New signing Aarish shines on league debut for Torbay

Last season’s top two top teams in the Torbay and South Devon Table Table Tennis League started the current campaign with good wins. Champions, Torbay Academy 1, with a large squad, played a new look team against Brixham Sharks and came away from Brixham with a 7-3 win, new signing Aarish Maharjan impressing with a maximum on his league debut. NA Batmen, last season’s runners up, defeated club mates NA Condors 9-1, Dennis Gibbs and Rory Harries were unbeaten for the Batmen.
There were strong starts in the second division for fancied Brixham Trawlers and Dawlish Aces. The Trawlers secured a 9-1 win over Torbay Academy 2 thanks to maximums from Ian Saxby and Martin Sharp. Mark Sharratt and Mitch Bellham were undefeated as Dawlish Aces opened with an 8-2 victory over NA Kestrels. Halwell B found that it wasn’t going to be easy in the lower level having dropped out of the top flight following their relegation.
NA Raptors, with an excellent Paul Hine maximum, defeated Halwell B 7-3. Colin Butterworth, making his first appearance in this league, is going to be a very useful addition to Grove Guerrillas, his maximum helping the Grove to a narrow 6-4 victory at Teign School over NA Falcons.
In the only third division fixture a Nick Williamson maximum was not enough for victory as his Brixham Gulls started their campaign with a 6-4 defeat. An excellent all round team effort from NA Harriers saw them to victory.
The two Torbay Academy teams in the fourth division kicked off their campaigns with wins. Academy 5 with a narrow 6-4 win over NA Ospreys, despite an excellent maximum from the Ospreys’ Rob Ferguson. New signing Stephen Wilbraham was undefeated as Torbay Academy 6 saw off the challenge from Brixham Seals 8-2. A Robert Excell maximum helped get Torre Gladiators off to a good start with a 6-4 victory over Dawlish Doubtfuls. NA Merlins had a comfortable start with a 9-1 win over club mates NA Vultures, Chris Bishop and Nick Kitchen were undefeated for the Merlins.
RESULTS
Division One
NA Batmen 9 (Harries 3, D Gibbs 3, Hine 2, Dbls) NA Condors 1 (McIvor 1, Parkins 0, Kiff 0)
Brixham Sharks 3 (Harper 2, Holmes 1, Banham 0) Torbay Academy (1) 7 (Maharjan 3, Cincala 2, N Shipley 1, Dbls)
Division Two
Dawlish Aces 8 (Sharratt 3, Bellham 3, Davies 1, Dbls) NA Kestrels 2 (Weinstein 1, Millman 1, Shears 0)
Brixham Trawlers 9 (Sharp 3, Saxby 3, Pack 2, Dbls) Torbay Academy (2) 1 (Perry 1, Cregan 0, Gander 0)
NA Raptors 7 (Hine 3, Darch 2, Moffatt 1, Dbls) Halwell B 3 (Mercer 2, Dunn 1, Dyson 0)
NA Falcons 4 (Wilshire 2, W Cyron 1, Thompson 1) Grove Guerrillas 6 (Butterworth 3, Pearson 1, Bowerman 1, Dbls)
Division Three
Brixham Gulls 4 (Williamson 3, I Brown 1, A Brown 0) NA Harriers 6 (Fabian 2, Copley 2, Kitchen 1, Dbls)
Division Four
Torbay Academy (5) 6 (Neafcy 2, James 2, Dillon 1, Dbls) NA Ospreys 4 (Ferguson 3, Fearon 1, Dulling 0)
Brixham Seals 2 (A Brown 2, M Burston 0, T Burston 0) Torbay Academy (6) 8 (Wilbraham 3, Brookes 2, Frost 2, Dbls)
Dawlish Doubtfuls 4 (S Grim 2, Chadwick 1, Pook 1) Torre Gladiators 6 (Excell 3, Morris 2, Sutton 0, Dbls)
NA Merlins 9 (Bishop 3, Kitchen 3, Olver 2, Dbls) NA Vultures 1 (Humphreys 1, Fearon 0, Gilbert 0)