The leading Sarnian quartet enjoyed an unbeaten weekend at the Waterside Table Tennis Club in Totton, Southampton, dropping just seven of the 36 rubbers played, and registering a key victory over the previous league leaders.
It was also a successful trip for Guernsey Two as the travelling sides were boosted by the first appearances this season of Lawrence Stacey and Alex Robinson in the ‘A’ ranks and Liam Robilliard and Joseph Bourgaize strengthening the ‘B’ side.
The first match of the weekend for the new league leaders came against a then sixth placed Isle of Wight Two side and Stacey, who is the only player yet to lose a singles match locally in the Doric Insurance League, made a smooth start to his British League campaign here.
He started with a strong straight-sets win over England number 186 Ryan Cates, before negotiating his way past the tricky experienced defender Alex Rorke in four sets.
Ryan Bichard was the other player to make an unbeaten start as he too defeated Rorke over four sets, adding a straight-sets win over Roger Hookey in the final game of the match.
Robinson’s season debut started with a strong four-set win over Paul Rainford, while Ben Foss was a straight-sets winner over Hookey.
The doubles saw success for Guernsey, with Foss and Bichard combining well to dispatch Cates and Rainford in straight sets.
The sole defeats saw Robinson fall to Cates in four sets and Foss beaten in five by Rainford.
An afternoon meeting with fifth-placed venue hosts Waterside TTC Two saw a crushing 8-1 victory.
Robinson, Stacey and Foss were all unbeaten, with Waterside pinching one match from the jaws of defeat.
Robinson’s wins came over Umit Kaya in straight sets and Ed Slot in four, while Stacey dispatched Slot by the same score, in addition to earning a four-set win over James Roberts.
Foss defeated Kaya in four sets and Joshua Kelly in straight sets, with Bichard defeating Kelly in straight sets in the final match.
The doubles was won by Robinson and Bichard over Kaya and Roberts over the full distance.
The sole match to go the hosts way was the five-set win for Roberts over Bichard, with the player from the beaten side fighting back from a two-game deficit to win the decider 11-7.
Sunday morning saw the key clash against the then league leaders Joola Plymouth Two, who had won all their matches heading into the fixture.
However, Guernsey emerged with a decisive 6-3 win.
Stacey maintained his 100% singles record with another couple of strong performances.
He got his side off to the perfect start in the match opener, courtesy of a super four-set win over the vastly experienced England number 152 Harry Cutler and followed up with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Toby Mattacott.
Foss was also unbeaten and he started with a strong four-set win over Ollie Buddell.
He needed all his battling abilities in the crucial eighth rubber of the match as his fightback from 2-0 against Paul Giles secured the victory with a match to spare.
The final match saw Bichard dispatch Buddell in four sets to extend the margin of victory and increase the games difference advantage.
Bichard was unfortunate not to have added to his tally in this encounter as he saw Mattacott fight back from 2-1 down to clinch the decider 11-9.
Robinson led Giles 2-0 before going down over the full distance and lost out to the impressive Cutler in straight sets.
The 100% doubles record for the weekend was maintained after Robinson and Bichard comfortably dispatched Cutler and Giles in straight sets.
The final match of the weekend saw the Sarnian teams square off, and it resulted in a strong 8-1 win for Guernsey One.
Stacey capped off an unbeaten weekend with straight-sets wins over Robilliard and Jamie Ferbrache, while Foss did not drop a set either during wins over Matthew Casey and Bourgaize.
Robinson was back to winning ways but was made to work hard.
His first win came over Casey in four sets, while he needed to fight back from 2-0 down to get the better of Robilliard.
Bichard defeated Ferbrache in 4 sets, but he let a 2-0 lead slip in the final game of the weekend, with Bourgaize fighting back impressively, taking the final three sets 12-10, 11-3, 11-9.
The doubles was won by Stacey and Foss over Casey and Bourgaize in straight sets, preserving the unbeaten doubles record for the season thus far.
Guernsey Two had previously made the best possible start to their weekend and were very unfortunate not to record two victories.
Their opening clash with bottom-side St Austell TTC saw them pick up a strong 7-2 win.
Robilliard started in style with matching straight-sets wins over Craig Mehew and Arden Frew-Smith, while Casey defeated Frew-Smith in four sets and Peter Conway by the same score.
Ferbrache opened by fighting back from 2-1 down to comfortably take out Josh Hawken 11-1 in the decider and he followed up with a 3-0 win over Mehew.
Bourgaize was edged out in five sets by Conway, but he bounced back well to defeat Hawken in four.
Casey and Bourgaize led Conway and Frew-Smith 2-1 in the doubles rubber, before losing the final two sets 11-6, 11-7.
Saturday’s fixture with the strong third-placed side Worthing TTC A, who sit just two points behind the leading duo, ended in a cruel 5-4 defeat.
Victories were achieved against all the Worthing players except for Oliver Thorne, whose two victories proved pivotal to his side avoiding defeat.
Thorne defeated Ferbrache in three close sets before winning the pivotal deciding rubber over Bourgaize in four in another close contest.
The cruel nature of the defeat was evident as it had seen an incredible comeback from 4-0 down to take it to the final match.
The fightback had started in the doubles, where Robilliard and Ferbrache had romped past Thorne and Rhys Fidler in straight sets.
Robilliard was straight back on court to dispatch the Worthing number one Samuel Ashman in four sets and Casey kept the momentum going when he beat Ben Lam in four, while Ferbrache impressed with a straight sets win over Fidler.
However, Thorne had just too much in the locker and won the close four-set clash 11-8, 11-13, 13-11, 11-9 to squeeze the victory.
Unfortunately, due to extreme fog, the Isle of Wight were unable to get the ferry over to make the Sunday morning fixture with Guernsey Two and a 9-0 whitewash was awarded.
Guernsey One will look to maintain their foothold on the division in January, when the shorter round of two fixtures takes place.
They are up against the sides in fourth and last, while Guernsey Two have a tough test of facing title chasers Joola Plymouth Two as well as fifth-placed Waterside TTC Two.
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