STRONG CANTERBURY TEAMS FOR N.Z. TABLE TENNIS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28984, 27 August 1959, Page 17

STRONG CANTERBURY TEAMS FOR N.Z. TABLE TENNIS

fAN Monday Canterbury’s table v tennis representatives will take part in the national interassociation contests which precede the playing of the New Zealand championships. This year’s championships are being played in Auckland, and Canterbury is represented in both the Kean shield (men’s teams) and Teagle shield (women's teams) events.

Canterbury’s women’s teams will be defending the Teagle shield, which was won by the province last year after several years of near-success. Last year’s winning team was Mrs P. Purdon, Miss F. Inglis. Miss D. Donald, Mrs T. May and Mrs J. Shadbolt, with the last-named player acting as reserve for the final rounds. Miss Inglis has left New Zealand for 18 months, but the size of the team has been reduced from four to three, and the other four members of last year's team will defend the trophy. Three Titles Mrs Purdon’s play has been outstanding this season, and she has won three titles at the Canterbury, South Canterbury and South Island championships. Although she was eliminated in an early round of the North Island singles earlier in the season, her more recent play indicates that she could be a very strong contender for the New Zealand women’s singles title, for which she is seeded third.

Mrs May, who reached the semi-finals of the national women's singles last year, is seeded fifth for the title, and

Miss Donald is seeded seventh. Mrs Purdon and Mrs May, together with Mrs Shadbolt, are members of the 1959 South Island team, so Canterbury’s grip on the Teagle Shield will be hard to shake. Out of Form The defeats of Mrs May and ’Mrs Shadbolt by Wellington’s Mrs T. McGregor in the Canterbury women’s singles last week were disappointing, but both the local players are capable of much better performances next week. Miss Donald, who was uncertain in matches at the start of the season, played extremely well in the recent South Canterbury and Canterbury championships. Manawatu should be Canterbury's strongest opponent in Section 1 of the competition, but the defending team is capable of reaching the semi-finals without losing a game. In the semifinals Canterbury should meet and beat Wellington, and in the final should play Hutt Valley. The Hutt Valley team includes Miss J. Brown, seeded first for the individual title, but Canterbury again should not be troubled to retain the Teagle Shield. Strong Men's Team

With J. Armstrong, V. N. Brightwell and T. R D. Flint all available, Canterbury’s threeman team in the Kean Shield competition will be its best for several years. Not since 1956 has Canterbury's three top men been

available, and with the new system of three players to a team this should be a very hard side to beat.

Armstrong has won the South Island title this season for the second successive year, and should be the top player for the South Island team. Brightwell and Flint did not play in the South Island championships, and this- is probably the reason for their exclusion from the South Island team. Of the other three members of this team, R. Foster and R- Mercer (Southland) and B. Foster (Otago), Brightwell has! beaten Mercer and B. Foster and Flint has defeated R. Foster this season. Canterbury’s strongest opponent in its section will be Northland, led by G. Frew. However, Canterbury should progress to I the semi-final, and should there be capable of beating Wellington for a place in the final. The fourth member of the Canterbury team will be IL Stevenson.