History made in round three table tennis action

Mount Gambier Table Tennis club held its third round of the Spring season this week amid muggy 30-plus heat, bringing about some tight tussles and historic moments.

Olu Lande produced a stellar singles performance, maintaining a clean sheet to guide his Sods Team to a comprehensive 8-4 victory over Bill-John Watson’s Billwillies team in their A Grade encounter, while Leigh Barry and Ward Freeman also maintained clean sheets as their Macca Pacca team were forced to come from behind against Ben Newman’s Benz team, claiming the final three rubbers for a 7-5 win. Lande was pushed all the way by Billwillies player Justin Hutchesson, escaping with a 12-10 win in the deciding game of their battle, while other highlights included Macca Pacca player Kevin Patzel recovering from a 2-game deficit against Benz player Felix Owusu to prevail in a 5-game classic.

The B Grade’s first matchup was another tense affair, Andrew Telford’s Outer Limits team facing up against Rayelene Hutchesson’s Ray Ban team. Cameron Beal was Ray Ban’s best player, keeping his singles record intact on the night, including two epic five game victories over Telford and Maddie McGregor respectively. Beal’s heroic efforts weren’t enough to inspire his team to victory though, Alastair Earl and Peter McKenzie both keeping their singles sheets clean as Outer Limits narrowly prevailed by 7 rubbers to 5.

As if the first B Grade match wasn’t tight enough, Rennick Raiders’ match against Chris Turner’s Falcons was about as tight as it could get. Little separated the two teams all night, each time the Raiders edged in front the Falcons swiftly cancelled out their lead with victory in the next rubber.

Consecutive singles victories to Dale Bachmann and Nick Sweet through the middle section of the match had the Raiders looking like they might run away with it, only to see their lead evaporate once again when the Falcons claimed both reverse doubles rubbers. After Caleb Bachmann’s victory over Rob Halleday in the penultimate rubber of the match, Falcons’ number 1 player Chris Turner needed to defeat his Raiders counterpart in Mark Bachmann to force a tie and countback to decide the overall result.

The two combatants went toe-to-toe in the first game, nothing could separate them until a stroke of luck at the death saw a mishit from Turner catch the top of the net and trickle over, just out of reach of a desperately lunging Bachmann. When Turner claimed the opener 12-10, it only appeared to fire Bachmann up, the Raiders player racing through the next two games and appearing to have the momentum firmly on his side of the table. Turner refused to give up though, mustering all his composure and determination to wrestle his way back into the contest, taking the fourth game to force a vital decider. After once again starting evenly, Turner’s teammates willed him on until eventually he was able to break the deadlock and streak to a 11-6 victory, sealing the rubber and therefore the tie. After countback, Turner’s Falcons claimed the overall win by the absolute barest of margins, 25 games to 24.

Richard Van Der Linde’s Vandals were hoping to maintain their undefeated start to the season in the C Grade, this time against Sheryl Holliday’s New Experience. Holliday had other ideas though, kicking off with a

comfortable three-game victory over Lenny Van Der Linde. As onlookers soon realised they were about to witness a moment in history, Vandals player Caitlin Barry stepped out to take on New Experience’s Ezekiel Coutts, in what would be a first-ever victory for one of the two young up-and-coming prodigies.

The opening game saw both players cautiously prodding and parrying, Coutts occasionally daring to unleash his power struggling to find his range. An errant forehand that sailed passed the edge of the table gifted Barry the opening game by 12 points to 10. When Coutts fougt back strongly and cruised through the second game comfortably, there was a sense that this one might just go the distance. The third game almost mirrored the third, both players acutely aware how hard it would be to come back from 2-1 down. With scores locked at 10 points apiece, this time it was Barry who erred, dragging a regulation forehand down into the net to hand Coutts the game and the lead. Whether it was Coutts tightening up under the pressure of nearing the finish line or Barry finding another level of grit and determination within, the Vandals player produced a stunning comeback in the fourth game. Having gained the early ascendfifth game decider befitting the momentous occasion.

As team mates of both players held their collective breath, Barry once again started the stronger in the decider, skipping out to a handy lead but still leaving the door ajar for a comeback from Coutts. The Vandals youngster was having none of it though, using her slightly greater experience and exuberant energy to maintain the advantage and eventually run away with a 11-6 victory, sporting a beaming grin as she left the playing arena and embracing the raucous cheers of her team and supporters on the sidelines.

The overall result of the match was decided not by Barry’s heroics however, but by a titanic arm-wrestle in the final doubles rubber of the night. The Vandals pair of Richard Van Der Linde and Tom Horrigan needed to beat Andrew Schubert and Cheryl Holliday to force a draw and countback to determine who would claim the glory. The Vandals pair started the better, claiming the first game by 13 points to 11 before Schubert and Holliday hit back hard, taking out the second easily. Van Der Linde and Horrigan regained the lead by claiming the third before a dogged Schubert and Holliday levelled up again, grinding out a 15-13 win in the fourth. Aware of the stakes, Horrigan and Van Der Linde appeared to let the pressure get the better of them, capitulating to a 11-4 defeat and this handing the win and an 8-6 victory to New Experience.

The final C Grade match of the round saw another historic moment, this time in the overall result. After Nudee Cook’s Lendy team raced to a 3-lead over Chris McGregor’s Mac Attack, the latter charged back into contention, winning five of the next eight rubbers to once again force a battle royale between Cook and

McGregor to see who would take home all the chocolates. Cook claimed the opening game comfortably and then backed up with a 12-10 win in the second to hold a commanding two game lead, but McGregor produced a remarkable fightback that had to be witnessed to be believed, clawing his way back to force a decider. After a brief pause for both players to rehydrate and regain composure, an awesome display of speed and spin saw the combatants trade points through the entire 5th game as spectators gasped in awe.

With both players looking physically spent, the scores reached an astonishing 10 points apiece. McGregor’s trademark ferocious sidespin lob was pounced on by a savage well-timed forehand drive down the line by Cook, wrong footing her opponent who could only watch forlornly as the ball sailed past. With the match on Cook’s bat, a swift topspin serve across the table caught McGregor off-guard, he sending his return wildly off the table to give his Lendy opponent the win. With the overall result locked at six rubbers apiece, a nervous wait ensued as mathematicians stepped in to calculate the countback. In what is an extremely rare occurrence, officials ruled that both teams had won exactly 21 games each, thus declaring an overall tie.

Mount Gambier Table Tennis Club is always welcoming of new players of all ages, experience, and capability. Practice is held at 7pm on Monday nights and competition is at 7pm on Wednesday nights at the Mount Gambier Showgrounds Hall. Anyone interested in having a go, please contact the club at mtgtabletennis@ gmail.com or find the club’s Facebook page, or just come along on a Monday night and speak to a friendly welcoming committee member.

Undefeated players:

A Grade: Leigh Barry, Ward Freeman (Macca Pacca) Olu Lande (Sods)

B Grade: Chris Turner (Falcons), Alastair Earl, Peter McKenzie (Outer Limits), Cameron Beal (Ray Ban), Dale Bachmann (Rennick Raiders)

C Grade: Richard Van Der Linde (Vandals), Mark Devaney (New Experience), Chris McGregor (Mac Attack), Eion McIlluff (Lendy)