Youth wins the day in Handicap Cup final...
YOUTH triumphed over experience in the Loughborough and District Table Tennis League Handicap Cup final as the brilliant Dolphins convincingly beat the Dinkies in an all-Draycott clash.
Talented teenagers Dylan Upton and Kian Ellis in the singles and Melissa Withers and Mille Noble in the doubles did exceptionally well to defend their 40-point start against the second placed side in Division Two.
There was little either Jordan Tweed or John Genovese could do to stem the tide in the four singles even though they are 16 points clear of Dolphins in the league.
The evening started with Dylan Upton refusing to buckle after losing two tight opening games to Jordan Tweed. By winning the last two games 11-8 11-8 he increased the Dolphins lead by a couple of points.
Then John Genovese ran into similar problems against Kian Ellis who took one of the four games and kept it tight in the others. Dinkies ended up reducing the deficit by just three.
Dinkies turned to two higher handicapped players in Thomas Wright and Graham Whittaker in the doubles but now it was the turn of Melissa Withers and Mille Noble to take charge. They claimed three of the four games, ensuring Dolphins led by 47 at the midway point.
Dinkies needed a big set to have any hope of turning the tie around but instead Dylan Upton took the opening two games off John Genovese 11-8 11-8 and added another two points to the deficit.
Jordan Tweed produced a good performance to take all four games against Kian Ellis to triumph 45-31 but again the Dolphins player did enough to keep his side in firm control.
This meant Melissa and Millie only needed a handful of points from the final doubles and a titanic 17-15 victory in the first game took them over the line.
They then added a second game 11-2 before Thomas and Graham gained some consolation by winning the last two.
The final margin was 375 points to 336 – another very comfortable victory by the young team after thrashing Sawley Stars in the semi final.
All the Dolphins side are improving rapidly but their handicaps were all very fair based on league results and their margins of victory were a sign of their maturity as match players as well as their outstanding ability.