Division Two
Cheltenham C Remain Unbeaten
You will notice that there is a very large report this week for Division Two. Simon Lockley, the Division Two secretary, has been having computer problems over the past few weeks, but is now back online. So here is the Division Two round-up for the last 3 weeks.

In the top of the table clash between Newlands Park B and Cheltenham C, Cheltenham picked up an excellent 6-4 away win, thanks largely to the fact that Newlands Park could only field two players. John Gaskill won both of his matches for Cheltenham C whilst Ken Smith won twice for Newlands Park B. Anand Kershav had the closest matches on the night, defeating Andy Richards 10-12, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, but losing to Smith 15-13, 8-11, 11-6, 7-11, 8-11. The doubles was a tight affair, but Newlands Park emerged victorious to keep the overall score line close, winning 11-9 in the fifth set.

Cheltenham D cruised to a 9-1 win against Saracens D. Maximums for Alan Harvey and Matt Mulcahy ensured the win. Chris James also chipped in with two wins. Martin Cosnette secured the only point for Saracens D.

Saracens B ran out 7-3 winners against a rather lacklustre Tewkesbury A. Dennis Wadley was the player of the night, winning all three games, including a tight five-setter against Rob Amphlett, eventually winning 11-9 in the fifth. Mike Dodwell and Terry Sims both won twice for Saracens B. Amphlett combined well with Simon Lockley to overcome the Dodwell/Wadley pairing in five good sets in the doubles.

Saracens C raced to a convincing 8-2 win against CCS A. Mark Nally claimed a maximum and Tony Iles and Niall Pawsey both won twice for the home team. Dave Hart was the pick of the players for CCS A, bagging a brace, although he was pushed all the way in a tight five-setter with Pawsey.

Newlands Park B remain undefeated although they were made to work very hard for an 8-2 win against Tewkesbury A. Andy East was the best player on the night, winning all three of his games. However, they did not come easily, as he defeated both Rob Amphlett and John Goodchild in five sets, edging past Goodchild 11-9 in the final game. Ken Smith won twice for Newlands Park, but he too was made to work hard for his victories, particularly against Mike Tyrrell, who had match points in the fourth set. Andy Richards also chipped in with two wins. The ever-impressive Rob Amphlett, who overcame both Smith and Richards, secured Tewkesbury’s points. 

Newlands Park D picked up an excellent 7-3 win over Cheltenham D, thanks largely to the excellent form of Mike Gleeson, who claimed a maximum with relative ease. Chris Ball and Julie Taylor both won twice for Newlands Park to confirm the win. Alan Harvey and Matt Mulcahy combined well in the doubles to pick up a useful point for Cheltenham D.

The clash between the bottom two clubs, Saracens D and Tirley Tigers, turned into an early night as only three players in total were available to play, due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, and therefore only two singles matches could be completed. Dave Cosnette and Martin Cosnette claimed ‘maximums’ as they condemned Lesley Dewick to defeat. This accounts for the rather odd scoreline of 7-1. Hopefully, the next time these two meet the match will be a lot better.

Newlands Park C finally grabbed their first win of the season with a 6-4 win over Saracens B. Graham Chandler and Barrie Pope won twice for Newlands Park, whilst Paul Singh chipped in with one win. However, the player of the evening was undoubtedly Mike Dodwell for Saracens B, who won all three of his matches in straight sets. Chandler and Singh combined well in the doubles to secure the win for Newlands Park.

Cheltenham C remain unbeaten for the season after an excellent 6-4 home win against high-flying Saracens B. Simon Pratten, playing in only his second match of the season, was in excellent form for Cheltenham, and he won all three singles to claim a maximum. Christine Williams, who too was only playing her second match of the season, ably supported him. She picked up an excellent brace. Ross Greening was the best performer on the night for Saracens B, winning twice, including a straight sets win over Williams and an impressive five-set victory over the highly ranked Anand Kershav. Indeed, Terry Sims also condemned Kershav to defeat. Mike Dodwell surprisingly lost all three of his singles games, albeit all in five sets. He will be disappointed that he lost to both Kershav and Pratten having been 2-0 up in both matches. Dodwell, however, combined excellently with Greening in the doubles to claim an important point and keep the teams close at the top of the table.

Saracens C ground out a useful 6-4 win against an under-strength but in-form Cheltenham D. Mark Nally and Neil Penny both claimed braces for Saracens, but Matt Mulcahy was in fine form, winning all three of his singles games, including a tight five-setter with Nally. Young Karl Foster deputised for Cheltenham, and in his first match playing up from Division Three, he proved he was a capable opponent, and he condemned wily Tony Iles to an unexpected defeat. Saracens therefore needed to win the doubles to make certain of the win, and Iles and Nally duly combined to defeat Mulcahy and Richard Gummow and win the tie.

Newlands Park C won their second successive game as they thrashed Tirley Tigers 9-1. Graham Chandler and Chris White claimed maximums, whilst Paul Singh chipped in with a brace. Pete Humble collected Tirley’s solitary point of the evening with a good four-set win over Singh.

Tewkesbury A returned to form as they powered to a 7-3 win against CCS A. Rob Amphlett won all three of his games convincingly in straight sets, and he was well supported by Simon Lockley who won two. Dave Hart was CCS A’s best player, claiming a brace, although he had to work hard to overcome both Lockley and John Goodchild, whom he defeated in five close sets. Amphlett and Lockley won the doubles convincingly in a game that had to be self-scored due to circumstances.