A WINDSOR Hawks side has never finished in the top half of Clacton and District Table Tennis League division one – but that could all change this year.
This week, the Hawks defeated Brotherhood B 9-1 – a result which eases them into fourth position.
Andy Vincent and Felipe Rodriguez, once again, proved a potent double-act, both remaining unbeaten.
Skipper John Barton gave valuable support, with good wins against John Owen and David North, but he couldn’t get the better of Gracie Edwards, losing 11-8 in the decider.
Elsewhere, lowly Windsor Kestrels faced leaders Nomads Panthers hoping for a miracle – but there was no divine intervention, with the Panthers cruising to a 10-0 victory.
It was also 10-0 for Windsor Eagles against an under-strength Nomads Lions.
There were hat-tricks for Phil Smith, Fred Button and Gary Cattermole, although it was 12-10 in the fifth for Smith against Adam Cuthbert and 11-8 in the fifth for Button against Lions’ reserve Roger Hance.
Bottom-team Brotherhood D lost 7-3 to Walton C to register their best – or least-worst – result of the season.
Paul Alden and Lee Harvey both beat Jason Gale and shared an unexpected 11-6 in the decider doubles win against Derek Willis and Paul Meikle.
There were three for Kevin Gowlett and two for Oli Reynolds as Brotherhood C defeated Winsor Condors 6-4 but Fred Gallone’s first win of the season ultimately proved the crucial point.
In division two, Windsor Buzzards took advantage of a Windsor Owls side fielding a reserve to edge a close match 6-4.
Pete Bloomfield’s hat-trick for the Buzzards included a 12-10 in the decider win over Owls captain Frank Burbidge.
Dan Malinowski added a couple and Angela Barratt one. This result allowed Nomads Tigers, 7-3 winners over Brotherhood I, to narrow the gap at the top to two points.
In a match where no-one stayed unbeaten, Brotherhood’s Mark Beckham was involved in three tight five-setters, defeating John Marshall but losing out to both John Bonner and Daryl Lott.
Three each for Lee Allen and Sandie Isaac saw Brotherhood F home 7-3 against Nomads Jaguars, although Allen had to fight hard to beat Caroline North 11-9 in the fifth and Kevin Hume 12-10 in the fifth.
In division three, Mike Hillier took a hat-trick for Nomads Cougars but Nomads Wildcats ended as 7-3 winners, with Andrew Cawley, Martin Cunningham and Hazel Blanche all taking a couple.
Blanche edged a competitive five-setter against Zoe Strange but the doubles proved to be the knife-edge match, with Cawley and Blanche beating Hillier and Strange 12-10, 14-12, 10-12, 10-12, 11-8.
Windsor Swallows beat Windsor Kites 6-4, despite Chris Simson picking up his fourth maximum of the season for the Kites.
Sue Chillingworth and Kayley Lamb each won two for the Swallows, while Kayleigh Stratford took a point and was unlucky to lose 11-8 in the decider to Jack Haylett.
Finally, three for Jason Lloyd, two for Tony Rayner and one for Ethan Lloyd gave Nomads Leopards the honours 6-4 against Brotherhood G.
Results: Division one: Windsor Hawks 9 Brotherhood B 1, Walton C 7 Brotherhood D 3, Windsor Kestrels 0 Nomads Panthers 10, Brotherhood C 6 Windsor Condors 4, Nomads Lions 0 Windsor Eagles 10. Division two: Brotherhood F 7 Nomads Jaguars 3, Windsor Buzzards 6 Windsor Owls 4, Lawford 9 Brotherhood E 1, Windsor Harriers 9 Windsor Magpies 1, Brotherhood I 3 Nomads Tigers 7. Division three: Windsor Ospreys 6 Windsor Penguins 4, Nomads Ocelots 2 Walton D 8, Nomads Wildcats 7 Nomads Cougars 3, Windsor Kites 4 Windsor Swallows 6, Brotherhood G 4 Nomads Leopards 6. Essex Inter-League: Super-veterans division two: Clacton (Smith, Webber, Locke) 8 Burnham 1.
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