Week 24 was another busy week for the Club with all six of our teams in action again.
Penicuik 2 v North Merchiston 3 (Division 1) – Wednesday 18th March
It was another busy Wednesday at Ladywood with three of our teams in action. James Wighton, Hannah McDonell and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz hosted fellow strugglers North Merchiston in the knowledge that a win would lift them off the foot of the Div 1 table. James got the team off to the perfect start with a win against the experienced Graham Booth before Hannah had a good win v Nick Adams. Krys couldn’t quite keep the run going as he lost match 3 to the ever improving Julia Domagala. 2-1 up and when all three players won their second matches the hosts had secured at least a point. The doubles saw Hannah and James defeat Julia and Nick and the victory was secured. Match 8 saw Hannah complete an undefeated night with a 3-1 win against Julia before Krys and James also recorded victories to give Team 2 a terrific 9-1 victory. With only 9 teams in Division 1, a second bottom finish may be enough to survive – one match left for Team 2 who are ahead on game difference of their opponents who have two matches left.
Penicuik 4 v North Merchiston 5 (Division 3) – Wednesday 18th March
Team 4 had all but secured promotion to Division 2 (barring some mathematical miracle) before they hosted their Edinburgh based opponents. They still had a slim chance of winning the title but that would need a slip up from leaders Dunbar. When the Merchiston side turned up with two players, this looked like a walk in the park for Ian Hislop, Jay Jayalath and Patrick Shanks. 3-0 up before a ball was hit but when the first two matches of the night went the way of the visitors, both in five sets, the hosts knew it wasn’t going to be straightforward. Somewhat unbelievably the next two matches played also went to five sets – and the visitors won both of them as well – they suddenly led on the night! To make matters worse for the hosts they lost the doubles as well and were 5-3 down with the last two matches to play. The last two matches also went to five sets but on this occasion they were both won by the hosts – wow what a match – a 5-5 draw.
Penicuik 6 v Gullane (Division 5) - Wednesday 18th March
John Grant, Ian Millar and Tony Walker hosted the East Lothian outfit in the final match at Ladywood on Wednesday. Tony lost the first match of the night before two five set matches saw Ian unluckily lose out before John gave the hosts their first win of the night. In the second set of singles there were wins for John and Tony and the match was tied at 3-3 going into the doubles. It was perhaps a surprise that the undefeated John sat out of the doubles and hindsight may suggest he should have played as Tony and Ian fell in four ends. John kept the match alive with a win in Match 8 to draw the scores level at 4-4 but neither Tony nor Ian could win their final matches as the hosts fell to a close 6-4 defeat.
West Lothian 1 v Penicuik 1 (Premier Division) – Wednesday 18th March
Away from home on Wednesday, Team 1 travelled to take on the new Premier League Champions. Peter Aird, Andrew Nimmo and Ryan Docherty faced off against the WL young guns. The first set of singles saw Andrew push Rory Thomson to five ends but all three players fell to defeats. The second set of singles saw Ryan manage a five set win against Jamie Toner but going into the doubles the Champions held a comfortable 5-1 lead. The doubles was a classic – five cracking ends – Ryan and Andrew just fell short 12-10 in the fifth. The match was over as a contest but Andrew (probably the best player on the night for the visitors), deserved his 3-1 win v Jamie. An 8-2 defeat for the Penicuik side.
West Lothian 3 v Penicuik 3 (Division 2) – Thursday 19th March 2026
Craig Linton, Bob Porteous and Kristian Skotzen made the trip to Bathgate on Thursday evening in a match which turned out to be symmetrically perfect! The scores went 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5! Craig was the star for the visitors winning his three whilst Kristian and Bob both won 1. The crucial doubles could have seen the visitors take home the spoils – Kristian and Craig fell 11-9 in the fifth. A 5-5 draw was probably a fair result in the end.
Edinburgh University 6 v Penicuik 5 (Division 4) – Friday 20th March 2026
A Friday night trip for Team 5 to St Leonards Land proved to be another difficult night for Roscoe Cairney, Mat Dyluk and John Grant playing up from Team 6. The night started well with Roscoe winning Match 1 in three ends but from there the students won the next 8 matches. Match 10 went the way of John as the visitors fell to an 8-2 defeat.
Player of the Week
Shout outs this week go to Hannah, James, Craig and John for undefeated singles nights. The most important three probably came from Craig as that helped secure the 5-5 draw for Team 3. That said in terms of overall importance the undefeated nights for James and Hannah, including a doubles win for the pair leads to Team 2 potentially surviving in Division 1 for next season. How do we split them? According to Krzysztof, Hannah pulled James through in the doubles and given she also won the player of the night award from the opponents, she takes this week's award - well done to Hannah.
Controversy of the Week
It’s a complete replica of Week 23’s controversy – West Lothian sought a postponement of their match in the Premier Division with Team 1. They offered another couple of dates but neither of them were suitable for our team. Oh no, the new Champions were not able to field a team on 18th March we were told. That’s unfortunate but wouldn’t impact anything as they had already secured the title. Peter, Andrew and Ryan weren’t sure what they were going to face when they arrived – the team below the Premier side play in Division 2 – a quick night it would be for the visitors – of course it was a quick night for the visitors but that was on the basis that somehow the Champions managed to get their full side out! As we said last week to our friends from Murrayfield - yeah right West Lothian!
Season nearly over. Roll on week 25.
Penicuik 2 v North Merchiston 3 (Division 1) – Wednesday 18th March
It was another busy Wednesday at Ladywood with three of our teams in action. James Wighton, Hannah McDonell and Krzysztof Laszkiewicz hosted fellow strugglers North Merchiston in the knowledge that a win would lift them off the foot of the Div 1 table. James got the team off to the perfect start with a win against the experienced Graham Booth before Hannah had a good win v Nick Adams. Krys couldn’t quite keep the run going as he lost match 3 to the ever improving Julia Domagala. 2-1 up and when all three players won their second matches the hosts had secured at least a point. The doubles saw Hannah and James defeat Julia and Nick and the victory was secured. Match 8 saw Hannah complete an undefeated night with a 3-1 win against Julia before Krys and James also recorded victories to give Team 2 a terrific 9-1 victory. With only 9 teams in Division 1, a second bottom finish may be enough to survive – one match left for Team 2 who are ahead on game difference of their opponents who have two matches left.
Penicuik 4 v North Merchiston 5 (Division 3) – Wednesday 18th March
Team 4 had all but secured promotion to Division 2 (barring some mathematical miracle) before they hosted their Edinburgh based opponents. They still had a slim chance of winning the title but that would need a slip up from leaders Dunbar. When the Merchiston side turned up with two players, this looked like a walk in the park for Ian Hislop, Jay Jayalath and Patrick Shanks. 3-0 up before a ball was hit but when the first two matches of the night went the way of the visitors, both in five sets, the hosts knew it wasn’t going to be straightforward. Somewhat unbelievably the next two matches played also went to five sets – and the visitors won both of them as well – they suddenly led on the night! To make matters worse for the hosts they lost the doubles as well and were 5-3 down with the last two matches to play. The last two matches also went to five sets but on this occasion they were both won by the hosts – wow what a match – a 5-5 draw.
Penicuik 6 v Gullane (Division 5) - Wednesday 18th March
John Grant, Ian Millar and Tony Walker hosted the East Lothian outfit in the final match at Ladywood on Wednesday. Tony lost the first match of the night before two five set matches saw Ian unluckily lose out before John gave the hosts their first win of the night. In the second set of singles there were wins for John and Tony and the match was tied at 3-3 going into the doubles. It was perhaps a surprise that the undefeated John sat out of the doubles and hindsight may suggest he should have played as Tony and Ian fell in four ends. John kept the match alive with a win in Match 8 to draw the scores level at 4-4 but neither Tony nor Ian could win their final matches as the hosts fell to a close 6-4 defeat.
West Lothian 1 v Penicuik 1 (Premier Division) – Wednesday 18th March
Away from home on Wednesday, Team 1 travelled to take on the new Premier League Champions. Peter Aird, Andrew Nimmo and Ryan Docherty faced off against the WL young guns. The first set of singles saw Andrew push Rory Thomson to five ends but all three players fell to defeats. The second set of singles saw Ryan manage a five set win against Jamie Toner but going into the doubles the Champions held a comfortable 5-1 lead. The doubles was a classic – five cracking ends – Ryan and Andrew just fell short 12-10 in the fifth. The match was over as a contest but Andrew (probably the best player on the night for the visitors), deserved his 3-1 win v Jamie. An 8-2 defeat for the Penicuik side.
West Lothian 3 v Penicuik 3 (Division 2) – Thursday 19th March 2026
Craig Linton, Bob Porteous and Kristian Skotzen made the trip to Bathgate on Thursday evening in a match which turned out to be symmetrically perfect! The scores went 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5! Craig was the star for the visitors winning his three whilst Kristian and Bob both won 1. The crucial doubles could have seen the visitors take home the spoils – Kristian and Craig fell 11-9 in the fifth. A 5-5 draw was probably a fair result in the end.
Edinburgh University 6 v Penicuik 5 (Division 4) – Friday 20th March 2026
A Friday night trip for Team 5 to St Leonards Land proved to be another difficult night for Roscoe Cairney, Mat Dyluk and John Grant playing up from Team 6. The night started well with Roscoe winning Match 1 in three ends but from there the students won the next 8 matches. Match 10 went the way of John as the visitors fell to an 8-2 defeat.
Player of the Week
Shout outs this week go to Hannah, James, Craig and John for undefeated singles nights. The most important three probably came from Craig as that helped secure the 5-5 draw for Team 3. That said in terms of overall importance the undefeated nights for James and Hannah, including a doubles win for the pair leads to Team 2 potentially surviving in Division 1 for next season. How do we split them? According to Krzysztof, Hannah pulled James through in the doubles and given she also won the player of the night award from the opponents, she takes this week's award - well done to Hannah.
Controversy of the Week
It’s a complete replica of Week 23’s controversy – West Lothian sought a postponement of their match in the Premier Division with Team 1. They offered another couple of dates but neither of them were suitable for our team. Oh no, the new Champions were not able to field a team on 18th March we were told. That’s unfortunate but wouldn’t impact anything as they had already secured the title. Peter, Andrew and Ryan weren’t sure what they were going to face when they arrived – the team below the Premier side play in Division 2 – a quick night it would be for the visitors – of course it was a quick night for the visitors but that was on the basis that somehow the Champions managed to get their full side out! As we said last week to our friends from Murrayfield - yeah right West Lothian!
Season nearly over. Roll on week 25.
RSS Feed
