Ladies stay in the lead
Bridge of Allan Sports Club ladies team maintained their unbeaten record after a 5-0 rout of Waverley to extend their lead at the top of East of Scotland Division 1 to eight points.
Despite missing club champion Sabine Mackenzie, the Birds and the Bees-sponsored side with Scotland under-17 No.1 Lucy Murchie at the top of the order, whitewashed previously co-leaders Waverley.
Stand-in skipper Karen Robertson said:“This was a huge win and we’ve now beaten the defending champions and one of our main rivals in our first three fixtures.
“What I think was great was that we had such a nice balance of youth and experience with Lucy leading the way at No.1 and young Rowan Niven making her debut at No.5 and winning with something to spare.
“It may be early, but I think we have sent out a message that we are here for the title this year.”
Elsewhere the men’s firsts found Heriot Watt University too hot to handle as they suffered a damaging 5-0 defeat in the capital.
After BofA’s superb opening day victory against last season’s third placed side Colinton, they found the students too hot to handle on their home boards.
Skipper Iain Logan said:“Three of the five matches were five setters that could have gone either way and that is a hard one to swallow.
“On the plus side Kyle Penman has made his first team debut and has gone right down to the wire against a more experienced opponent.
“Also, Fergus Richards’difficult summer with illness just left him a bit short when it mattered in the fifth set against Martin Ross.”
There was also disappointment for the seconds who lost out 3-2 at ESC 4 but captain Robin Bairner was delighted with the performance of a patchwork side that saw teenagers Lucy Murchie and Ollie Hunter produce hugely positive performances.
Robin said:“The Tuesday night fixture caused us selection issues and a huge thanks to Lucy, our ladies No.1 and young Ollie Hunter for stepping in.
“I have to say Lucy was absolutely superb in winning her five-setter and young Ollie can hold his head up high after fighting every inch of the way before going down in a really tight four-setter.”
Meanwhile the division three clash between the thirds and Grange 2 at Minewood was mired in controversy as the visitors edged a 3-2 victory in a game dogged by refereeing disputes.
Captain Bert Mitchell raged:“In two of the ties we lost there were big, big decisions that went against us and Jamie Campbell and Dave Hickman can feel aggrieved.
“Grange are the highest ranked side in the division and we took them all the way but the pain of this loss will stay with us and only motivate us for the return match in the second-half.”