Three wins in three-straight for Clacton’s leading female player, Gracie Edwards, was the highlight of Nomads Panthers’ 7-3 victory against Walton A in Division One of the Clacton League.

Gill Locke took two, John Hatley one, with Edwards (pictured above, photo by Gavin Price) and Hatley combining to take the doubles, to maintain the Panthers’ 16-point lead at the top.

For Walton, Kevin James won two and Derek Willis one, James beating Hatley 11-4 in the decider and Willis beating the same player 11-6 in the decider.

Windsor Hawks maintained their push at the top with a 7-3 success against Walton C. Andy Vincent’s hat-trick included a 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4) win over Pete Burrows. There were two wins for Felipe Rodriguez and one for John Barton, whilst Burrows picked up a couple for Walton.

In Division Two, leaders Windsor Buzzards failed to win for the first time this season, held to a draw by Nomads Jaguars. Jonathan Hockley was the Jaguars’ star, winning his three and, with Dad John, sharing a five-set doubles win over Scott Campbell and Pete Bloomfield. Chris Petrou enjoyed an 11-9 in the fifth win over Andy Cawley to guarantee the draw. Campbell and Bloomfield won two each for the Buzzards.

There were trebles for Neil Chegwidden and reserve Kelvin Olano-Harper as Windsor Penguins inflicted a 6-4 defeat on second-placed Brotherhood C.

This defeat for the ‘C’ team enabled third-placed Brotherhood D, 6-4 winners over Windsor Kestrels, to make up ground, Mark Salter taking three, Paul Alden two and Tricia Salter one. For the Kestrels, Peter Aumord won two and Debra Found one, the pair combining to edge past Alden and Tricia Salter 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9) in the doubles. Allen Denyer failed to get on the scoresheet for the Kestrels, but it was good to see him back in action for the first time this season.

Bottom side Windsor Magpies went down 10-0 to Zein Shafat, Bob Jillins and Dave Miller of Nomads Tigers, Jillins 11-6 in the fifth victory over Dave Sweetland the only match which went the distance. And although second-from-bottom Brotherhood G lost 8-2 to Windsor Harriers, Brotherhood’s Danny Still excelled to take two points and only just failed to convert it into a debut Division Two hat-trick, going down 11-9 in the fifth in his final singles match.

Long-time pace-setters Brotherhood F were given a stern test by third-placed  Nomads Bobcats in Division Three before emerging as 7-3 winners. Lucy Carvell was undefeated for Brotherhood, her treble including a hard-fought 3-2 (5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10) victory over Matt Sage. There were a couple each for Ruby Gallagher and Tom Bryden, as there was for Sage for the Bobcats who, with Sam Watling, enjoyed a four-set doubles win against Bryden and Carvell.

Second-placed Brotherhood H eased past lowly Holland Vulcans 10-0, Owen Woollard’s 3-1 (11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9) victory over Derek Foxley the only match extended to a fourth set.

Walton D, in fourth place, started their second-half season with an 8-2 success over a Holland Hurricanes’ side fielding a guest. Lynette Sparks remained unbeaten, while there was one each for Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton. Both of Sexton’s matches were close, defeating Gerry Widnell 12-10 in the decider but losing 11-9 in the decider to Ian Gwillim. Gwillim took both Hurricanes’ points.

Andrew Cousins led the way for Nomads Ocelots, 7-3 winners against Holland Lancasters. Hazel Blanche won two and Arthur-Wells Garrett one, with Cousins and Wells-Garrett taking the doubles 11-7 in the decider against Dave Wright and Pam Cousins. Wright won a couple for the losers, with Cousins enjoying an 11-9 in the decider win over Wells-Garrett but losing to Blanche by the same score. 

Holland Mosquitos, playing with a guest player, went down 9-1 to Windsor Falcons, although their captain, Pam Blakeley, had the consolation of a 3-2 (11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7) victory over Matt Thomas.

* The League’s Handicap Singles Tournament takes place at the Windsor venue of St James Hall on Saturday 8 February. Entries will be limited to 32 and that number has very nearly been reached. Full details have been being circulated to all players.

* The draw for Round One of the Knockout stage of the Handicap Cup sees the six remaining Brotherhood teams drawn against each other. In two intriguing ties, the youngsters of Division Three Brotherhood F and Brotherhood H will both play higher-ranked opposition, against Division Two Brotherhood C and Division One Brotherhood B respectively. Unusually, no teams from the same Division have been drawn against each other.  

The full draw is: Windsor Harriers v Nomads Lions; Nomads Ocelots v Walton B; Windsor Falcons v Walton A; Brotherhood C v Brotherhood F; Brotherhood B v Brotherhood H; Windsor Penguins v Walton C; Nomads Bobcats v Windsor Kestrels; Brotherhood D v Brotherhood A. Matches are to be played in week beginning 27 January.

* There are a number of matches between teams from the same club which need to be brought forward and played before 4 April. The relevant teams have been notified by e-mail and Team Secretaries are urged to check the League Handbook (page 4) for details of these fixtures.

RESULTS
Division 1
Walton A 3 Nomads Panthers 7
Walton C 3 Windsor Hawks 7
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 4 Brotherhood D 6
Windsor Buzzards 5 Nomads Jaguars 5
Windsor Penguins 6 Brotherhood C 4
Nomads Tigers 10 Windsor Magpies 0
Brotherhood G 2 Windsor Harriers 8
Division 3
Holland Lancasters 3 Nomads Ocelots 7
Holland Mosquitos 1 Windsor Falcons 9
Brotherhood H 10 Holland Vulcans 0
Brotherhood F 7 Nomads Bobcats 3
Walton D 8 Holland Hurricanes 2