In the final week of the Bournemouth and District Table Tennis league, the New Milton Club recorded six wins, two draws and just the two defeats. None of their teams gained promotion this year but pleasingly none were relegated, albeit their B team did have an uncomfortable couple of weeks towards the end of the season.

The B team (Zoltan Karib-Barath, Julie Smillie and Shaun Newcomb) secured their survival in Div 1 the previous week, which was a good job as they lost 2-8 to Ringwood A at Greyfriars in their last match. Karib-Barath won Milton’s only singles as Smillie and Newcomb drew rare blanks and Smillie and Karib-Barath won the doubles.

Faring somewhat better in Div 1, the C team (Alan Gordon, Jacob Tse and Max De Kment) continued their winning streak with an 8-2 victory over Bournemouth Sports F. Gordon claimed a hat-trick but Tse and De Kment both lost to Bourne’s Ben Cunningham. Gordon’s evening got even better as he helped De Kment to win the doubles for the maximum points.

Up in the headier heights of the Premier, the A team (Steve Hemmings, Phil Handy and Brian Vibert) won 8-2 for the second week running, this time at home to Bournemouth Sports C. Hemmings grabbed a hat-trick, but captain Vibert and Handy both lost to Bourne’s rising star Hugo Pang. Maximum points were secured when Vibert and Handy saw off the Bourne pairing in three straight sets.

Div 2 saw the D team do the double over basement boys Winton YMCA A, this time with a 6-4 win at the YMCA. Bob Fagan rounded off his season with a fine hat-trick, Roy Hobbs bagged a brace but captain Terry Jenvey could only add one win to the tally this week.

In Div 3, the E team (Simon Golding, Max Doohan and Clive Pitts) were Milton’s form team as they were unbeaten for the entire second half of the season, including eight wins. This week they socked it to erstwhile divisional leaders Ringwood B by 9-1 at Arnewood to deprive them of the title. Pitts only just missed out joining his team-mates in a treble as he narrowly lost in the fifth set to Ringwood’s Steve Heap.

Also in Div 3, the F team featuring Sylvia Smith (captain), Ian Linney and Frank Handy beat Broadstone C by 7-3 in their own backyard having drawn at home in the first round. Handy finished with a flourish with a hat-trick, Linney won two and Smith added one more to the tally.

Div 3 also saw the G team (Malcolm Nash, Lewis Reading and Eddie Tompkins) improve on their first round defeat against lowly Merton E by holding them to a 5-5 draw at Southbourne. Milton were trailing 4-5 before the doubles with two from Eddie Tompkins and one each from Reading and captain Nash, but Tompkins & Reading won the pairs to force the draw.

In Div 4, the H team of Andrew & Peter Daish and Bobo Jiang drew 5-5 for the second time against Merton G, this time away at Southbourne. Jiang won a terrific hat-trick and Peter Daish only just missed out on his own treble as he lost over five ends to Merton’s wily veteran Alan Dufall. The doubles would have brought victory but it wasn’t to be as Peter and Bobo lost over five hard fought sets.

Div 5 saw the J team finish off their campaign in style as they walloped Shamrock B 9-1 at Mudeford Wood. Geoff Biggs and teenager Luke Gurton both signed off with hat-tricks and the ever-improving Sam Watkins can be proud of his two wins.

Also in Div 5, the bottom-placed K team (Richard Brockbank, Jack Fisher and Mike Craddock) finished off a very difficult season with a 1-9 defeat by leaders Ringwood C at the Arnewood School. The dreaded whitewash was narrowly avoided as 14 year old Fisher played beyond his years to just get the better of Ringwood’s Pat Baldwin in his last singles of the season. Young Fisher’s maturity and tenacity can best be exemplified by the scoreline which says it all at 11-9, 10-12, 11/8, 10-12 and 15-13. Well done Jack!