Guernsey pair on fire

GUERNSEY'S women achieved a terrific third-place finish at the 31st Six Nations Championships. Dawn Morgan and Kay Chivers performed superbly to finish above Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland in their event at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace.

Guernsey were given a tough draw, having to face favourites England in the first round of matches, but Chivers and Morgan managed to take games off Helen Lower and Georgina Walker respectively in their singles matches before taking Abigail Embling and Kelly Sibley to a decider in the doubles.

Things did not get much easier in the next matches against a strong Wales outfit for whom Naomi Owen and Siwan Davies did not drop a game against their Sarnian opponents in either singles or doubles competition.

But Chivers and Morgan turned the tide against the Isle of Man and came through convincing 3-0 winners.

Scotland were next to fall to defeat against Guernsey's finest, this time by a 3-1 scoreline, with Chivers going through the match unbeaten.

In their final encounter against Ireland, Chivers and Morgan slipped to a 0-2 deficit at the completion of the first singles matches but showed a great fighting spirit to edge back into it by taking the doubles.

In the decisive second round of singles, both players lost their opening games but then took three on the trot to claim a superb 3-2 overall victory.

The Sarnian men's team of Jez Powell and 14-year-old Scott Romeril also performed creditably, although they failed to win a match at the championship.

Although not expected to beat the big nations, they were slightly disappointed with the 2-3 reverse against the Isle of Man, particularly after being 10-6 up in the deciding game of the doubles before a strategic time out saw them lose their rhythm.

'The expectations were to emulate the scores of last year when the women had beaten Scotland and the Isle of Man and the men had beaten the Isle of Man,' said Guernsey's non-playing captain Tim Le Page.

'Dawn also went on to win the individual plate competition, again beating Irish and Scottish players along the way.

'In the men's event, we blooded young Scott, who is only 14, and he acquitted himself fantastically well. He did not look out of place at all and he was up against guys who rarely miss,' Le Page added.

Guernsey will host the Six Nations Championship in 2006 although next year the veterans' version of the event is being held here.