In Division 1, Owen Davies scored three for Elsworth 1 in their 8-2 defeat of Gazeley. Joe Thorogood and Brian Freer chipped in with two wins each plus the doubles. Gazeley’s Rob Wallis gained victories over Thorogood and Freer but Bela Szabo and Kin Choi Chan left empty handed. Soham Comrades 1, despite having to call on two players from their second team, found themselves needing only the doubles to force a draw against the League leaders. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and Haddenham 1 ran out the winners by 6-4. Earlier, Christian Mohan had won three, Patrick Mohan one and Kieran Mohan one, both players losing out to Tony Comiskey and Mark Lillyman. The Fulbourn 1 team included a rare appearance by Jon Chapman who surprised everyone by winning his three singles against Fulbourn 2. Two each from Peters Zivtins and Ju Young were enough to give the first string’s score a convincing look although Max Schwiening beat both Zivtins and Young in five to get the "Twos" going before teaming up with Hamish Ryder for the doubles. They won 14-12 in the fifth leg to make the final score 7-3 to the “Firsts”. After slipping down the table in recent weeks, Soham turned out a strengthened team including both Clive Woollard and Andreas Elia to face the might of Ely. Woollard secured a maximum three wins whilst Elia, despite suffering with a pulled back muscle, added another two, just losing out narrowly to Andrew Maguire from Ely, before the two combined to secure the doubles for a 6-4 victory. Ely’s Hugo Brown and Howard Middleton gave good support to Maguire, all recording victories over Jay Johnson of Soham who was unable to build upon his success of the previous week.
Division 2 action saw the NCI roadshow roll on with a 9-1 thrashing of St Georges – in fact St Georges had to wait ‘til the doubles for their only success when Clare Macrae and Hement Joshi beat Kelvin Mitchell and Colin Taylor in three sets. Other than that, Mitchell and Taylor, along with Howard Morley, kept Macrae, Joshi and Anne Chambers off the scoresheet. Soham Comrades 3 held Impington to a draw even though Jeff Catlin enjoyed three comfortable wins for the Imps. Mike Johnston added two more when, after losing to Martin Logan, he beat both Mark Sulman and Mick Foreman. Amy Catlin had a most frustrating evening taking all her opponents to five sets but coming away without a victory. In a particularly long match against Sulman she lost the fifth leg 15-17. Logan and Foreman played very well to beat Jeff Catlin and Johnston in the doubles.
In Division 3, the Leeks of Fulbourn 4 continued their purple patch with a convincing 7-3 win over Fulbourn 6. Howard led with three wins, Tim two and David one, before Howard and David combined for the doubles. Rob Powell was the mainstay of the "Sixes" with two wins, backed up by one from Duncan Gates. Janet Nicholls of Soham Comrades 5 saved her team from a whitewash against Fulbourn 5 when she beat Micheal Boniface in four sets. The remaining games all went to Andy Segar, Jamie Hampson and Boniface, denying Comrades another point although Pete Claringbold took Segar and Boniface to five sets and Melissa Rule also forced Hampson to a decider. Ely 2 and Haddenham 3 played out a draw in record time, the match lasting only two hours. Ely’s Karen Byford picked up her fourth win of the season. Rob Pownall won all three and he and Byford won the doubles.
In Division 1, Gazeley visited Soham and came away with a 7-3 victory mainly due to three wins each from Rob Wallis and Bela Szabo. Kin Choi Chan beat Martin Heyes in four to complete their score. Soham’s points came from Jay Johnson, with a notable win over Kin, and Jon Audus who also beat Kin. The Soham pair then joined forces to take the doubles. Mirek Pazdzior was once again the mainstay for Soham Comrades 1, winning his three singles against Fulbourn 1 to earn them a 6-4 victory. Two from Mark Lillyman and the doubles cut short the Fulbourn drive as Peters Zivtins, Marc Meunier and Nigel Bates all got the better of Syd Dunster, Bates also beating Lillyman. Fulbourn 2 went to Soham Comrades 2 and went down 4-6. Comrades’ usually unflappable Tony Comiskey struggled to beat Hamish Ryder,the match going to 11-9 in the fifth. Harris Ryder was in good form getting the better of Martyn Hagon and Colin Gannon, while Hamish and Max Schwiening also scored one each. The remaining games plus the doubles went to Comrades.
Division 2 action saw Haddenham 2 soundly beat Elsworth 2 by 9-1. The Elsworth team of Stuart Humphrey, Tom Smart and Rich Smart didn’t get off the ground as Ed Emmerson and Ben Brown scored maximums backed up by two from Phil Emmerson. Tom Smart scored Elsworth’s consolation point beating Phil Emmerson in four. The Fulbourn 3 team of Tim and Tom Hands plus Mike Fricker beat Soham Comrades 3 by 8-2, after taking a 4-0 lead. However, Marc Sulman played a heroic defensive game to beat Fricker in five and nearly did the same against Tom Hands, this time going down in five. George Wood also saved his best ‘til last when getting the better of Tim Hands, 14-12 in the fifth. Impington failed to stop the march of NCI but certainly gave them something to think about - mainly due to three very good wins from Colin Adams. Fred Leband kicked off with his game against Howard Morley but despite taking the first leg found Morley’s game just a bit too steady. John Bray then beat Martin Cadman in five and Adams played really well to beat a lively Tony Whiting. Leband found Cadman too strong and Bray found Whiting to be the same so after Adams’ next victory the match was poised at three-all. Apart from Adams’ third win, the remaining singles and the doubles went to NCI to give them the match 6-4.
In Division 3, Fulbourn 6 beat Soham Comrades 5 by 7-3, Rob Powell winning three singles for Fulbourn but needing the fifth against both Pete Claringbold and Janet Nicholls. He was supported well by two from Duncan Gates, against Nicholls and Melissa Rule, while Pat Lloyd also beat Nicholls 11-9 in the fifth. Rule won 13-11 in the fifth against Lloyd to add to Claringbold's two wins to complete Comrades’ points. A very close game saw Countess nonetheless beat Fulbourn 5 by an 8-2 margin. Robin Gammon won his three singles quite comfortably. Steve Jugg also won his three singles but needed the fifth against both Matt Gunton and Andrew Segar. Steve Foulger chipped in with a win over Jamie Hampson before Gammon and Jugg took the doubles. The Leek family, father Tim and sons Howard and David, playing as Fulbourn 4, visited Soham Comrades 4 and ran out the winners 7-3. Chris Rule, Lito Jumilla and Mick Wells won one each but the rest of the scorecard went to the Leeks.
In Division 1, two mid-table teams played a hard-fought draw when Elsworth 1 entertained Fulbourn 1. Elsworth were leading 5-2 after Roger Fensom had won his customary three, backed up by two from Joe Thorogood over Marc Meunier and Peters Zivtins. But the final three games went to Fulbourn with Terry Lane beating Thorogood, Meunier beating Brian Freer and then Zivtins and Meunier taking the doubles against Fensom and Thorogood. Haddenham 1 continued their winning ways with a 7-3 victory at Gazeley. Kieran and Christian Mohan both scored maximums and then combined in a doubles win over Kin Choi Chan and Bela Szabo. Soham Comrades 1 beat their second string 7-3. The first match of the evening was a long five-set victory by Mark Lillyman over Tony Comiskey. Mirek Pazdzior and Sid Dunster followed Lillyman’s example and set the first string 5-0 ahead. However, Comiskey then beat Dunster and Colin Gannon beat Lillyman but Pazdzior got the Firsts rolling again by beating Comiskey and although the Seconds came back when Martyn Hagon beat Dunster in three sets the first string finished off the evening in style when Pazdzior and Lillyman achieved a five-set doubles win against Comiskey and Hagon.
Division 2 action saw a very strong second-place Fulbourn 3 visit league leaders NCI. However, the home team triumphed 7-3 mainly due to three wins from Martin Cadman and two from Kelvin Mitchell. For Fulbourn, Nigel Bates had two comfortable wins against Howard Morley and Kelvin Mitchell and Mike Fricker beat Morley in four. Mitchell and Cadman beat Fricker and Danny Bates in the doubles. Impington probably did enough to take over second place when they beat St Georges 7-3. John Bray recorded three wins, Duncan Taylor two and they then joined forces to take the doubles. For St Georges, Juan Rodriguez had two good wins against Fred Leband and Taylor but faded considerably against Bray.
In Division 3, a rousing Fulbourn derby saw an enthusiastic Fulbourn 5 take the initiative away from the old guard of Fulbourn 6. Matt Gunton led from the front with three singles wins, needing the fifth against Rob Powell. Suitably inspired, Zac Davey kept his composure, winning 11-9 in the fifth against both Pat Lloyd and Duncan Gates while Andrew Segar went down in five to Powell, before beating Lloyd. Gunton and Segar won the doubles to take the match 7-3 and keep the Fives in a challenging position near the top of the table. With Howard Leek excluded for exam revision purposes, Carl Woolf joined Tim and David Leek for Fulbourn 4 against the Ladies of Ely 2. The Ladies, Hollie Pownall-Anderson, Di Baker and Karen Byford, struggled to make an impression, the much-improved Byford coming closest to avoiding the whitewash.
Further action in the Newmarket Journal Handicap Cup saw NCI beat Soham Comrades 5 by 5-3 through two wins from Howard Morley, two from Kelvin Mitchell and one from Colin Taylor. James Nicholls performed extremely well for Comrades winning the two games he played – against Morley and Taylor. Melissa Rule also played well to win a tight three-setter against Taylor. In another Cup match Soham Comrades 2 beat Haddenham 3 by 5-3. Tony Comiskey won the two he played and he was well supported by two wins from Colin Gannon and one from Martyn Hagon when he scraped home against Elliot Smith over five very close legs. Haddenham’s Jake Alsop also won two using his handicap well to beat Hagon and Gannon. Rod Smith beat Hagon for Haddenham’s other point.
Activity resumed after the Christmas break with a mixture of League and Cup games.
In Division 1 Soham Comrades 2 had to call upon Mick Foreman from their third string to make up the numbers against Fulbourn 2. Tony Comiskey scored a maximum for Comrades but his efforts, plus one win from Martyn Hagon over Harris Ryder, were their only successes. Fulbourn’s Hamish Ryder scored two singles, Max Schwiening two and Harris Ryder one before Fulbourn took the doubles to secure the 6-4 win.
Division 2 action saw Impington beat Elsworth 2 by 6-4 with three wins from John Bray, two from Colin Adams and one from Mike Johnston. Adams was suffering from a cold and lost out in a long five-setter against Bill Knibbs. Johnston also lost to Knibbs and found the hard-hitting Rich Smart too hot to handle. Elsworth made the scoreline more respectable when Stuart Humphrey and Smart beat Bray and Johnston in the doubles. In another Impington match, Fulbourn 3 won 6-4 thanks mainly to three singles wins from Nigel Bates followed by the doubles with Tom Hands over Jeff Catlin and Colin Adams. Tom and Tim Hands both beat Duncan Taylor for their other two points. For Impington, Catlin and Adams both beat the Hands in straightforward manner.
Unfortunately, Littleport TTC have announced that they are withdrawing from the League.
In Division 3 Fulbourn 5 scored a confidence-boosting whitewash over Haddenham 3, although Tom and Ollie King and Elliot Smith never let their heads drop and played well all evening. For Fulbourn, Matt Gunton, Andrew Segar and Jamie Hampson have inched up the league table and are now challenging for top spot. Ely 2 hosted Fulbourn 6 and went down 3-7, with Robert Pownall winning all three to maintain his 100% record – although he did have to recover from two down and 8-10 in the third to beat Rob Powell. The Fulbourn team of Powell, Martin Garner and Carl Woolf wrapped up the remaining matches but Ely’s Karen Byford and Hollie Pownall continue to show improvement. Fulbourn 6 recovered well from 3-1 down to force a draw against Soham Comrades 4. Rob Powell scored for Fulbourn against Lito Jumilla but then Nick Rule and Jumilla beat Duncan Gates and Chris Rule overcame Pat Lloyd. However, all three Fulbourn players won their next game and when Powell completed his hat trick they had a 5-3 lead. But the sting in the tail came when Jumilla beat Lloyd and then combined with Chris Rule to take the doubles.
In the Second Round of the Newmarket Journal Handicap Cup Fulbourn 3 made the most of their handicaps to defeat Gazeley 5-1. The first match was a tight 2-1 win for Fulbourn’s Tom Hands over Bela Szabo. This was followed by comfortable wins for Tim Hands, Mike Fricker and Tom Hands against Kin Choi Chan and Rob Wallis. Wallis then scored for Gazeley with a determined effort against Tim Hands before Fricker sealed the victory against Szabo. NCI triumphed over Soham Comrades 5 by 5-3. Comrades’ James Nicholls had two good wins against Colin Taylor and Howard Morley but apart from Melissa Rule taking full advantage of her handicap to beat Taylor, the NCI team, which also included Kelvin Mitchell, reached the winning margin without need for the final game. Fulbourn 2 managed to beat Countess 5-2 mainly through making a determined start which gave them a 3-0 lead. Three of the ten ends went to each side with Fulbourn taking the other four 31-29. Harris and Hamish Ryder and Max Schwiening were thinking they had the job done but back came Countess. Stevie Foulger put nothing on the ball to frustrate Harris, followed by Robin Gammon making the most of his handicap to beat Schwiening. Hamish then notched up another for a 4-2 lead before Harris dug really deep to overcome Gammon 16-31, 34-32, 31-29.
I have received notifcation from LTC that they are withdrawing from the League as they are unable to field a Team for personal reasons
Brian R Freer
Competition Sec
