28 October, 2012 Andy Rowe
Division 1 defending champions Queens A new campaign got off to a bad start with a 6-3 defeat at the hands of last seasons runners-up University. Dr James Bell, partnered by Milo Rapacilio, led the way with 3 wins, with the student pairing of Tom Fenner and Raj Ram also contributing 3 wins.
Exeter A heaped more misery on Queens A, beating them 8-1. The teams were evenly matched but the Exeter pairs of Russ Walker / Jamie Roberton (3), Mark Trebble/Sam Owens (3) and Sam Lees/Geoff Littler (2) won the key points.
Ringswell A marked their return to Division 1 with a hard fought 5-4 win over University. Nigel Osborne and Steve Rice (3) secured the win by winning the final rubber.
Cranford got off to a winning start, with a solid team performance against University. A brace of wins for Joe Davis/Zak Phillips and Vernon Smeed/Steve Faulkner secured the win. The student pairing of Tom Fenner and Harry Hacking were unbeaten.
In Division 2 the Exeter B team of Gareth Pearse, Geoff Littler, Tom Phillips, Sam Owens, Gary Bourner,Ryan Parker-Bowker and reserve Alistair Banks look unbeatable after 3 superb 9-0 wins. Exeter C, Queens B and St Leonards B were the losing teams.
St Leonards A have also had an impressive start to their campaign with 2 comfortable 9-0 wins over St Leonards B and Otter Vale respectively.
Honiton are the early pace leaders in Division 3 following fine wins over Raleigh and Clyst Vale. They beat 2 pair Raleigh 6-3, but the Exmouth club pair of Dan and Tom Graham came away unbeaten with 3 wins.
The Honiton team of Roger Tucker, Ethan Leach, Rowan Davey, Kevin Greenwell, Simon Walker and Jay Sweetman followed up this win with a 9-0 victory over Clyst Vale. Clyst Vale put up a gallant fight with some very close results and were unlucky not to come away with any points.
Honitons winning run came to an end at St Leonards C, losing 8-1. The Saints Martin Matthews, back playing competitive badminton after a gap of 3 years, put in a vintage performance in picking up 3 wins with his partner Ali Rehemi. MarkStanley and Phil Ooms(3) and Mike Lamboll/Matt Knight (2) also contributed to the win.
Exeter D kickstarted their season with a 7-2 win over Clyst Vale, thanks to 3 wins apiece from Steve Spencer/Yipping Chen and George Furzer/Ian Halliday. Nigel German/Steve Hunt (1) and Chris Cranston/Richard Franks (1) picked up the points for Clyst Vale.
Mike Clarke, making his debut for Ringswell B, partnered by John Phillips led his team to a 7-2 win over his former club Raleigh and in the process was unbeaten with 3 wins. Ringswells Brian Jeary and Phil Matthews also got in on the action with 3 wins.
Ringswell B’s pair of Phil Matthews and John Phillips played some sparkling badminton en route to 3 wins against St Leonards C, but the saints edged a close match 5-4.