09 February, 2020 Daniel Clark
Queens’ four year grip on the Mixed Division One title looks set to be lost after they suffered defeats to St Leonards A and Ringswell A.
Tony Clark/Sue Banks went unbeaten for St Leonards A in their 7-2 win over Queens, with Tom Phillips/Emily Killoran and Dan Carson/Louise Gubbin picking up two wins apiece, with Lloyd Skinner/Leoni Bishop grabbing the two points for Queens.
And Queens were beaten by the same scoreline against Ringswell A who remain unbeaten and have a nine point lead at the top. Barry Harriss/Jess Hill were unbeaten for Ringswell, while Nathan Scase/Jackie Kirby grabbed the two points for Queens.
The Crediton side though did beat bottom of the table Sidmouth A 7-2, with Harry Williams/Rachel Irish getting Sidmouth’s points, with Sidmouth also being beaten 8-1 by Ringswell A, and barring an incredibly unlikely turn of events in the remaining fixtures, it will be either Ringswell A or St Leonards A who take the title, with St Leonards’ 9-0 win over Exeter A boosting their chances.
Ringswell A lead Queens by nine points, and have two games in hand, and are 11 points clear of St Leonards A, who like Ringswell, have played just the five games.
And it could be a double for Ringswell, as their B team have moved to the top of the Division 2A table. They hold a nine point lead over Chulmleigh, albeit having played a game more, and the fact they have suffered two defeats to Chulmleigh’s none.
Ringswell B lost 5-4 to St Leonards B, who moved off the bottom of the table with their win, although they have only played three fixtures so far this season. In what a close match in which none of the pairs went unbeaten, it came down to the final rubber, with Matthew Kwong/Cherry Law beat Andy Taylor/Sylvia Child 21-16, 21-19 to grab the win.
They did though bounce back with a comfortable 9-0 win over a depleted Otter Vale B side, who remain bottom of the table with six defeats from six.
Exeter B sit third in the table, although 17 points off the lead, after a 7-2 win over Otter Vale A. Peter Ford/Katie Scotter were unbeaten for Exeter, with Tom Bennett/Jo Smith and Daniel Clark/Mya Walker winning one rubber each.
Division 2B has just seen the one fixture played in the last three weeks, with Honiton closing the gap on league leaders St Leonards C after a 6-3 win over Otter Vale C. Peter Bolt/Helena Williams won all three rubbers comfortably and they raced to a 5-0 lead, but two wins from Dave Williamson/June Goode and one from Max Walker/Claire Ross gave the score some respectability.
St Leonards C though have a three point lead at the top of the table and have two games in hand on Honiton.
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