Barry leads Ninjas to victory

Grand final night finally arrived at Mount Gambier Table Tennis Club earlier this month.

It’s the night when the best of the best play each other to see who comes out victor – who gets to bring home the trophy and earn bragging rights.

It had been a tight season with several teams vying strongly for the finals but only two teams from each grade made it through.

In A Grade we had the Ninjas, consisting of the undefeated Leigh Barry, Sanith Ghetia and Youssef Malicdem, versus Squeeze Box players Kevin Patzel, Robin Pellen (fill-in for Mark Bachmann) and David Harris-Jones.

The team captains looked evenly matched with both Leigh and Kevin on fire – smashing down their opposing first two singles matches with little effort.

But the Ninjas had a secret weapon in Sanith who managed to tip the tide to their favour with his wins against Robin and David.

Finally the captains faced each other in a nail-biting four-set game – Kevin smashing Leigh in the first set and almost claiming the second in an attempt to topple the undefeated player.

But Leigh’s experience came to the fore and he managed to get ahead in the last moments, claiming the set and then the game.

That was all that was needed for the Ninjas to claim the season victory and a trophy each to adorn their mantlepiece.

In B1, the Grizzlies – Peter McKenzie, Richard Horrigan and Jarrah Schaefer, faced off against Unrivalled – Alastair Earl, Rob Halleday and Lenny Van Der Linde.

Both teams got off to an even start, four wins a side by the end of the second round, with team captains Peter and Alastair leading the way with victories in each round.

Lenny Van der Linde played his best games yet, surprising the opposition with his determination to win, pulling through with wins in sets but not managing to claim the games.

It was down to the wire but the Grizzlies must have had a pep-talk in the breather after the second round as each player came back on fire, defeating Unrivalled in the final three games and earning them the trophy, 7 – 4.

B2 saw the Wizards – Scott Fartch, Dammy Olusanya (fill in for Brenton Lewis) and Nudeen Cook (fill-in for John Malicdem) play against Beat DEM up – Dapo Olutayo, Marga Steele and Ezekiel Coutts.

Ezekiel took an early lead in his game against Nudeen and it looked like he had the game in the bag but Nudeen refused to give up and managed to claim the last three sets.

The night wasn’t over for the young fella though, with a nail biting game against Dammy. Dammy won the first two sets easily but Ezekiel had learnt the fight and claimed the next two sets.

The last set saw each player at eight points each when Ezekiel did a ripper of a shot that bounced off the very edge of the side of the table, out of Dammy’s reach, earning him not only the point but the confidence to claim the rest of the game, finally grabbing the victory at 16 points.

Dapo played extremely well all night, winning all his games but Wizard Scott also played well, winning two of his three singles games.

However Beat DEM up’s supreme teamwork (the same team that managed to bring home the trophy in Country Carnival Champioships) was seamless, and the won the night 7 – 4.

It was as great match-up in C Grade, with the Cheatah’s – Heather McGregor (filling in for Maree Peake), Ryan Horrigan and Anneliese Holtz playing against the Mad Piranha’s – Chandru Vengadasamy, Lorraine Halleday and Angus Billing.

The teams both wanted the win desperately and it showed in their every hit. Chandru was a powerhouse for the Piranha’s, winning all three of his singles matches.

However, Anneliese and Ryan of the Cheatah’s were also strong, earning not only two singles a piece but also managing to pull through for the doubles matches.

The deciding match of the night was between Anneliese and Lorraine, and Lorraine got an early lead, winning the first two sets.

The third set had each player desperately fighting for control and Anneliese managed to keep herself in the game with a very close victory.

The next set was just as tight but again Anneliese pulled through, setting the score to two sets each.

But Anneliese was determined and managed to grab the final set, winning the night and the trophy for her team, 6 – 5. |

3 rubber winners:

A Grade – Leigh Barry (Ninjas)

B1 – Peter McKenzie (Grizzlies)

B2 – Dapo Olutayo (Beat DEM up)

C Grade – Chandru Vengadasamy (Mad Piranhas)