Round 5 Review
Week five marks the halfway turn in the league as teams now start to look ahead to qualifying for the semifinals.
Monday Night
The first big move came in the weeks opening match as Louise’s Slammers dominated proceedings in a 58-38 win over Matts Backhanders, taking over top position in the Monday league. Top scorer on the night was the big hitting Nadine Stewart who amassed 19 games in her two matches with partners Cyril Boyd in the mixed and Kate McManus in the doubles. Other big scorers for the Slammers were Cyril and Kate with 16 and 17 games and Captain Louise McGann who smashed her way to a 14 game haul, much to the agony of her opponents, and in particular Martina.
Having held a seven game lead at the start of the night, Maxine’s Magicians now knew that nothing but a clear cut win over Andy’s Aces would keep them on top. However the nights second tie saw two very evenly matched teams push each other to the limits. With four of the eight matches ending 6 games apiece it was the three tight 7-5 victories that clinched a minimum win for Andy’s Aces on the night. Top Ace on the night was Martin Hamblin who contributed two of those 7-5 wins playing with Lisa Greaves in the mixed and sub Dominic Burns in the doubles.
Wednesday Night
Both matches on Wednesday night went to the wire. First on was a top of the table clash between current leaders Meek’s Magicians and Lizzie’s Lobbers. Playing with a number of subs, Meeks Marvels managed to squeeze through the first half mixed with a slender two game lead. However the crucial result didn’t arrive until the last tie of the match as the skillful slices of Ann Mooney combined with the non-stop Priscilla Fawcett produced a brilliantly 9-3 win and helped Lizzie’s Lobbers narrow the gap at the top of the table to only 4 games with a 49-47 victory. It was a great night for league newcomer Priscilla who won both her matches and top scored with the 16 games on the night.
The second match of the night also saw a great night for another league newcomer, as John O’Callaghan brought his never say die attitude on court in winning both of his matches 8-4, at one stage winning a point while still on the ground. However, even this was not enough to see the Redmond Rockets to victory as a superb 8-4 win for Sheila Colville and Gwen Wilson in the final doubles tie was enough to secure a 49-47 win for the Kissin’ Cousins. Other crucial winners for the Kissin’ Cousins, were Leonie Madigan, starting to find her tennis feet after a long break, with the deep hitting Josie Gillen and Davy Thompson with Brendan Duffy securing a vital win in the men’s doubles.
