Division 1 round-up - Week 6
LB Avengers fought out a draw with MK Topspin at Wing, with Michael Benson scoring a maximum for the visitors against Cristi Hulpan, Andy King and Nathan Fry. Nathan beat Mervyn Kelly and Mal Hussein, while Andy beat Mervyn and Cristi beat Mal. Mervyn and Mal each won one set. Cristi and Andy beat Michael and Mervyn in the doubles. The result leaves the teams in 5th and 6th place, level on 27 points, with Topspin ahead on draws so far.
MK Sharks played Greenleys Crusaders, with a 6-4 win which meant that the teams swap places, both teams having 30 points but Sharks have won more matches. It was a close match, with 5 sets going to the final game of which the home team won 4. Derick Rodrigues beat Ian Grainger but lost the final set of the match to Chris Shamuyarira for his only win of the night. Rupert Greyling and Andy Pearson each beat both Ian and Chris. None of the home team could take a game against Sanav Sethi, who secured a strong maximum. Rupert and Andy won the doubles.
Leaders MK Phoenix visited bottom team Greenleys Princes and came away with a 9-1 win, which leaves the Princes bottom of the division and Phoenix with a 17-point lead over second placed Chackmore Hasbeens. Anand Keshav for the home team won the opening set, against Gerald Ridgway but that was the only success for the Princes. For Phoenix, Alan Bolding and Ioan Constantin proved too strong for the Princes trio of Anand, Saravana Kumar and Richard Bailey, with Saravana and Richard also losing to Gerald. Alan and Ioan beat Anand and Saravana to preserve the unbeaten doubles record for the visitors.
In the last match of the week, MK Pumas played Chackmore Hasbeens, with Bub Burman beating Adam Snowdon in the final set for a 6-4 away win. Bub had also beaten Julie Snowdon and Neil Riddy, so completed his treble on the night. He was supported by Andy Whitehead who contributed with a double against Adam and also Julie, but only by 13-11 in the 5th game, but lost to home player Neil Riddy. The 3rd player for the Hasbeens was Annie Burman, who understandably found the jump from division 6 to be too great, losing to all 3 home players. The doubles went to the Hasbeens pair of Bub and Andy, possibly the most reliable doubles pairing over the last few seasons. The Hasbeens remain second in the division, while the Pumas moves off the bottom, a point ahead of the Princes.
Team Performance of the Week: MK Sharks
Player of the week: Sanav Sethi