The New Milton Table Tennis Club had a less than auspicious start in the opening week of the Bournemouth and District league as they only managed two wins out of their eight matches.

The fiercely contested local derby came in Div 4 down at the Grange School, Somerford as the H team slugged it out with their club mates in the G team. Promising new signing Graham Underwood got his G team off to a good start by beating home-comer Dave Strike 3-0 and went on to score a maiden hat-trick. At the end, the H team needed the doubles to clinch victory but the Gees weren’t having any as Underwood & Eddie Tompkins beat the H’s Lynn Willrich & Elliott Storr-Smith in three straight sets to level things off at 5-5.

The club’s more emphatic win came from the F team in Div 4 as they beat Bmth Sports F 8-2 down at Mudeford Wood courtesy of hat-tricks from Ian Linney (pictured below) and Mike Roberts and a brace from Sylvia Smith.

In Div 5, the J team (Geoff Biggs, Keith Kensley & Malcolm Douglas) travelled to Southbourne and beat Merton L 6-4. With the match poised at 4-4, Kensley stepped up and played the perfect blend of tactics and fearless aggression to frustrate Merton’s Dougie Grieve to win in three straight sets. Kensley carried this on to the doubles, combining with captain Douglas to secure a hard fought 6-4 victory.

Full results details are below:-

PREMIER

Winton YMCA A 7 New Milton B 3

(Brian Bickell 0, Shaun Newcomb 0, John Hook 2)

DIVISION 1

New Milton C 3 Merton D 7

(Matt Winter 0, Simon Daish 1, Frank Handy 2)

New Milton D 3 Lynwood A 7

(Terry Jenvey 0, Chris Pusey 0, David Cuddon 0)

DIVISION 2

Bmth Sports F 7 New Milton E 3

(Peter Daish 2, Bev Scott-Johns 1, Paul Nelson 0)

DIVISION 4

New Milton F 8 Bmth Sports L 2

(Sylvia Smith 2, Ian Linney 3, Mike Roberts 3)

New Milton H 5 New Milton G 5

(H Team: Dave Strike 2, Elliott Storr-Smith 2, Lynn Willrich 1)

(G Team: Graham Underwood 3, George Roberts 0, Eddie Tompkins 1)

DIVISION 5

Merton L 4 New Milton J 6

(Geoff Biggs 1, Keith Kensley 2, Malcolm Douglas 2)

Winton YMCA D 9 New Milton K 1

(Stuart Burton 0, John Parkhouse 0, James Harper 0)

The club is always on the lookout for more members, ranging from experienced players to absolute beginners. Club nights are on Sundays and Thursday at the Grange School Somerford and the first session is free. Anybody interested should call Club Secretary Bev Scott-Johns (01425 619552 or simply turn up on the night where you will be made to feel most welcome. The club has a prestigious PremierClub 4 Star Rating and is also an “Ability Club” (actively working with disabled people).