Three Lions kings of Marlborough table tennis
Three Lions may have lost their last battle of the Marlborough senior interclub table tennis season, but they certainly won the war.
The regular Three Lions team of Alex Kennedy, Matt Millar and Jason Kennedy had an unassailable points lead going into their final match with Warriors on Thursday.
Playing without Millar, they lost their final fixture 8-4 with Dennis Burkhart filling in, but claimed the overall crown.
Alex Kennedy won his three singles, giving him 48 wins from 48 matches in club play. His play has been very consistent this year, while he has added power and spin to his shots.
Matt Willis and Ken Thompsett claimed two wins each for Warriors. Willis had to work hard in his match with Jason Kennedy, just getting home 11-7, 5-11,7-11, 11-7, 11-9 after some great topspin rallies. Kylie Hurren picked up a singles win and two doubles victories.
Liquorland beat Wairau Valley Blue 11-1 to finish in third place. oe Aitchison and Bruce Palmer were undefeated, Aitchison having to come from behind to beat Josh Sim in five sets.
Steve Rowsell won the point for the Valley team with a 10-12, 12-14, 12-10, 11-3, 11-8 win over John Diamanti. Arawa finished fourth after a 10-2 win over Wairau Valley Red. Jeff Sawyer won his three singles, but needed five sets to get past Peter Cowdrey. Valley’s num- ber one David Foley won the points for his team, with wins over Warren Haszard and Jeremy Phipps.
Koromiko beat MOBS 11-1 with Peter Welsh and Ross Ward hitting some great shots to be unbeaten. Darryl Jones was unlucky not to claim a second win, losing to Bill Hebberd 11-3, 11-13, 7-11, 11-5, 15-13 when his last shot just missed.