Hansard Racketeers Undefeated in C League
In the A league Cannell Print hosted Team AON and made a good start winning the first two matches courtesy of young Oliver Wait, who continued to impress by winning 3-1, and James Martin, making his debut for Cannell, who beat Chris Cave in three very close games. However AON’s Mason McLarney had a convincing 3-0 win and AON captain Robin Crease beat Ben Peach 3-1 to level the match score at 2-2. This left Thomas Whiteway and Pat Fitzpatrick to battle it out in the deciding match which went to Fitzpatrick 3-1 meaning AON took the match 3-2 and moved to the top of the table.
The Crazies got their first win of the season against Mid-Court-Crisis (MCC) They also started well as Dave Freer and Allister Crossley both had 3-0 victories. Rob Boyles had a very close encounter with Crazies Mark Webster-Smith with Boyles eventually triumphing 33-31. MCC’s Paul Barnett then levelled the match with a good 3-0 victory. Experienced IOM players Ashley Sandyford-Sykes and Malcolm Levy determined the overall result in their match which started with a couple of tight games before Sandyford-Sykes upped his game to claim a 3-1 victory taking the last two games 11-3, 11-2.
In the B league Crowe Dragons tasted defeat for the first time this season with Racketeers Pioneers taking the spoils 3-2. Dragon’s Richard Cretney continued his good form with a 3-2 win and although Beth Jones put on a solid performance after returning from injury, she lost to James Leith 3-0. Mark Grace restored Dragons lead with a hard fought 3-2 victory against Marc Taggart but once again the match was tied as Dafydd Lewis took a comfortable 3-1 win over Dragons captain Jon Shepherd. The match ended with a thriller at one with Rob Boyles diving around the court and chasing every shot like a terrier to achieve a 3-1 win over James Martin and take the match for Racketeers.
Outcasts fielded a very strong team against Derivco Sharks to secure a 3-2 win. Outcasts number one Nathan Quilliam won 3-0 as did Toby Woolard at five, making his debut for the Outcasts. Shark’s Alan McNair also won 3-0 and when Dave O’Neill won his match against Mark Henson 3-1 the match was level at 2-2. The match was determined at second string by Dave Freer enjoying a good spell of form and Chris Cave who delights in chasing down balls, with Cave eventually coming out on top.
Island Tyres & Exhausts maintained their undefeated record against Junior Academy gaining maximum points in a hard fought match. The two Shauns’s, Callow and Wyllie, both enjoyed 3-0 wins. Steve Baker was 1-1 and 14-11 down against Oliver Wait but he managed to clawback that third game and then take the fourth to win 3-1. The third and fifth string matches both went to five games with Peter Sharples and Lewi Long just managing to beat Christian Webster and Isaac Quayle respectively by only a couple of points.
In the C league Hansard Racketeers continued their 100 per cent start to the C League campaign with a 233/187 win over reigning champions Island Exhausts Vets. Racketeers’ Baillie Watterson’s impressive return from injury continued as he beat Pete Sharples 3-0 at number one. Joe Burrows and Daryl Richards picked up victors’ other wins, the latter beating Phil Shaw 3-0, but only thanks to two games that ended 15/14. Richard Cretney continued his fine start to the season with a 3-0 win at third string, while Exhausts’ team-mate Lee Loughren battled well to come from two games down to beat Matt Corlett 3-2.
Santander Academy Racketeers hosted Buchanan & Pitts Misfits with Misfits taking the overall victory and a maximum points score of 250. Terry Holt, Stephen Pitts, Jay Dernie and John Watterson all had good 3-0 wins. The contest of the night was the number one string match where Fraser Dorling took on Andy Dixon. This game made use of every box on the score sheet and the full five games, with Dixon eventually taking the final game and the maximum 45 points.
Outcast Dragons fielded a very strong team against Dandara Falcons who really struggled to get a team out for this fixture. Dragons’ experienced trio of Peter Ginty, Stuart Highy and Phil Whittam all enjoyed 3-0 wins. Last minute recruit for Falcons, Sion Morris, was a very welcome debutant gaining valuable points for his team by taking a game off his opponent Fatheha Essa. The Falcons recent recruit Julien Uzzell impressed again in a very close 3-2 match against Pat Russell, only just losing the fifth game 15-12.
It was a close fight for the win between Junior Academy C and Dohle Stars with four matches going to four games. At one Junior Ben Leith had a great game using speed and relentless determination to take a 3-1 win against Luke Tippett. Brian Cowley levelled for Dohle Stars with a 3-1 win against Emma Leith in four close and entertaining games. Isaac Quayle and Leighton Ginty both had good 3-1 wins at three and four respectively for Juniors while Eckhard Garbers won the fifth string match for Dohle. The result was a confidence boosting win for the Junior team.
