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May |
May Week 1
As the season starts to draw to a close for another year, there are still important tussles to be had left remaining in the Newbury District League, none more so than the battle for the Mixed Division 2 crown. With leaders Kintbury not playing this week it left chasers St.Mary’s to close the gap and keep the pressure on. This week the Saints travelled to Downlands, a place renowned for being a difficult away fixture, more due to the conditions than the team itself. As expected the match was a close contest with the advantage swaying back and forth. The critical rubber came in the third game between veteran pairing Anaya Jeshtadi and Mary Anne Stephens, taking on the junior pairing of Rebecca Meagrow and Ross Parsons. Despite losing the first game 21-17, the young pairing clawed their way back into the match taking the next two games 21-19, 21-17, which gave Saints the impetus they needed to push on, and push on they did, taking the tie 5-4.
Elsewhere in Mixed Division 2 St Mary’s C team took on Shaw C, and came away with a 7-2 victory, despite Keith Watts and Pam Norris’ best efforts, which resigned Shaw to life in Division 3 next season.
In Mixed Division 1, Shaw A cemented their place at the top of the table with a comfortable 8-1 victory away to Aldermaston, who showed some resilience in the forms of the ever brilliant Rhian Jenkins, and some nice net shots from Hannah Ward, but neither could prevent the Champions winning their final game of the season.
In the same division, St.Mary’s A team handed out a 9-0 hiding to Newbury A, and Shaw’s B team lost narrowly to Cannons A team 5-4, with the return match to follow this week.
In the Ladies 6, Newbury kept up their pursuit of the title with a convincing 9-0 victory over Bucklebury, with Julie Eatwell and Jo Russ having an easy night of it. All three of Newbury’s pairs dominated and won all their games taking the tie 9-0.
In the Mens League, Division 1 saw the battle of the depleted teams, with both Shaw B and Aldermaston only fielding 2 pairs each, but this did not stop Aldermaston who won all the available rubbers to win the tie 6-2.
In Division 2 Bucklebury did themselves no favours when they lost to Cannons 7-2, with Paul Rabbetts and Tony Kirstein leading the charge, and sending the Bucks ever closer to the drop.
In Division 3, Downlands B kept themselves rooted to the foot of the table after being taken apart by Aldermaston. This loss saw Downlands run of defeats continue to 10 straight losses, and surely the wooden spoon prize at the end of the season awards is heading their way.
May Week 2
The year saw one of the most exciting climaxes to a season for many years, as the top men's teams from Shaw and Kennet battled it out to claim the title of top men's team in the area. Kennet had home advantage in the final match, with Shaw needing to win 6-3 or better to retain the title that they'd held for 6 years.
After narrowly losing the reverse fixture, Shaw took the bold move of rearranging their pairings. So it was that in the first rubber Andy Norman was joined by Jason White, and to their delight, the pair gained a comfortable win over Gary Chambers and Chris Tompkins. In rubber 2, Mike Pembroke partnered Dave Mackley for Shaw, and this was a much closer affair, but the established team of Steves Heath and Hitchcock pulled Kennet level( 21-15, 28-26).
The next rubber was another close two-setter, but this time the visitors were the victors, as Kevin and Tony Walker overcame Steve Pennington and Nick Bazin 21-19, 21-18. Score 2-1 to Shaw. Next up was Norman and White against the 2 Steves, and once again the established pairing took control. However, just as they were on the verge of victory, the Norman and White partnership clicked, and took tight second set before storming through the third to claim a 14-21, 21-19, 21-6 victory. It was now 3-1 to Shaw, and the alarm bells were ringing through the home crowd.
Home spirits were soon lifted though, as Steve Pennington and Nick Bazin cruised to a comfortable win in rubber 5. Score 3-2 to Shaw. Rubber 6 was now vital for both teams, and Tompkins and Chambers and the Walkers served up a see-saw game, before the home team claimed the win in three sets. The score was now 3-3, and Shaw had to win the last three rubbers to hold on to their title.
Rubber 7 saw Norman and White back in action for Shaw, and they completed a remarkable clean-sweep for the evening with a comfortable victory. Score now 4-3 to Shaw, and still all to play for. Rubber 8 saw Tompkins and Chambers take on Pembroke and Mackley, and it was incredibly close, but Kennet gained that vital extra rubber with a 24-22, 21-19 win. Kennet were the new champions. There was still one rubber left for Kennet to try to complete an unbeaten season, and Shaw to at least claim victory on the night. This was a real marathon, but once again Kennet managed to win through, with the Steve Heath and Steve Hitchcock between the Walker brothers 16-21, 21-15, 24-22. What a night for Kennet!
This was a hard act to follow, but two nights later, Kintbury and St Mary's B did their best! The situation leading up to the game was remarkably similar. Visitors St Mary's needed to beat Kintbury 7-2 or better to deprive them of the Mixed Division 2 title. Top pair Mel Pennington and Steve Heath gave Kintbury a nerve-settling start, with a three-set victory over Pam Norman and Tony Glinos (21-13, 13-21, 21-11).
St Mary's came storming back in rubbers 2 and 3, with fine wins for Frances Rayson and Phillip Desbois and Rebecca Meagrow and Ross Parsons. Pam Norman and Tony Glinos then took rubber 4 with ease, and suddenly St Mary's were 3-1 ahead with real hope of snatching the title. It got even better for the visitors as Rayson and Desbois beat Jackie Walker and Cliff Vardell 21-17, 21-18 to move into a 4-1 lead.
Rubber 6 was now crucial for the home team, and what a battle it was. Kintbury's top pair of Pennington and Heath eventually overcame Meagrow and Parsons 21-16, 13-21, 21-15, to pull the score back to 4-2. Rubber 7 brought more joy for The Saints though, with an easy win for Norman and Glinos, to make the score 5-2 and clinch the match. Could The Saints go on and win the final 2 rubbers to claim the title? Rubber 8 saw another three-setter for Pennington and Heath, and once again they came out victorious (21-10, 14-21, 21-11) to claim the title. The final score was 5-4 to Saint Mary's, who therefore have to settle for second place in the division, but with the considerable consolation of promotion to division 1.