|
COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2005/06
Devon was the only county with teams in the Premier Division of the Senior, Junior and Veterans county championship last season. All have retained that status for 2005/06.
The senior team have been national champions for the past two years. Led by Craig Bryant who represented England at last year's Commonwealth Championships and former Czech international Marketa Myskova - number six on the national women's ranking list, they will be hoping to complete the hat-trick next season. Hopes are particularly high, as two teenagers are making huge strides towards the top. In just two months Chris Brown from Bideford has risen from 87 to 46 in the national rankings, while Lisa Radford's success in reaching the quarter-final of the English National Championships saw her up from 79 to 27 in the same period.
The veteran's team which includes two players ranked in England's top five, Paul Whiting & Paul Giles, will be hoping to go one better than last year's runners up spot. The very young junior team will rely on two beaten Sally to take the English Schools title in April but a straight game semi-final win followed another victory the previous day over her England A rival in the team event. The final saw her pitted against England number one Melanie Farquhar from Berkshire. Sally avenged a five game defeat on Saturday to pull off a brilliant victory, again in straight games.
Sally's Devon teammate and local rival, Lisa Radford, who plays for China Fleet in the Plymouth & District League, was making her third appearance for England schools, this time in the under 19 age group. She teamed up with Emma Weil of Essex for England B, also taking third place behind the English A team, represented by Abigail Embling of Essex and Yorkshire's Nicola White. Again, Lisa performed extremely well in the individual competition. After finishing second in her group behind England number one Embling, a good run saw her reach the semi-final before bowing out to full Welsh international, and eventual winner, Naomi Owen. DML Woolwell players hoping to push their way into the senior team sooner rather than later, to consolidate their top division status. Sally Smith, who will start next season in the top ten of the junior rankings, is by far the most experienced. Richard Marshall, only just 14 but a regular member of the England Youth Squad, has already reached the top fifty juniors and is currently number seven in his own age group.
Once again Devon's second, third & fourth teams will play in Division Two of the junior championships. A junior trial is planned over two days in late August and/or early September and further details will be available soon.
DEVON JUNIORS RANKING LIST 2004/05
Boys Girls
1 Jacob Kodicek 1 Sally Smith
2 Sam Bruty 2 Lisa Radford
3 Paul Christie 3 Laura McLeod
4 Richard Marshall 4 Lizzie Binks
5 Chris Smith 5 Lucy O'Callaghan
6 Simon Poyner 6 Hannah Bradford
7 Chris Warn 7 Vicky Smith
8 Harry Cutler 8 Alice Phillips
9 David Wetherill 9 Katie Wilson
10 Freddie Cutler 10 Rebecca Harris
11 Gareth Wetherill 11 Natalie Daly
12 Mark Ross 12 Carla Grigg
13 Elliot Goss 13 Kirsty Legge
14 Graham Higgins
15 Zak Zacharkiw
Devon Juniors 1st Team--Premier Division--Second Weekend 2nd/3rd April 2005
1st match v Bucks
6-4 Loss
Gavin and Myles Evans dominated Sally Smith and Lisa Radford earnt the 4 points.
2nd v Glamorgan
7-3 Win
Richard Marshall 2 Harry Cutler 2 Chris Warn 1
Lisa and Sally 1 each Loss to Naomi Owen obviously only loss of weekend for both girls.
Sunday 1st match
v Yorkshire 5-5 Draw
Girls won 2 each again
Chris Warn vital win v Damian Piper.
v Durham
Richard Marshall beat Andrew Leighton in 5 sets was 2 0 down.
Girls 2 each again
Final placings
Bucks 13 points Derbyshire 11 Cheshire 10 Yorkshire 7 Devon 5 Kent 5 Durham 4 Glamorgan 1
Devon Seniors 1st Team--Premier Division--Second Weekend 2nd/3rd April 2005
1st Match v a very strong Yorkshire side.
Went 3-1 down 7-3 Win
Craig Bryant 2 v Shi Guang and Michael James
Marketa Myskova 2 v Joanna Roberts and Nicola White
Chris Brown, James Whiteman and Lisa Radford 1 each.
Against Mark Smith, Shi Guang and Joanna Roberts respectively.
Turned out to be a crucial result as Yorkshire swept all before them Sussex, Middlesex and Leicestershire.
2nd Match v Durham
6-4 Win against another quality side
Michael Marsden, David Meads, Kevin Wilson, Clare Wilson and Joanne Meads.
Craigs first County loss in 3 Years 12-10 in the 5th to Meads.
Lisa a crucial 2 was 2-0 down and saved 3 match points in the 3rd to Claire Wilson.
Chris 1 Marketa 2 James 1
Sunday
Crunch match 1st v 2nd against Sussex
Very Strong team Richie Venner, Adrian Moore, Nigel Eckersley Rose Rainton and Sara Coggon
Craig losing to Venner in 5 sets
Girls with 4 again. 5-5 draw
Final Match win needed to be sure of title a draw and it would be on sets countback
v Abigail Embling proved too strong for Lisa losing in 4 sets.
James and Craig beating Clive Carthy. Chris beating Gary Tendler
Ran 4-0 up but pegged back to 4-3 then 5-3
Crucial Match Marketa v Abigail both playing world class stuff. Abigail won 1st 11-9 Marketa saved 8 set points in 2nd winning 20-18 then winning 3rd 11-9 and won the title for us 11-6 in the 4th.
Chris then with no pressure beat Tendler 11-4 in the 5th again saving 4 match points in 4th set.
7-3 win and the title retained. On to the Treble.!!!!
DEVON 2,3 & 4 V AVON & WILTS 19 FEB 2005
Devon 2 6 Avon 4 Warn 1 H Cutler 2 G Wetherill 0 McLeod 2 Bradford 1
Devon 3 2 Avon 8 D Wetherill 0 F Cutler 0 Mike Ross 0 Smith 1 Phillips 1
Devon 4 0 Avon 10 Mark Ross 0 Mike Ross 0 John Handy 0 Kirsty Legge 0 Kate Rogers 0
Devon 2 9 Wilts 1 Warn 2 H Cutler 2 G Wetherill 2 McLeod 1 Bradford 2
Wilts 4 Devon 3 6 D Wetherill 1 F Cutler 1 G Wetherill 1 Smith 2 Phillips 1
Wilts 9 Devon 4 1 Mark Ross 1 Mike Ross 0 John Handy 0 Kirsty Legge 0 Kate Rogers 0
Devon's junior 2nd, 3rd & 4th teams continued their county championship season with matches against Avon and Wiltshire.
The match of the day was Devon 2's encounter with Avon. Laura McLeod and Hannah Bradford both came from match points down to take vital points in the final game, McLeod's win coming against Avon number one Rachel Webb, who proved just too strong for all the other Devon girls. Excellent close victories for Harry Cutler & Chris Warn against Avon number one Alex Kearney helped secure a narrow 6 - 4 win. The team were too good for Wiltshire with Warn, Cutler, Gareth Wetherill & Bradford all taking two points in a 9 - 1 victory.
Avon's boys were far too strong for their Devon 3 counterparts but Vicky Smith (9) and Alice Phillips (11) both secured wins to avoid a whitewash. They also played a vital part in the match against Wiltshire. Phillips, David & Gareth Wetherill and Freddie Cutler each took a point, while Smith, the youngest player on view, took two to secure victory by the narrowest margin.
The inexperienced Devon fourth team with two debutants Mike Ross & Kate Rogers) and two others playing for just the second time (John Handy & Kirsty Legge), were outclassed but gained valuable experience for the future. Boys number one Mark Ross gained their only win against Wiltshire.
DEVON JUNIORS 3rd/4th TEAMS V DORSET 12 DEC 2004
The Devon junior third and fourth teams are inevitably finding life tough in a division which include six other counties first teams. They returned from the long trip to Bournemouth to face Dorset with two defeats but some encouraging signs for the future. Gareth Wetherill's experience in Division Two of the Plymouth League this season has helped his game. He had two excellent wins in the third team's 3-7 defeat and Exmouth's Katie Wilson did well to take the third point.
Although the fourth team, fielding four players on their county debut, was whitewashed, they were by no means outplayed. 12 year old John Handy from the West Exe club in Exeter was outstanding and must have a really promising future in the game.
DEVON JUNIORS FIRST TEAM 6/7 NOV 2004
The Devon Junior first team started their campaign in the premier division of the county championship against the leading seven counties in England With former English No 1 Craig Bryant & top twenty junior Chris Brown now over-age, a totally new and inexperienced boys line-up of Paul Christie from Brixham & thirteen year olds Richard Marshall & Chris Smith from DML Woolwell were complemented by the experienced Plymouth girls duo of Sally Smith & Lisa Radford.
Against a very strong Durham line-up Sally had a sensational win against English number eight junior Clare Langford, recovering from two games and 10-7 down to win 11-9 in the fifth. Lisa was equally impressive against England number nine Elizabeth Dennett, also taking the match 11-9 in the final game. Paul Christie had an excellent victory over Jonathan Taylor, ranked forty places above him and the final 3-7 scoreline was a fine effort with every opponent ranked higher than the Devon players.
The girls took three out of four against Derbyshire with Sally losing narrowly to international Emma Vickers in the final game after Lisa had secured a fine scalp with victory against her in four. The boys found it tough and Richard's brilliant win over England number 31 David Arrowsmith was not sufficient to avoid a 4-6 defeat.
Once again against Kent the girls led the way with four wins, both comfortably defeating the opposing number one and national number seventeen Anusha Seneviratne. None of the boys played anyone ranked below them over the whole weekend. This time it was Chris Smith's turn to upset the odds with a fine win over Daniel Ives to secure a draw.
The second weekend in April will be a struggle to avoid relegation but the event is providing valuable experience for the young team.
Devon Juniors 2nd, 3rd & 4th teams in action
on Saturday 16th October 2004
A brilliant win by Chris Warn over Gloucestershire's Michael Harvey, nationally ranked nearly 150 places above him at number 53, topped off a successful first outing of the season for the Devon Junior 2nd, 3rd & 4th teams.
In the matches against Gloucestershire the second team won 7-3 while the young third team achieved a creditable 5-5 draw & the very inexperienced fourth team went down 3-7. Devon 2 predictably whitewashed their fourth team but the third & fourth teams picked up three sets against second & third respectively. Another outstanding performance was 6 out of 6 for Devon 2's leading girl Laura McLeod who is just 12. DML Woolwell club team-mate nine year old Vicky Smith, playing for Devon 3, managed five from six, beating her higher ranked second team county colleague Hannah Bradford in five games.
David Wetherill on his county debut beat Glos number three Robert Harvey and pushed unbeaten number two Sam White close, while Mark Ross, playing up for the third team for the first time, had two good wins over DML Woolwell clubmate Freddie Cutler and pushed Harvey close going down 10-12 in the fifth.
DEVON JUNIORS FIXTURES 2004/05
DEVON 1
Premier Weekends 6/7 November & 2/3 April
DEVON 2, 3 & 4
16-Oct-04 DEVON 2, 3 & 4 V GLOS
DEVON 2 V DEVON 3
DEVON 2 V DEVON 4
DEVON 3 V DEVON 4 Plymouth
6-Nov-04 Cornwall 1 & 2 V DEVON 2 St Austell
4-Dec-04 DEVON 2 V HANTS Plymouth
12-Dec-04 Dorset V DEVON 3 & 4 Away
19-Feb-05 DEVON 2, 3 & 4 V WILTS & AVON Plymouth
13-Mar-05 DEVON 3 & 4 V Cornwall 1 & 2 Plymouth
Dorset V DEVON 2 Away
2-Apr-05 HANTS V DEVON 3 & 4 Away
County Championship Divisions 2004/05
SENIORS (46 Teams)
Premier Division Devonshire, Durham, Essex, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex, Yorkshire. (8)
Division 1A Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire 2nd. (7)
Division 1B Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Devonshire 2nd, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Wiltshire. (7)
Division 2A Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham 2nd, Leicestershire 2nd, Northumberland, Warwickshire 2nd.. (6)
Division 2B Avon, Cornwall 1st, Cornwall 2nd, Hampshire, Somerset, Worcestershire.. (6)
Division 2C Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Northampton, Suffolk, Warwickshire 1st. (6)
Division 2D Berkshire 2nd, Essex 2nd, Kent 2nd, Middlesex 2nd Surrey 2nd, Sussex 2nd. (6)
JUNIORS (61 Teams)
Premier Division Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Devonshire, Durham, Glamorgan, Kent, Yorkshire. (8)
Division 1A Cleveland, Essex 2nd, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire 2nd. (8)
Division 1B Buckinghamshire 2nd, Essex 1st, Gwent, Middlesex, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire. (8)
Division 2A Cheshire 2nd, Durham 2nd, Lancashire 2nd, Lincolnshire 2nd, Northampton 2nd, Northumberland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire. (9)
Division 2B Avon, Cornwall 1st, Cornwall 2nd, Devonshire 2nd, Devonshire 3rd, Devonshire 4th, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Wiltshire. (10)
Division 2C Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex 3rd, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk 1st, Norfolk 2nd, Norfolk 3rd, Suffolk.. (9)
Division 2D Berkshire, Buckinghamshire 3rd, Kent 2nd, Kent 3rd, Middlesex 2nd, Oxfordshire, Surrey 2nd, Sussex 2nd, Sussex 3rd. (9)
VETERANS (101 Teams)
Premier Division Cheshire, Devonshire, Essex, Kent, Lancashire, Northumberland, Surrey, Sussex.. (8)
Division 1A Cheshire 2nd, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, South Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Yorkshire 1st, Yorkshire 2nd. (8)
Division 1B Avon, Berkshire, Dorset 1st, Dorset 2nd, Hampshire, Kent 2nd, Middlesex, Surrey 2nd. (8)
Division 2A Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex 2nd, Essex 3rd, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire. (8)
Division 2B Berkshire 2nd, Buckinghamshire, Devonshire 2nd, Hertfordshire 2nd, Kent 3rd, Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire 2nd. (8)
Division 3A Cheshire 3rd, Clwyd, Durham, Lancashire 2nd, Leicestershire 2nd, Staffordshire, Yorkshire 3rd, Yorkshire 4th. (8)
Division 3B Bedfordshire 2nd, Buckinghamshire 2nd, Essex 4th, Hertfordshire 3rd, Norfolk 2nd, Northamptonshire, Middlesex 2nd, Surrey 3rd. (8)
Division 3C Hampshire 2nd, Kent 4th, Middlesex 3rd, Oxfordshire 2nd, Surrey 4th, Sussex 2nd, Sussex 3rd, Wiltshire 2nd. (8)
Division 3D Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire 3rd, Herefordshire, Shropshire 1st, Shropshire 2nd, Somerset 2nd Warwickshire 2nd. (8)
Division 4A Essex 5th, Hertfordshire 4th, Northamptonshire 2nd, Nottinghamshire2nd, Norfolk 3rd, Yorkshire 5th, Yorkshire 6th.. (7)
Division 4B Berkshire 3rd, Cambridgeshire 2nd, Hertfordshire 5th, Huntingdonshire, Kent 6th, Herefordshire 3rd, Worcestershire 3rd. (7)
Division 4C Berkshire 4th, Devonshire 4th, Hertfordshire 6th, Kent 5th, Middlesex 4th, Oxfordshire 3rd, Wiltshire 4th. . (7)
Division 4D Berkshire 5th, Cornwall, Devonshire 3rd , Devonshire 5th, Dorset 3rd, Herefordshire 2nd, Somerset 3rd, Wiltshire 3rd. (8)
CADETS (24 Teams)
Premier Division Derbyshire, Durham, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Yorkshire (8)
Division 1A Cheshire, Cleveland, Leicestershire, Northampton 1st, Northamptonshire 2nd, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk. (8)
Division 1B Berkshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Gwent, Surrey 2nd, Sussex 2nd, Warwickshire, Worcestershire. . (8)
OVER 60'S (13 Teams)
Division 1A Bedfordshire, Cheshire 1st, Cheshire 2nd, Essex, Worcestershire, Yorkshire. (6)
Division 1B Berkshire 1st, Berkshire 2nd, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, Sussex. (7)
2003/04
Devon Juniors V Cornwall
Devon's weakened 3rd & 4th junior table tennis teams got well beaten by the division's top team, Cornwall 1 8-2 and 10-0 respectively, but not before Richard Marshall had achieved a great victory over Cornish No.1 Nick Smale, and a gritty win by Chris Warn over Daniel Putt, both in five close games.
Despite missing their top two boys, Devon 3 were far too good for Cornwall's second team, with the boys - Richard, Chris & Harry Cutler unbeaten, and Hannah Bradford & Laura McLeod gaining a win apiece in an 8-2 victory, which secured the league's runners-up spot.
Mark Ross & Matt Mathison brought the Woolwell table tennis club's contingent to eight and performed well on their county debuts. Mark secured the fourth team's only success of the day with a titanic 18-16 final game victory over the Cornwall 2 number one Paul Jenkin.
Devon Juniors V Avon
Once again seven Woolwell members were in the Devon 3rd & 4th teams which played Avon.
The star of the fourth team's display was Chris Warn who played brilliantly at number one to beat both top ten national under-13 Alex Kearney and also Andrew Banks. Harry Cutler had five match points in the fourth game against Kearney but couldn't convert them for a notable win & went down in five.
Vicky Smith had a fine straight games win over Avon's Hayley Ruderham & took the first game from number one Vicky Stock but Avon ran out 7--3 winners.
The third team match started with a disappointing defeat for Chris Smith against Banks who later confirmed his credentials by also beating Richard Marshall in straight games. Simon Fellowes played wonderfully to defeat Kearney and also beat number three Alex Banks, as did Richard. After both Laura McLeod & Exmouth's Hannah Bradford had beaten Stock but lost to Ruderham, it was left to Chris Smith, in the battle of the number ones, to redeem himself & take the winning sixth point in a scintillating display against Kearney 12-10, 11-8, 11-4.
Devon Juniors V Gloucestershire
Seven Woolwell members were in the Devon 3rd & 4th teams which played Gloucestershire and each other in Division 3C of the Junior County Championship.
The 3rd V 4th team match went to form with a whitewash for the senior team. Chris Smith saw off Chris Warn & Harry Cutler in straight games while Richard Marshall dropped just one game (to Harry) against the Cutler brothers. Freddie played well against Simon Fellowes, losing 6-11, 10-12, 10-12. Laura McLeod beat Vicky Smith 11-6, 14-12, 11-3 and Rebecca Harris in four while Vicky did well to take a game off Hannah Bradford.
The fourth team lost 3-7 to Gloucestershire with Vicky Smith & Harry Cutler taking a point each, while the third team's fixture to end the day proved an epic. After Richard, Chris & Laura had taken one each, Devon led 5-2. First Chris lost from two games up against the highly ranked Glos number one Michael Harvey, then Hannah Bradford lost another in the final game to Lisa Wherrett. Finally Richard came back from 2-0 down to level against number two Sam White but couldn't take the last to complete a trio of five game defeats and a final 5-5 draw.
The matches were played in a brilliant spirit & all the Woolwell players performed & behaved excellently.
|
|
