Batmen battle back to beat the Eagles in table tennis opener

There was a slow start to this season’s table tennis campaign with many teams struggling to put teams together for their first match.

The first division kicked off with a couple of close encounters. Last season’s runners up, NA Batmen, with notable team changes, faced a tricky first match against clubmates NA Eagles.

Naomi Jackson led the way for the Batmen with a superb maximum, well supported by Dan Webster-Hall with two singles wins. The Batmen recovered from 4-3 down to win the last three games and the match 6-4.

Halwell A, who have mixed their teams up this season, started with a draw against the newly formed NA Owls. Halwell’s David Wadling started well with a fine maximum.

The only second division fixture saw Torbay Academy 2 host NA Falcons. A fine all-round team effort from the Falcons edged a 6-4 win for the Newton Abbot outfit.

In the third division, Torbay Academy 4’s new recruit, Matt Laws, picked up the Academy’s only three points, as they lost out to NA Kestrels 7-3. In an all Newton Abbot clash, the NA Harriers, with maximums from Doug Morgan and Ivor Copley, defeated NA Owls 7-3.

A full programme in the fourth division saw a good start for the two Torbay Academy teams, as Academy 6 and Academy 7 both emerged with victories. Aleksandra Treder was unbeaten as Academy 6 defeated Brixham Seals 6-4.

Aaron Southgate, making his first appearance for Torbay Academy 7, was the unbeaten man of the match as the Academy side defeated Dawlish Delinquents 7-3.

The experienced NA Merlins side were too strong for NA Vultures, Derek Stratton and Lee Raymond with maximums helping the Merlins to a 9-1 victory. A Ken Ramsden maximum for NA Ospreys was not enough for victory as they shared the points with Torre Spartans.

RESULTS

Division One

NA Batmen 6 (Jackson 3, Webster-Hall 2, Lush 0, Dbls) NA Eagles 4 (Birkbeck 2, M Burridge 1, Davey 1)

NA Owls 5 (McIvor 2, Thompson 1, Malin 1, Dbls) Halwell A 5 (Wadling 3, Smith 2, Symons 0)

Division Two

Torbay Academy (2) 4 (Cregan 2, Damanskas 1, Moretta 1) NA Falcons 6 (Haslam 2, Guy 2, Cyron 1, Dbls)

Division Three

NA Harriers 7 (Morgan 3, Copley 3, Fabian 1) NA Kites 3 (N Kitchen 1, J Kitchen 1, Humphreys 0, Dbls)

Torbay Academy (4) 3 (Laws 3, Payne 0, Treder 0) NA Kestrels 7 (Hathaway 2, Whitehorn 2, Millman 2, Dbls)

Division Four

NA Vultures 1 (Andrews 1, Gilbert 0, Jewell 0) NA Merlins 9 (Stratton 3, Raymond 3, Olver 2, Dbls)

Dawlish Delinquents 3 (Sanders 2, Girling 1, Curl 0) Torbay Academy (7) 7 (Southgate 3, Hollings 2, Frost 1, Dbls)

Brixham Seals 4 (Edwards 2, Brown 1, Stead 1) Torbay Academy (6) 6 (Treder 3, Bhatia 1, G.Adamczak 1, Dbls)

NA Ospreys 5 (Ramsden 3, Ferguson 1, Dulling 0, Dbls) Torre Spartans 5 (Excell 2, Sadler 2, Glasser 1)