Ladies Match Report 14/04/06   An 8/1 away win over a two pair Waverley team means that LoddonSherpas ladies are now equal with Beechdown in second spot in the table behind champions Viking.  The two teams play in their final match in the Ian Dewar sponsored league next week at Winchester Road and a minimum winning score of 5/4 would ensure the runner-up spot in the table for either side.  Debbie Symes and Christine Fowler won the sole Waverley rubber in this encounter with sisters Cheryl/Stephanie Matthews and Hayley Kopp/Lynn White winning two each for LoddonSherpas supported by one from Caroline Thompson/Liz Firth.  BH Pegasus finished their season’s programme with a 5/4 home victory over Beechdown at the Sports Centre.  Lesley Acheson/Sue Lorrain won two rubbers for them as did Amanda Marsden/Linda Rapacioli  with Kim Street/Jenny Skilton getting the fifth.  Andrea Hill/Ruth Seward won their three rubbers for Beechdown and Sandra Smith/Karen Southwell got the remaining one.

Mens Match Report - 14/04/06  Stephen Gaunt and Lawrence Sutton won one rubber and Graham Page/Neil Hince a second for Aldermaston when they lost 7/2 at home to Andover Sports A in Mens Division 1.  Damien Roberts/Tim Hunt and Shaun McDonald/Emerson Cumberbatch both recorded maxima for the winners complimented by one rubber from Peter Hatfield/Ian Swatton.  

Two 8/1 victories in Division 2 assured Viking B of the first promotion spot in the table.  The first of the two wins was against Beechdown B at Winchester Road when Graeme Berry/Scott Wilkins and Ian Shoard/Simon Williamson got maxima supported by two rubbers from Steve Ineson/Neil Hodges.  Paul Deed and Richard Bowden won the home side’s sole point. Later against second placed Firefly the same Viking B pairs managed identical victories with Phil Pike and Scott Armstead salvaging the solitary rubber for the losers. A two pair BH Pegasus B side managed a 5/4 home win over Hurst to secure third place in the table.  Kevin Harris/Alex Groom won three rubbers supported by two from Steve Glover/Dale Turpin in this win while Adam Jesney/Steve Hartwell won the only rubber scored by the visitors. 

The final positions in Division 3 are still up for grabs as current leaders Andover on 73 points have still three matches to either report or play and either Phoenix A with 68 points or BH Pegasus C with 65 will take the second automatic promotion spot.  In a postponed match Phoenix A beat a two pair Whitchurch side 7/2 at Whitchurch.  Stuart Gordon/Dave Cooley won the two home rubbers with Tim Little/Matthew Savastano getting two for the visitors supplemented by one each from Matthew Hawkins/peter Ebbage and Tim Pink/Paul Nightingale.

Mixed Match Report - 14/04/06  The only match reported in the Mixed section was in Division 5 where Phoenix B defeated Beechdown D 6/3.  The card showed a 5/4 win for the Beechdown team but unfortunately they had played a lady who had already played three matches for their C team and was therefore not eligible again for the D side.  They had to forfeit the two rubbers which she and her partner had won changing the score from 4/5 to 6/3.  On the original card Mark Fuller/Alison Rendall had won two rubbers for Phoenix B supported by one from Matthew Hawkins/Wendy Mason and one from Tim Pink/Ruth Thompsett.  Steve Nolan and Sara Grant won the three rubbers for Beechdown D which still stand.

Hampshire County - 14/04/06   At the last Inter-County Championship weekend a fine performance from the Hampshire 1^st team over the two days meant that it managed to avoid relegation.  Bottom of the table at the start of the day the team began on the Saturday with a 8/2 victory over fellow strugglers Gloucestershire, lost in the afternoon by the same score to Avon and drew 5/5 with Lancashire on the Sunday to finish in 8^th place in the table with 33 points.  Lancashire (29) and Gloucestershire (26) were both relegated.  Yorkshire (72) took the trophy for the seventh time in eight seasons with last year’s champions Warwickshire (63) in second place. 

The previous weekend both the 2^nd and 3^rd teams had good victories to finish their seasons.  As a result the 2^nd team finished second in their section and the 3^rd team were 3^rd in their section.  Overall a good season for these teams especially as the 3^rd team was often composed of up and coming youngsters.