AS the last few games are played out in the Okehampton and District Table Tennis League, the titles have now been decided.
In a thrilling climax to division one, Bridestowe needed to win at least seven games in their final match to secure the title. They were up against the young but talented Okehampton D team, so nothing could be taken for granted.
Bridestowe started well with Mark Tancock beating Sarah Jackson and Phil Down beating Zoe Bennett. Mari Baldwin then pulled one back for Okehampton when she beat Mark Fogerty in straight sets. Bridestowe took the next three with Down beating Jackson and Tancock beating Baldwin. Fogerty had to fight all the way against Bennett in a hard fought 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-13, 11-6.
Baldwin kept the pressure on Bridestowe by beating Phil Down before Fogerty beat Jackson and, fittingly, Tancock completed his 11th maximum of the season to get the crucial win. He then joined Fogerty to take the doubles against Jackson and Bennett for a final 8-2 score line and division one victory.
In stark contrast, division two saw run away winners Milton Abbot take their last match 9-1 thereby ending their season without losing a match. The team were mostly represented by 12 year Tom Doidge, George Anderson (13) and Tim Westcott (18) with occasional support from senior players Michael Blatchford and Ian Osborne. The team have dedicated their win to coach and mentor Roger Bowkett, who sadly passed away in February.
Team captain Tom said: ‘We would firstly like to thank Michael and Ian for stepping in when one of us has been unavailable to play and helping us to secure all of our matches. However, we would mostly like to thank Roger. If it was not for Roger, neither Tim, George nor myself would be playing table tennis. We all started to play when Roger organised an after school club at our primary school and also an evening club in the village. He has inspired us all over the years with his enthusiasm, coaching and endless support. He was a great friend to all of us and we really miss him – we hope we did him proud this year.’
With all still to play for, for the remaining positions in the league, Horrabridge A were at home to Gunnislake A. Horrabridge took the first two games with Crispin Jordan beating Jack Flockton and Gerald Whitehouse just beating Michael Alexander 14-12 in the fifth leg. Gunnislake won the next three matches with Michael Kinger beating Gill Northey, Flockton beating Whitehouse and Kinger beating Jordan in another five leg thriller, 13-11 in the fifth.
Northey beat Alexander before Kinger completed his maximum against Whitehouse while Flockton beat Northey to put Gunnislake 5-3 ahead. Refusing to be beaten though, Horrabridge A’s Jordan won the last singles and joined Northey in the doubles, in yet another close match, eventually winning 13-11 in the last leg for a 5-5 draw.
The next match saw club rivals Gunnislake A play the less experienced B team. Ptolemy Beman took the first for the B team against Michael Alexander but the A team then secured the remaining matches with Michael Kinger and Jack Flockton both securing maximums for a 9-1 win.
As well as playing out the remaining league fixtures, the coming weeks now see the teams from both divisions play each other in the annual Pretoria Handicap Cup.