Triple Trouble still at top
Triple Trouble have opened up a small gap in the race for the Tarrant Cup in Marlborough table tennis.
They beat Simon Says 10-2, who were playing without Simon Bishell and Kylie Hurren.
Ping Muanwong was at the top of his game, controlling the ball well and hitting some well-time winners.
Martin Stephens and Jeremy Phipps backed him up with two wins each. Both complement Muanwong well with Stephens being a left handed hitter and Phipps able to hit off either side.
Fill-in player Jamie Marfell won two singles for Simon Says. Marfell, who did not play regularly last season, showed good positional play allowing him to play strong spin shots.
The 3 of a Kind team beat MJB 7-5. At five matches all, MJB were four games ahead.
Rob Honour then beat Bjorn Cowdrey 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 and Alex Kennedy and Steve Rowsell beat Matt Willis and Jeff Sawyer by 8-11, 13-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6 to give their team a narrow win.
Earlier Kennedy had won his three singles with his hardest match being a four set win over Sawyer.
Kennedy, who is still a junior next year, displayed great control with his topspin shots.
Willis and Sawyer won two each for MJB, while Cowdrey beat Rowsell in four sets in the first match.
Fonz Boys gained a 7-5 win over Marion’s Muppets.
Matt Pigou led the way with three good wins.
His forehand drives were very effective, with the ball coming off the table at lightning speed.
Billy Hebberd did well to win two singles and to take Ken Thompsett to four sets. Darryl Jones partnered Hebberd to a five set win over Peter Welsh and Marion Wood.
Thompsett won his two remaining singles, with Welsh and Wood adding a win each.
Assassins beat Cowdreys Haszards 8-4, after being 4-1 down.
Jason Kennedy won his three singles including a 6-11, 12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 win over Zac Cowdrey.
David Foley had a good night, winning two singles and taking Cowdrey to five sets.
Ross Ward won a single and a double.
Cowdrey won his other two singles while Warren Haszard and Barbara Burkhart beat Foley and Ward 11-8 in the fifth set.
Nathan Watson was to the fore as Chelsea’s Children beat Omaka 7-5.
His side spin serves were wellplaced and difficult to read. Josh Sim did well to win two singles.
Vanessa Wood-Lin played well to win her doubles with Watson.
The consistent Jacqui Wood won two singles for Omaka and had some quality rallies with Watson.
John Diamanti and Dennis Burkhart also got on the board.
Next Sunday at the Simcox Stadium, the Marlborough Under18 Representative Team of four boys and four girls takes on Nelson for the Angell Shield.
Each player will play four singles and two doubles, making a total of 40 matches.
Alex Kennedy and Josh Sim are experienced at this level and are joined by relative newcomers, Rory Osborne and Paul Slovak.
The Nelson team is likely to be made up of players from the South Island Championships in June.
Hannah Smit and Vanessa Wood-Lin played for the senior Marlborough team last week while Stacey Wiliams and Abbey Brown are playing well in the junior competition.
The Nelson team will include two players who played for the Nelson Senior side in their Perry Shield win .