29 April, 2018 Daniel Clark
Queens A retained their Division One title without having to step on court after Ringswell A lost their final match to Exeter B. Queens had only needed one point in their final fixture to mathematically secure the crown, but were handed the title when Exeter B beat Ringswell A 7-2.
Sam Owens/Katie Scotter were unbeaten for Exeter, as Nigel Osborne/Erin Whitten won two rubbers for Ringswell which was enough to finish second. Queens A then were given a walkover against St Leonards A who were unable to field a team and were already consigned to finishing bottom.
Queens B had already won Division 2A, but just like in the top division, Ringswell finished second. Despite four of the nine rubbers going to three sets, Ringswell B beat Otter Vale 9-0 before doing just about enough despite a 5-4 loss to Sidmouth A to finish second by three points. John Carter/Rachel Irish were unbeaten for Sidmouth A while Martyn Schmidt/Julie Frost won two rubbers.
In the relegation decider, Otter Vale A had needed to win 9-0 against St Leonards B, but slipped to a 7-2 loss. Brian Deem/Heather Rake and Dave Williamson/Teresa Simic scored points for Otter Vale, but unbeaten Sam Maltby/Sue Banks and Andy Rowe/Nikki Anslow secured safety for St Leonards, while Rob Price scored his first point of the season, teaming with Rachel Dare to win 17-21,21-17, 21-17 against Daniel Clark/Jo Smith.
St Leonards C retained their Division 2B title and after a 5-4 win over Honiton. Chulmleigh’s 8-1 win over Otter Vale B had left the Exeter-side needing to win their last match to secure the title, and the match went down to the final rubber.
But Ian Jameson/Anne Trevanna beat Sam Prangley/Sue Fallows 21-13, 21-18 to give them the title after Dan Corbey/Sharon May had won all their three rubbers.
In the other fixture, James Newcombe/Grace Williams made it 24 wins out of 24 for the season for Sidmouth B, but it wasn’t enough as they slipped to a 5-4 loss to Otter Vale B that left them in fourth place. Tim Hall/Sue O’Brien, Andy O’Brien/Maxine Sweetman and Nigel German/Anne Drury all contributed points for Otter Vale.