DORSET TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION
Report by Mike Smith:

Interim Report on the ETTA County Championships – Junior div 1b

The first of two block matches for the ETTA County championships Junior div 1b was held at the Waterside Club in Totton and the Okehampton ttc in Devon last Saturday.

Playing at the Okehampton ttc were Devon I, Devon II, Glamorgan I and Glamorgan II.

At the Waterside Club, Dorset had to play Surrey 1, Sussex 2 and Hampshire. Playing for Dorset were George Downing, Hugo Pang, Finn Morgan Bayliss, Becky Kuzu and Hannah McErlane. Dorset coaches were Stephen Foster and Mike Smith.

First up against Dorset was a very strong Surrey 1 side led by Marcus Giles and Michael Ho rated 13 and 14 in the ETTA ranking list, just behind our own George Downing. George showed just what a class player he is by beating both Marcus and Michael easily in 3 straight games. Hugo beat Marcus Giles in 4 and went on to beat the Surrey 3 player in 5. Finn Morgan-Bayliss struggled against the top class opposition and lost both his games. With 4 games in the pocket, Dorset wanted two more games to secure a win. Never fear, the girls stepped up to the plate and won 3 games out of 4 to secure a 7-3 victory for Dorset. This was a fantastic result against a very strong Surrey side.

Next up was Sussex 2. George and Hugo showed the way by winning all their matches. Finn began to get his game in gear by beating the Sussex no 3 and very narrowly loosing in a titanic struggle against the Sussex no 2. Dorset had 5 games and needed another for a win. Both Becky and Hannah beat the Sussex no 2 comfortably but both lost to Emma Sheen, the Sussex no 1. This was unexpected since both Becky and Hannah had beaten Emma recently - Becky in the Junior British League and Hannah in the Sussex 4 star. Even so, a good 7-3 victory for Dorset.

The last of the matches was against Hampshire. On paper, Hants had comparatively weak boys but strong girls, so it was up to the boys to win all their matches. They did not disappoint and secured the 6 games needed for a win. Chrissie Slot beat both Becky and Hannah. A twist in the tail however when Letitia McMullen playing as the Hants no 1 girl could not handle Becky’s style and lost 3 straight to Becky. This was a good win for Becky over a much higher ranked player.

What a great series of victories for Dorset, and what great performances form George and Hugo in winning all their matches.

And just for the record, all the Dorset players on display train and play for the same club – Bournemouth Sports.

The final round of matches will be held again at the Waterside club on Saturday January 29th when Dorset will face Devon I & II and Glamorgan I & II.

Results (at Totton)

Dorset 7 Surrey I 3
Sussex II 6 Hants 4
Surrey I 6 Hants 4
Sussex II 3 Dorset 7
Hants 3 Dorset 7
Surrey I 8 Sussex II 2

Results (at Okehampton, Devon)

Glamorgan II 1 Glamorgan I 9
Devon II 2 Devon I 8
Glamorgan I 9 Devon II 1
Devon II 1 Glamorgan II 9
Glamorgan I 5 Devon I 5
Devon I 9 Glamorgan II 1

Table (unconfirmed)

W D L Pts
Dorset 3 0 0 6
Devon I 2 1 0 5
Glamorgan I 2 1 0 5
Surrey 1 2 0 1 4
Sussex II 1 0 2 2
Glamorgan II 1 0 2 2
Hants 0 0 3 0
Devon II 0 0 3 0

Many thanks to John Fox for organising the venue. I know that all the counties like to play at the Waterside Club, and to Dave Wiles who acted as the Referee for the event.

Mike Smith
Dorset Junior Match Secretary