Division Two
Legendary Display For Winchcombe
Winchcombe Legends consolidated their top position in the Division, rounding off the first half of the season with two resounding wins: 10-0 against CCS A and 7-3 against their fellow Warriors.  Chris Lane continued his excellent form with maximum points in both matches – although he nearly came unstuck against Warrior’s Charlie Loh, only squeezing home 11-9 in the 5th set – and he was well supported by Darrell Wiltshire, Jacqui Carver and Stewart Ratcliffe. 

Unless things change significantly, Legends look odds-on favourites to claim the top spot this season, while at the other end of the table Tirley look to be in trouble with CCS A, Old Saracens, CTTC D and Saracens B battling to avoid being the other relegation candidate.  The form of Judy Morley – currently top of the individual averages – may prove to be a critical factor for Old Saras.

Lakeside B also registered a convincing win against CCS A, with max-es for Chris Ball and Andy East, although Chris was made to work hard for two of his wins, being taken to 5 sets by both Jonathan Nixon – on inspired form in this encounter, only going down 12-10 in the final set – and Phil King, who notched up CCS’s only singles win of the evening.

Saracens A kept up the pressure with a hard-fought Christmas bonus win against Lakeside C in a well matched tie, with both Mike Dodwell and Dennis Wadley achieving max-es.  Terry Sims battled hard in three close 4-setters but was out of luck and unable to register a win, while the doubles pairing of Wadley/Dodwell just edged out Chandler/Pope to maximise the scoreline.

Lakeside C were out of luck again against Tewkesbury A, having to forfeit the doubles and a possible 5-5 draw because they ran up against the deadline of their venue’s throwing out time after several long and hard-fought games, leaving Tewkesbury as 6-4 winners.  Back-on-form Rob Amphlett registered a max for Tewkesbury and was well supported by Mike Maxwell and Alan Cook, while Chris White notched up two wins for Lakeside, with Julie Taylor and Barrie Pope contributing one each.
 
The following results are the sum total of two weeks’ matches, the remainder of the programme having been decimated by the weather, with school/hall venues closed and treacherous driving conditions on the roads stopping teams getting to fixtures safely.
 
Winchcombe Legends, without their star player Chris Lane this week, were  hard pressed by Warriors for their 6-4 win, with a number of four and five-setters and other close games, and no one managing to come away with a max.  Stewart Ratcliffe won one 5-setter 13-11 against Graham Fisher, but lost another 12-10 against Luke Gresty, while Darrell Wiltshire just scraped home 11-7 against Mike Vick, and these two then combined to take the decisive doubles in 3 sets.

The first two games in Lakeside B’s win over Tirley Tigers both went to 5 sets, with Andy East just edging out Elaine Evans and Chris Ball doing the same to Rob Deeley. A number of other close games followed, with Rob Deeley picking up two and Pete Humble one, but in the end a max from Chris Ball enabled Lakeside to run out fairly comfortable winners by 7-3.
 
An under-strength CCS A were no match for the strong Saracens A team of Mike Dodwell, Dennis Wadley and Ross Greening, and although Steve Murton managed to  secure a singles win against Ross Greening, he could do nothing further to prevent the team going down 9-1.
 
Cheltenham C got off to a good start in the second half of the season, with Chris Williams securing a max in their 8-2 win over Lakeside C – outwardly convincing, but this must have been a long evening’s tussle as all the singles, apart from two, were either four or five-setters.  I wonder what time they finished?!  Chris Williams was made to work hard for her max, going ahead 2-0 to Chris White and being hauled back to 2-2 before finally recovering to take the match in the 5th, and being taken to four close sets against Barrie Pope and Graham Chandler. Both Chris White and Barrie Pope endured two 5-setters each, but only Barrie managed to come away with a win – against Mel Garlick.
 
Lakeside B continue their winning ways with two convincing wins against Tewkesbury A and Cheltenham C, with both Chris Ball and Andy East achieving max-es in each fixture.  They still remain unbeaten this season. Although Paul Singh came away empty-handed in both matches, he pushed Tewkesbury’s Mike Maxwell and Alan Cook all the way, only going down 11-8 and 12-10 respectively in the fifth.  Equally Rob Amphlett was only just squeezed out 11-9 in the fifth by Chris Ball, and Andy East had a struggle on his hands against Alan Cook, getting home 11-4 in the fifth after having gone 2-1 down in games.  Although on form and on paper Cheltenham C presented a stiffer challenge, in the absence of Cheltenham's Mel Garlick, Lakeside’s 7-3 victory only generated three 4-setters, with the rest settled in three.
 
CCS A achieved a hard-fought draw against Saracens B, with Phil King continuing his excellent form this season coming away with a max, and Mark Nally and Tony Iles each registering two wins apiece, as well as combining to take the deciding doubles.  Phil was made to work hard for his max, being taken to five by both Dave Foulser and Tony Iles, and four by Mark Nally, while Tony struggled to get the better of Jonathan Nixon, eventually squeezing home in 5 sets.  Dave Foulser had an enigmatic evening, playing excellently against Phil King with a string of fine backhand hits but then going off the boil against Steve Murton and Jonathan Nixon.
 
Saracens A just got the better of Winchcombe Warriors thanks to another max from Dennis Wadley and two from Mike Dodwell, plus the crucial doubles.  Mike was unlucky not to chalk up a max as well, having gone 2-0 up against Charlie Loh, but Charlie was not going to lie down and came back strongly to take the next three sets to keep the final outcome of the match in the balance until the last.
 
Winchcombe Legends have now hit the “ton” with 102 points thus far and they ran out convincing winners against Old Saracens by 9-1, although Judy Morley unfortunately had to retire injured, so the anticipated clash with Chris Lane didn’t happen.  Judy also lost in four to Stewart Ratcliffe but – owing to the lack of match comments on the card - I can’t say whether that was down to Stewart’s excellent play or Judy’s injury.  Perhaps Stewart can let me know which for the next report (!!). But either way, the result seals Legends top place in the Division although Saracens A’s results are keeping up the pressure on them.  They also chalked up a 7-3 win this week against short-handed Cheltenham D, with Mike Dodwell (2+1) and Ross Greening (1+1) securing Saracens points, including the doubles.  Terry Sims was desperately unfortunate not to come away with a win against Chris James, having recovered from 2-0 down to 2-2 but finally going down 14-12 in the fifth, and Ross Greening nearly came unstuck against Alan Harvey in the reverse scenario – leading 2-0 until Alan pegged him back to 2-2 before Ross finally clinched the fifth 11-6.


Steve Murton
Division Two Secretary

Division Three
Mixed Results For Cheltenham F

Cheltenham G narrowly got the better of Cheltenham H 6-4, but it was Richard Comley of the H side who caught the eye, winning all three of his sets. This included a notable success over Jon Laramy in four games.

John Whitworth of Cheltenham F was the only player to secure three wins in their 5-5 draw with Civil Service B. However, with his side needing to win the doubles to share the points, he and Dan Smith needed to pull out all of the stops to squeeze through 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-6 in what was the only five game set of the evening.

Cleeve Eagles survived a tricky encounter against Civil Service B to emerge 7-3 winners, having been 2-3 down. The key clash was between Derek Brown and Jeremy Turberville, with Derek taking the honours 12-10, 11-9, 13-11. Earlier, Jeremy had survived a five game marathon against Mick Holder, holding on for a 11-9 win in the final game. Derek teamed up with Roly Holder to win the doubles.

Another team to come from behind were Winchcombe Vikings, who pipped Cheltenham F 6-4. Dick Prior led the way with a maximum to ensure that Vikings recorded their first win since November.

Cheltenham F were unable to cope with Tewkesbury B who extended their lead in the division after this 9-1 win. John Whitworth provided the only resistance, taking all of his sets to five games, but coming out on top only against Simon Lockley.

Cheltenham F fared better against Cheltenham H, and were comfortable 10-0 winners.

The race for minor placings behind Tewkesbury is hotting up, with several sides in contention. Two of them met in a pre- Christmas clash, and it was Cleeve Eagles who triumphed 7-3 against Cheltenham E, with Tiffany Hopton winning all three of her sets. As anticipated, a number of  sets could have gone either way, typified by the doubles in which Dan Crook and Derek Brown, aided by some fortuitous net cords, squeezed through against James Bird and Carey Maisey 12-10 in the fifth game.

 Derek Brown
Division Three Secretary