Ringswell A snatch defeat from victory, twice!
12 December, 2015 Andy Rowe
Exeter A maintain the challenge on Division 1 leaders Queens A, after a nail biting 5-4 win over 3rd placed Ringswell A. Brothers Sam and Callum Owens ended up on the losing side despite picking up 3 wins. The match went down to the final rubber with the Exeter pair of Sam Lees and Rob Flack holding their nerve to secure a 21-18, 19-21, 21-15 win over Paul Owens and Nigel Osborne.
Ringswell A bounced back from the disappointment of losing to Exeter A, with a superb 8-1 win over Exeter B. The Ringswell pairs of Paul Owens/Nigel Osborne and Ian Walsh/Andy Taylor were unbeaten, with the young Owen boys bagging a brace of wins.
St Leonards A arrested their losing run with a battling 5-4 win over Ringswell A. The match was tied going into the final rubber but the Saints pair of Isaac Chung and Charles Wardale (both playing as reserves) edged it 18-21, 21-81, 21-18 against Andy Taylor and Jordan Medcraft.
In Division 2 St Leonards C beat Otter Vale 6-3 to secure their first win of the season. Leo Robbins and Andy Rowe were in devastating form for the Saints. Dan Clark and Dave Williamson bagged a brace of wins and were the pick of the Otter Vale pairs.
St Leonards C followed this win with a 6-3 win over Exeter C. John Gubbin and Ian Jameson, both sporting flamboyant beards, put in an effervescent performance to win all 3. Tony Parker stood in a late substitute for Exeter C, with teammates Bibek Gurung and Tom Laver top scoring with 2 wins.
The St Leonards B team of Charles Wardale, Isaac Chung, Phil Matthews, Anthony Towl, Malcolm Travis and Andy Mann eased to their 2nd win on the trot with a 9-0 win over bottom placed Chulmleigh.
Division 3A leaders Queens C notched up a perfect 9-0 win over Chulmleigh and a 7-2 win over St Leonards D to extend their unbeaten start to the season to 4 matches.
Ringswell B have had a hat trick of hard fought wins to jump into 3rd place. Steve Rice and Richard Burn were unbeaten in all 3 matches for Ringswell, helping their team beat Sidmouth B 6-3, Honiton 6-3 and St Leonards D 5-4. Teammates Stuart Daw, Brian Jeary, Adam Brown, Luke Passmore, Jordan Medcraft and Chris Gould all chipped in with important wins over the course of the 3 matches. Team Captain Brian Jeary was pleased with the teams recent performance saying “The squad have shown that they have a real desire to win and that obstinate attitude has helped us battle through some real cliff-hangers”
Honiton had Roger Tucker and Ethan Leach (3) and the pairing of Sam Prangley/James Burgess (2) to thank for their 6-3 win over Sidmouth B. Sidmouth B’s Graham Baker playing his first match of the season bagged 2 points with his partner Ian Fletcher, but that wasn’t enough to extend the teams losing streak to 5 matches.