The final round of the nine week long autumn league sponsored by Pat’s Bar & Grill took place at Enniskillen Tennis Club last week. The top two teams from Monday and Wednesday nights will now progress to a semi-final to be played next Monday with the final taking place on the Wednesday.
The first set of matches was between the Carvery Cuts and Midtown Magic. Both teams were fully aware that qualification for the semi-final was beyond them, unless a minor (or major) miracle occurred. Midtown Magic was quickest out of the blocks with three wins from the first four matches. Brian Donaldson and captain Catherine Sloane for the Carvery Cuts took a big slice off the Magicians half way lead with a useful 8-4 win over Reggie Ferguson and Bennie Sheridan. Bennie gained some compensation in the ladies doubles with Nadine Stewart when they romped to a 9-3 win sealing a 56-40 win for the Magicians on the night.
The second series of matches were between the Monday night league leaders Night Owls and the Backbar Baseliners, with 7 only points separating them in the league table. A narrow 7-5 win for Davey Thompson and Leonie Madigan over Ollie McShea and Liz Murphy gave the Owls a healthy start and their lead was doubled to four points when Marius Blake and Anne Smyth put in an excellent performance over the strong pairing of Paul Lendrum and Liz McGuinness. The Baseliners came back strongly in the second leg courtesy of wins by Ollie McShea and Paul Lendrum and Kathleen Murphy and Gwen Wilson to lead by two points. However, the Owls didn’t appear to give a hoot, because the outstanding performance of Leonie Madigan and Anne Smyth in the closing match was sufficient for the Owls to win 50-46 on the night and claim top qualifier from the Monday night teams.
Very little split the top three of the Wednesday night teams going into the final round of matches. Third placed Diamond Aces took a halfway lead against the Earlybird Baps with Maxine Leary and substitute Davy Thompson gaining a 7-5 win over Joshua Hanna and Brenda Davis. Kevin Burns and Joy Fletcher worked a fine tune to take a 9-3 win for the Aces putting their team ahead by six points at the half-way stage. Another good win for Martin Hamblin partnered by Davey Thompson put the Aces further in front and three wins in the last four matches gave the Aces a useful 54-42 win on the night. But would this be enough to send them through to the semi-finals?
The final match was between league leaders Townhall Towers and the Galaxy Hotshots. A total of 53 points would be required for the Galaxy Hotshots to overtake the Diamond Aces and gain a semi-final place. All looked particularly healthy at the half-way stage for the Hotshots when they took a four shot advantage into the second leg, their most decisive win being the win of Cyril Boyd and Sheila Colville. However, Dominic Burns and JR Dundas for the Towers spoilt the party with a resounding win at number one doubles and the match was drawn at 48-48. Alas for the Hotshots they fell four points short of the Diamond Aces at the end of the night and slipped to third in the table.
The semi-finals are scheduled for next Monday night and the league will conclude with the final taking place on Wednesday night. Final positions of the league after nine weeks are as follows:
