Report For 12/12/06

Division One
A Cavalier Performance To Overcome Saracens
Smiths A showed little Christmas spirit against their B side as they ran out 10-0 winners. The scorecard suggests that this was a relatively straight forward affair with all games except for one being won in straight games. Andy East of Smiths B played well against the in-form Matt Hartwell before losing in a deciding set.

Division Two
Still Close At The Half-Way Stage
At the half way point of the season, Division Two is becoming very interesting indeed! This is a very closely contested division with no single team dominating. At the top of the table, the race for the title seems to be between three teams. Winchcombe Warriors currently lead the way, followed closely by Smiths C and Saracens C. The Warriors and Smiths C were level on points as they played each other in the final week of the first half of the season. Winchcombe took that match 7-3 and that has put them firmly in the driving seat. However, Graham Chandler did retire due to injury during the course of that match, which rather dented Smiths’ hopes. Special mention must be made of Winchcombe’s Richard Bishop who has completed half a season without being defeated. He seems to be in outstanding form, and several players will be hoping to push him to the limits in the second half of the season. His closest encounter thus far was against Saracens C’s Dennis Wadley, who lost 12-10 in the fifth game of a very close contest. Saracens find themselves just behind the top two, poised to make a challenge come January.

The next section of the table is very very close. Smiths D currently lie in fourth with 50 points, followed by Tewkesbury A and CCS A on 48, Cheltenham D on 46 and Saracens D on 44. These teams have all taken points off each other as they have formed the chasing pack. Each team appears to have a talisman of some sort. Mike Gleeson has led Smiths D well and he has been particularly well supported by Julie Taylor and Chris Ball. Rob Amphlett has lost just three times for Tewkesbury A, whilst David Hart has continued to demonstrate his considerable talent for CCS A. Also, Phil King’s recent appearances have boosted CCS A no end. Alan Harvey has been ‘Mr. Consistency’ for Cheltenham D, but special note must be made of his exceptional doubles partnership with Matt Mulcahy. They have a 100% record having played together six times and these points have been invaluable in their quest to chase the top spots. Many teams swap and change their doubles partnerships on a weekly basis, but Cheltenham have stuck consistently to this tried and tested partnership and this has been hugely successful. Saracens D struggled at the beginning of the season, but Mark Nally’s consistency and the excellent addition of junior Niall Pawsey to the ranks has seen a dramatic improvement in their fortunes. Indeed, their ‘end of first half of the season form’ would have seen them challenging at the top.

There is a considerable gap to the bottom two in the table, Tewkesbury B and Saracens E. As predicted, these two promoted teams are finding life tough in Division Two, but they are by no means letting themselves down. They are certainly no pushovers and many games have been closely contested but have just gone the way of their opponents. Alan Cook started particularly brightly for Tewkesbury although he has found it more difficult in the last few weeks. All five of the Saracens E players have contributed equally and their enthusiasm is clear for all to see.

Division Three
Saracens Tame The Tigers
Saracens F proved why they are the division leaders this week as they saw off second placed Tirley Tigers with an impressive 9-1 victory. The Tigers had remained unbeaten up to this point of the season, but could do little to stop Saracens convincing win. For Saracens, Dave Cosnette was at the top of his game, who despatched his opponents with little trouble, and was well supported by Dave Foulser, whose attacking play was something to which Tirley had no answer. Their only consolation was Pete Humble’s defeat of Tony Walsh, who consequently lost his 100% record which may have been due to being sidelined for the past two weeks with a leg injury.

Cheltenham F were involved in two 5-5 draws. Against Winchombe Eagles, all of their players chipped in with victories, whilst Tiffany Hopton won all of her three sets for the Eagles.

Cheltenham F’s fixture against Civil Service B involved six five game sets. Chris Foster secured a maximum for the Cheltenham side, but Civil Service snatched a draw by winning a very close doubles by 11-7,11-8,10-12,6-11,12-10.

Cheltenham H gained a narrow 6-4 win at the expense of Cheltenham G. The crucial set was Carey Maisey’s four game win over James Bird, especially since the G side narrowly won the doubles.

Winchcombe Eagles were a little too strong all round for an improving Chelsea B side in a 10-0 win.

Division leaders Saracens F once again showed that they are the dominant force as they beat Cheltenham H by 10-0.

Cheltenham J grabbed a draw against Tewkesbury C, taking advantage of the fact that their opponents could only raise two players. For Tewkesbury, John Teare won all three of his sets, with Gill Smith winning two.