Rankings in table tennis

Press, 9 October 1980, Page 34

Rankings in table tennis

Canterbury has four players included in the national table tennis rankings for 1980, announced yesterday. The best placed is Jan Morris, who predictably hasheld onto her top ranking after winning her third open singles title at the New Zealand championships last month.

Stuart Armstrong, who has made considerable progress in the past year, improved his standing by one to fill fourth place, while Maurice Burrowes edged out the former national singles champion, Kerry Palmer, to take the eighth ranking. Michael Hamel,, who was ranked sixth last year, slips back to tenth place for 1980. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the N 0.2 ranking given to the New Zealand champion, Graham Lassen.

Lassen, who has held the title for the past two season, is ranked below the lefthanded Aucklander, Richard Lee, who, despite failing to reach the national final in Hutt Valley last month, was in outstanding form throughout the year. The rankings are:

Men: R.E. Lee (Auckland) 1, G. B. Lassen (Auckland) 2, G. P. Rau (Franklin) 3, S. G. Armstrong (Canterbury) 4, J. R. Morris (Northland) 5, M. R. Temperley (North Shore) 6, B. J. Griffiths (Auckland) 7, M. W. Burrowes (Canterbury) 8, K. M. Palmer (Auckland) 9, M. J. Hamel (Canterbury) 10.

Women: Miss J. G. Morris (Canterbury) 1, Mrs C. J. Lee (Auckland) 2, Miss A. M. Brackenridge (Auckland) 3, Miss D. J. Looms (Marlborough) 4, Miss S. J. Palmer (Auckland) 5, Miss M. F. Cannon (Auckland) 6, Mrs A. O. Gyongyos (Wellington) 7, Mrs Y. M. Eyre (Otago) 8, Miss W. J. Cuthbert (Hutt Valley) 9, Miss K. A. Phi lips (Hutt Valley) 10.