2) gave most resistance. Colebridge B got the better of Free Church E with a 7-3 win. Dean Hicks, Jason Rainey and Andy Rowland all lost out to Church’s Stefan Birca but won their other singles. Hicks and Rainey won the doubles. WCC Bears catapulted themselves into 4th with a 9-1 win over Eathorpe A. Paul Calloway and Chris Hughes won their singles and got home in the doubles 16-14 in the 5th. Clive Irwin’s brace included an 11-9 in the 5th win over Pete Titmas. Elliott Hey avoided the whitewash. In Division 3 Rugby D continued their relentless march to the title with a 10-0 eclipse of Nomads Codgers. Pablo Caldas, Dave Cox and Martyn Lilley were the successful trio. Free Church G remain 3rd after beating struggling WCC Dinos 7-3. Marc Briscoe, Bethan Jones and Michael Khovanov all won twice but fell to Colin Astbury. Briscoe and Khovanov won the doubles. WCC Flounders ended up as 7-3 winners over Free Church H who were a player light due to a late illness. Steve Proctor won two, Andy Caine one and Simon Chalker joined Proctor to take the doubles. Three points were conceded by Church who secured their tally with two wins from Nick Darwen and a single from Johnson Wong. Nomads Dragons had a successful trip to Ashorne A, triumphing 7-3. Husband and wife ill and Mike Weaving won all of their singles and Catherine McAuley paired with Jill for the doubles. Jim Goodwin, Martin Hamer and William Little replied. Eathorpe C dispatched Rugby E 7-3 despite only having two players. John Ablett and Darren Hadley won all contested points. Several local youngsters competed in the County Schools individual championships at Meon Vale Leisure Centre near Stratford last weekend. Warwickshire Schools still includes Birmingham and Coventry schools as far as table-tennis is concerned. Rex Wong of Warwick School won the Under 16 Boys title. He topped his group of 5 and faced schoolmate Starry Sheung in the semi-final. Victory saw him pitted against Wajid Wafiq of Birmingham, the England number 27, but he was not to be denied. It was an under 16 double for local schools as Mia Chan of Kings High won the Girls title. Susie Swan of Myton finished as runner-up and Keerthi Bakthisaran of Shottery a creditable third. Toby John of Warwick School was a finalist in the under 13 Boys event, losing to Rex Ho of Birmingham. Toby Roe, also of Warwick School, lost to Ho in the semi-final. Campbell Turner of Cubbington Primary finished a commendable 7th from 12 entries in the Under 11 Boys event.