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ELTTL Week 18 Report

31/1/2015

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Week 18 of the Edinburgh & Lothians Table Tennis League saw three of Penicuik's five teams in action.

The week started off with Penicuik 4’s visit to North Merchiston 3. After a 10-0 scoreline the previous week, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz, Gavin Hunter and John Bald were hopeful of putting some pressure on the teams above them in the division with another win against opponents they had defeated 6-4 in the first half of the season. After two wins from Gavin and a win each from John and Krzysztof in the first five matches of the night it looked good for the visitors as they held a 4-1 lead. From there however, only Gavin could win again (3 wins out of 3 for him) as North Merchiston came back to claim a 5-5 draw. A disappointing night for the Penicuik side who remain in third place in the division on the same points as 2nd placed West Lothian but having played a game more. 

In the Premier Division, the 1st Team of Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone were looking to continue their winning ways after a good victory against Edinburgh University 1 as they hosted Edinburgh International 1. The home side, having lost 7-3 in the reverse fixture in October, knew they were in for a tough match. When Iain narrowly lost the first match of the night and Colin then surprisingly lost match 2, the good start which had been hoped for didn't come to fruition. Greig pulled one back in match 3 but further losses for Colin and Iain left the home side in trouble at 4-1 down at the halfway point in the evening. Another win for Greig and a crucial doubles win for Greig and Colin brought Penicuik back into the contest and after Colin won his last match, it was left to Iain to win the final match of the night to secure a 5-5 draw, a result which at 4-1 down the home side would gladly have taken.

In Division 2, Clive Liddiard, Brian Bailey and Tony Brentnall were looking to put more pressure on division leaders Penicuik 3 after their slip up the previous week as they hosted Meadowbank. They too had a shocking start as after 5 matches the visitors held a 4-1 advantage. The 2nd Team rallied brilliantly however and went one better than the 1st Team as they won the final 5 matches of the night for a terrific 6-4 comeback victory. Clive and Tony both won 2 whilst Brian won 1 and combined with Clive for the all important doubles win. The victory sees the gap at the top of the Division, which only a few weeks ago was 5 points, down to 2 and there seems to be a renewed confidence amongst the 2nd Team that their club mates can be overtaken in their battle for top spot. Both teams are in action next week with Penicuik 2 facing what looks like the tougher match as they travel to play 3rd placed Edinburgh International. That having been said Penicuik 3 host an improving Murrayfield 7 side, who, although 10 points behind the Division leaders, are fresh from a resounding 8-2 victory against third placed Edinburgh International.


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ELTTL Week 17 Report

25/1/2015

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All five of Penicuik's teams were in action last week and after two consecutive defeats in the Premier Division, Penicuik's 1st team saw Team Captain, Greig McDonell return to action to join Colin Green and Iain Johnstone as they faced an important visit to take on Edinburgh University 1. When both Greig and Iain lost their opening encounters it looked bleak for the Penicuik side, even bleaker as Colin was struggling in match 3 while simaltaneously Iain was facing Octavio Tolentino who had defeated Greig in his first match of the night. As Colin started to turn his match around, Iain, clearly the underdog, produced some great table tennis to stun the university's best player on the night as he won in 4 ends. The 1st Team didn't look back after that match losing only one more game in their 7-3 victory. The win eases any stress which may have been felt had University picked up the points as the 1st Team jump into sixth place in the Division and more importantly well clear of the relegation zone.

In Division 2, Penicuik 2 travelled to Bathgate to take on West Lothian 5. Sitting 5 points behind Penicuik 3 at the top of the division, Clive Liddiard, Brian Bailey and Tony Brentnall knew that they couldn't afford any slip ups if they wished to remain in contention for the Division 2 title. The Penicuik trio were never in trouble as all three players won two of their 3 singles matches and with a win in the doubles they recorded a comfortable 7-3 victory. 

On the same night, Penicuik 3 hosted West Lothian 6 at Ladywood. Having defeated their opponents at Bathgate in the reverse fixture by 7 games to 3 the match, on paper, looked like being another comfortable encounter for the Division leaders. West Lothian had other ideas however as their top two players won 5 of their 6 matches on the night. A crucial doubles win for James Wighton and Gary Mcdougall together with a singles win for each of the home team meant that going into the final match of the night Penicuik trailed 5-4. It was left to Team captain James Wighton to salvage a draw by winning that last match and a valuable point was earned for the home side. The dropped point gives Penicuik 2 hope as they now sit 4 points behind the 3rd Team but with a game in hand. The Division 2 title looks like it might not be settled for some time yet. Are the 3rd Team beginning to feel some pressure??

In Division 3 Penicuik 4 have had their squad strengthened with the inclusion of John Bald. He was selected immediately to play Edinburgh University along with Phil Daly and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz. Chomping at the bit John didn't get to prove what an asset he would be as University conceded the match. The resulting 10-0 scoreline gives a huge boost to the team's game difference and puts the 4th team into a 3 way tie for second place in the Division with all to play for in the remaining 7 matches of the season. 

Finally, in Division 4, Penicuik 5 travelled to face Fife 4 in Inverkeithing. Penicuik's youngsters of Luke Hennessey, Louis McLeod and Lewis Baldock are all playing their first season of competitive table tennis and with a combined age of 34 there is plenty time for the team to develop and improve. The youngsters put up a spirited performance against their far more experienced opponents as Luke won two of his three singles matches and Louis won 1 in their 7-3 defeat.



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ELTTL Week 16 Report

18/1/2015

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Week 16 was a quiet one for the Club with only 3 of our teams in action.

In the Premier Division, the 1st Team faced a difficult trip to take on the reigning Premier League Champions and the only Team in the League with a 100% record, Murrayfield 1. With Team Captain, Greig McDonell not available, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone called up Clive Liddiard to deputise - lucky him!! The defeat for the away side probably didn't come as a huge surprise but perhaps more of a surprise was the form of Colin who gets this week's player of the week award as he won two of his three singles matches. Neither Iain nor Clive could contribute in the resultant 8-2 loss.

In Division 2, the 3rd Team are one of only 3 sides in the entire League yet to taste defeat (Murrayfield 1 and Fife 2 being the other two). They sought to continue their unbeaten run as they faced a trip to bottom of the Division Murrayfield 6. The trio of James Wighton, Gary McDougal and Abby Wighton didn’t break sweat as they recorded their 11th win of the season with a 10-0 win. No energy wasted either as they received a walkover!! A good week for the team was rounded off when third placed Edinburgh International could only manage a draw in their fixture against West Lothian. With our own 2nd Team not in action this week, the 3rd Team now have a healthy 5 point advantage at the top of the Division. 

In Division 3, the 4th Team had been on a remarkable run since the latter part of 2014 winning six consecutive matches, including the previous week’s win against the team in second place in the Division, West Lothian 7. Hot on the heels of that match was last week’s match at Ladywood against one of the undefeated teams mentioned above, Fife 2. The team's great run had seen them move from 3rd bottom of Division 3 to 3rd top and they knew that a win would bring them within 3 points of the Division leaders. Team Captain Phil Daly selected Gavin Hunter,  Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Tony Brentnall for the top of the table clash. When Gavin lost the first match of the night the attention turned to Kris who had been in excellent form the previous week winning all three of his singles. When he lost a tight match in a deciding fifth end it looked bleak for the home side. With only Tony contributing with two wins in the next 7 matches,  Gavin was left to play the final match of the night with the game already lost. Although he won that game, the trio were left disappointed with their 7-3 defeat. The loss gives the Fife side a 5 point cushion at the top of the Division although the 4th Team remain in contention for promotion as they now sit two points behind second placed West Lothian. 



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ELTTL Week 15 Report

11/1/2015

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All five Penicuik teams were in action as the League resumed following the festive break.

The performance of the week came from Penicuik 4 who faced a tricky away match against West Lothian 7 who sat two points ahead of the visitors in second place in Division 3. Having lost 7-3 at Ladywood in the first fixture of the season the fourth team knew they would have to play well to prevent the hosts from building a 4 point lead at the top of the Division. Tony Brentnall, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Gavin Hunter made the trip to Bathgate and got off to a flying start winning the first 5 matches to ensure at least a draw. Defeats in matches 6 and 7 gave West Lothian some hope of a recovery but it was left to Kris to win match 8 to secure the all important victory. Kris was player of the night winning all three of his singes matches, Tony won 2 and Gavin 1 as the 4th Team recorded an excellent 6-4 win. The victory leaves the 4th Team in a three way tie for second place in the Division.

There were further wins for both the 2nd and 3rd Teams as they continued their push for promotion from Division 2. The 2nd Team travelled to face Police Scotland and had to call on the services of two of the 3rd team, Abby & James Wighton, Brian Bailey being the most recent injury worry for the 2nd Team. As it turned out James was player of the night winning all three of his singles and combining with Clive for a win in the doubles. Clive Liddiard won 2 and Abby won 1 as the 2nd Team ran out comfortable 7-3 winners.

James and Abby then combined later in the week with Gary McDougall as the 3rd Team sought to start the second half of the season where they left off before the festive break as they hosted Corstorphine. James continued his excellent recent run of form again winning all 3 of his singles. With Gary also winning 3 the match result was never in doubt. Abby added one victory and James and Gary combined for a narrow win in the doubles as the 3rd Team remained undefeated with an 8-2 victory.

Unfortunately, neither the 1st Team nor the 5th Team could match the wins by Penicuik's other sides. Having lost the opening fixture of the season 7-3 at Bathgate, Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Iain Johnstone were hoping to improve on that scoreline as they hosted West Lothian 1. Illness and lack of practice took their toll however as the 1st Team slumped to another 7-3 defeat. The only bright spot of the night was Colin managing to avenge his recent loss in the Edinburgh Championships to Brian Hunter as he came back from the dead to win in 5 tight ends.

Finally, in Division 4, Gregory Leplatre, Kathryn McKenzie and Louis Myatt travelled to face Murrayfield 8. The Team went into the fixture with confidence given that in the reverse fixture Penicuik ran out comfortable 8-2 winners. Gregory won 3 but only Kathryn was able to add to the visitor's tally with 1 win in what was a bitterly disappointing start to the second half of the season for the 5th Team.
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2014 EDINBURGH CHAMPIONSHIPS REPORT

1/1/2015

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Penicuik again hosted the Annual Edinburgh League Championships on Sunday 7th December 2014 as Ladywood welcomed over 60 competitors to play over 180 matches throughout the day. The host Club were well represented with competitors in all but one of the events run on the day.

In the main Open singles event, Greig McDonell reached the semi final stage where he lost in 4  tight ends to the eventual winner, John Hannah from Edinburgh Sports Club (ESC). The Club’s other representative, Colin Green, failed to make it out of his opening group. John defeated Brian Hunter from West Lothian in the final.

The Band 1 singles event saw Iain Johnstone and Clive Liddiard represent the Club. Clive found it tough going as he lost all his initial group matches whereas Iain had an excellent morning, winning his initial group. In the semi final, Iain then defeated Ricahrd Tallaron form the Murrayfield Club securing a place in the final against another Murrayfield player, Stuart Wilson. The pair had met earlier in the season in the League when Iain had come out victorious and history repeated itself as Iain became the first winner for the Club with an excellent victory in four ends. 

The Band 2 singles saw Abby Wighton and dad James take part. James just missed out on a place in the semi finals whereas Abby proceeded to the semi final stage where she met JP Smith form the Corstorphine Club. JP was the higher seeded player but at 2 ends a piece Abby hit top form as she won the 5th end 11-4 to secure her place in the final where she met another Corstorphine player, Jeff Clark. Jeff proved too strong winning in 4 ends but an excellent runners-up medal for Abby.

Penicuik’s only representative in the Band 3 singles was Gavin Hunter who played well, as the lowest ranked player, to win his initial group. A win from 2 ends down against Robert Inder from Edinburgh International in the final round of group matches was good enough to secure a runners-up medal for Gavin.

The Band 4 singles saw Penicuik’s youngsters enter the Competition with Louis MacLeod, Luke Hennessey and Millie Bennett all in action. Luke stood out as he secured his place in the final group. The crucial match was between Luke and Adam Hawthorn and at 2 ends all the match was in the balance. Luke held his nerve and won the final end 11-5 to become Penicuik’s 2nd winner of the day.

In the over 40s open singles event there was fierce competition played out over 4 groups. Greig McDonell, Colin Green and Clive Liddiard represented the Club. Clive unfortunately didn’t win either of his group games but both Greig and Colin secured their passage to the semi final stage where Greig met the 2013 Open Singles Champion, Stan Stoodley from the Murrayfield Club. A surprisingly straightforward 3-0 win for Greig secured his place in the final. The attention then turned to Colin’s semi final against Brian Hunter from West Lothian. Brian had already won a runners-up medal in the Open Singles event earlier in the day and so was in good form. The match, which attracted a large crowd, saw Colin comfortably win the first two ends 11-5, 11-6. Brian is known as a very tough competitor and so it proved as he won the next two ends 11-6, 11-9 to tie the match at 2-2. The final end saw some more excellent play from both players but an all Penicuik final was thwarted as Brian won the decider 11-6. The final saw Greig win the first two ends comfortably 11-4, 11-6 before Brain won the 3rd 11-7. Thoughts of another comeback for Brian were ended in the fourth end as Greig ran out an 11-7 winner and became Penicuik’s 3rd winner of the day.

The Band 1 Over 40s event saw more success for the Club. Rachel Petrie and James Wighton were both in action. In her opening group, Rachel was up against some much higher ranked players and failed to make it out of her group. A different story for James, however, as he comfortably won his opening group which put him into a final group of 3. When James defeated the top ranked player in that final group it looked as if another Penicuik winner would be announced but against the lowest ranked player, Robert Inder, things became difficult. From 2-0 up, Robert won the next two ends 12-10, 12-10 to force a decider. A nervous and tight deciding end went down to the wire but James held his nerve with an 11-9 victory to ensure that he became the Club’s fourth winner of the day.

The only Event without Penicuik representation was the 18-40 Open singles which was won by Murrayfield’s Charlie Ellis who defeated West Lothian’s Lukasz Kaska into second place.

The Band 1 18-40 singles saw Gavin Hunter turn out in his second event of the day and he just missed out on a medal as he finished 3rd in his final group. The event was won by North Merchiston’s, Anna Porsch who beat Mohammed Ahmed from Edinburgh University into 2nd place.

The Under 18 singles saw the Edinburgh Open Singles Champion, John Hannah, play in his second event of the day and, as anticipated, he had no difficulty in winning the event. That left a battle for second place and arguably the performance of the day came from 15 year old Abby Wighton who defeated  the higher ranked Callum Stephen before playing against the favourite for 2nd place, Faye Leggett (currently Scotland’s No 1 ranked Under 15 girl). After losing the first end 11-5, Abby played some excellent table tennis to win the next 3 ends 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 for a surprise victory which secured a runners-up medal for Abby in a very difficult category.

The Under 15 singles saw four of the Club’s youngsters in action with Millie Bennett and Louis McLeod both reaching the semi-final stage. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to progress to the final which was won by James Forrest of Murrayfield who defeated Fife’s Hannah Robb.

In the Under 13 singles, Luke Hennessey and Louis Myatt competed in a final group of 5 competitors. Louis, who was playing in a higher age category than his normal, found it tough going (but his day wasn’t yet over) as he finished 5th. The winner of the event was Jake Somerville who was undefeated and the battle for second place came down to a straight fight between Luke and Adam Hawthorn from the Murrayfield Club. Having beaten Adam in 5 tight ends to win the Band 4 singles earlier in the day, Luke went one better as he defeated Adam in four ends to secure a runners-up medal in the Under 13 category.

The final event of the day was the Under 11 singles and there was more good news for the Club. Max Hennessey, Luke’s younger brother did well to win two matches as he finished in 4th place. Louis Myatt, having had a difficult time in the under 13 category, shone in the younger age group, his good play seeing him end the event with 5 wins and no defeats, as he became Penicuik’s fifth and final winner of the day.

An excellent day’s table tennis with over 180 matches played and great success for the club. Of the 26 medals up for grabs, Penicuik won 9 (5 winners and 4 runners-up), Murrayfield won 6, West Lothian won 4, Edinburgh Sports Club and Corstorphine both won 2, whilst North Merchiston, Edinburgh University and Fife all won 1 medal. The haul of 9 medals made Penicuik the most successful Club of the 2014 Edinburgh Championships - Well done to all who took part.


For a full list of the medal winners follow the link http://t.co/98dDRMypsZ
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Medal Winners
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Edinburgh Championships 2014
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