Week four of the Autumn league sponsored by Pat’s Bar & Grill got underway last week with the Townhall Towers taking on the Diamond Aces. The real joker of the pack for the Aces turned out to be Joy Fletcher who amassed a staggering 20 points for her team from her two matches, a feat unlikely to be equalled in the remaining weeks. However, Dominic Burns and Moira McAdam enjoyed a convincing win for the Towers which left them only one point adrift at the half-way stage. The top pairings of mens and ladies doubles drew 6 -6 in the second leg with some fine hitting from JR Dundas and some excellent retrieving from club stalwart Dominic Burns. With everything to play for in the last match, it was Joy and Hazel Dineen who came up trumps giving the Diamond Aces a 51-45 win overall.
The later match ironically was between the Earlybird Baps and the Galaxy Hotshots. Star attractions for the Hotshots, Hugh Maguire and Martina Boyd enjoyed an 8-4 win over Davy Thompson and Brenda Davis. Some excellent baseline hitting from Hugh coupled with Martina’s artistic volleys was a feature of this match. However, this win was nullified by the decisive win of Sean Bogue and Ruth Armstrong over Brendan Duffy and Ruth Elliott. Stephen Kettyles and Sheila Colville took centre-stage with a solid performance for the Hotshots against Niall McGandy and Ann Mooney. Nick Meeke and Michele Hanna extended the Hotshots lead at the halfway stage to four points with a 7-5 win over Mark Cousins and Diane Cadden, although Diane’s backhand is becoming a more lethal weapon with every match. The second leg produced three more wins for the Hotshots with the convincing 9-3 win of Ruth Elliott and Martina Boyd sealing a deserved victory for the Hotshots 55-44.
Monday night’s matches started with a win for the Night Owls against Midtown Magic by the narrowest of margins 49-47. Things were looking grim for the Magicians as Euan Gebler and Nadine Stewart struggled early on against Luke Todd and Kate McManus. At 2-5, the pair clawed their way back into contention and deservedly got back on level terms at 6-6. This was sufficient to give the Magicians the lead at the halfway stage. However, the final trick was still to unfold with Cormac Jordan and Luke Todd playing a blinder for the Owls taking their match 9-3 thereby giving the Night Owls an unlikely win on the night.
The Backbar Baseliners took on the Carvery Cuts in the final series of matches. Claude Bersot and Gwen Wilson contributed handsomely to the Baseliner’s points total with two convincing wins in their respective doubles matches. Steven Ringland was another to catch the eye for the Baseliners with some formidable serving and returning which put his opponents on the back foot. By the end of the night, the bar was substantially raised by the Baseliners and they won decisively 61-35 on the night.
