SHANKLIN A PLAY CLOSE-FOUGHT THRILLER AGAINST RYDE B

In the final matches in local table tennis’ Division 1 before the Christmas break, Shanklin A played in a thriller against Ryde B. Ryde’s Alex Rorke was untroubled in any of his games, but teammate and fellow British Senior League player Tim Giles had a much tougher time, and lost to both Jim Hall and Michael Bulpitt, and won against Mike Turner only narrowly in five sets. With Ryde’s junior Ethan Millward unlucky not to win a game, the match rested on the doubles, in which Ryde’s Rorke and Giles were untroubled by Shanklin’s Turner and Bulpitt, culminating in the match ending in a draw. Top-of-the-table Ryde A met Ryde Ravens in another excellent match, with the Raven’s 18-year-old Joe Chapman gaining a fine win in five sets over the A team’s Rob Smith. However, the game of the match was between the A team’s unbeaten Scott Lawson and the Raven’s Steve Mills.  With Mills taking the first 2 sets, and Lawson winning the next 2 with ease, the 5th set was a closely fought match of the highest quality, with Mills winning by 11-9 and ending Lawson’s 100% record this season.  The match ended 7-3 to Ryde A.  Division 1 Results 

Shanklin A	5	Ryde B	5
Ryde A	7	Ryde Ravens	3

In Division 2…

In the 2nd Division, there was quite a shock when Havenstreet Hooters met Ryde Rockets. Previously unbeaten Trevor Percival of the Rockets lost 2 of his games against Havenstreet’s Carl Rye and Paul White. Havenstreet ultimately took the match 8-2 to put them into third place in the table. Newport Vics C continued their dominance this season with a 9-1 win over Ryde Allsorts. However, Ryde’s cadet player Jye Lock had an excellent win over Newport’s Charlie Stapeley, who had previously lost only 3 games. Newport’s Lawrence Fo is now the only unbeaten player in Division Two this season. Division Two Results           

Ryde Allsorts	1	Newport Vics C	9
Ryde Rascals	9	Ryde Lizards	1
Ryde Rockets	2	Havenstreet Hooters	8

 In Division 3…

Division 3 leaders Newport Vics D met their match in Shorwell Saints this week, and it was an excellent evening of close games. Shorwell’s top player was Kevin Williams, who won two games, both of which went to 5 sets, whilst his teammates won one each.  However, Newport’s Debbie Yates was player of the match and unbeaten, and with a doubles win for Yates and teammate Chris Gordine, the match ended 6-4 for Newport. Bottom of the table Ryde Frog’s players had a nice Christmas present, with Charlotte Banks, Sandra Brooks and Rebecca Paice all winning a game in their match against Shorwell Spinners, but Shorwell took the match 7-3 and lie second in the table. Division Three Results

Shorwell Spinners	7	Ryde Frogs	3
Newport Vics D	6	Shorwell Saints	4

Brian Warne Drawn Doubles Tournament 

The annual Brian Warne Drawn Doubles tournament took place on 29th December and was a competitive, fun event with a good turnout of players of all standards taking part. The tournament is unique as the doubles teams are made up by pairing the highest-ranking player with the lowest-ranking player, the second highest with second lowest and so on.  This makes for an interesting and level playing field for the matches. 17-year-old twins Ethan and Joe Millward both reached the final, but playing in different pairings. The winners were Ethan Millward and Manfred Gelhard, who beat Joe Millward and Peter Clarke.