Avonside suffers first loss of season

Press, 29 May 1982, Page 22

Avonside suffers first loss of season

The absence of Avonside I's key player. Maurice Burrowes, caused the inter-club table tennis competition leader to slip to its first loss of the season at the Selwyn Street Hall on Wednesday. Avonside was beaten. 9-3. by Linwood 11. in a match robbed of some glamour by the unavailability of Burrowes, the ranked Canterbury player, who has been ill. Avonside now shares the competition lead with Riccarton I, which beat University, 9-3. Both teams have eight points, but Avonside has a match in hand over its closest rival. In the other matches, Linwood I beat Avonside 111, 8-4, and Avonside II beat Riccarton 11, 84.

. The third-ranked Canterbury men’s singles player, Michael Hamel, made sure Linwood did not waste its opportunity to humble Avonside by winning all his three singles. Hamel has been in crisp form this year despite a lay-off due to injury over the summer, and he looked to have too much speed over the table for Bill Scott and Michael Burrowes, both also ranked in the provincial top ten. The Linwood player dropped his only set of the evening against Burrowes, whom he beat, 10-21. 21-11, 21-16. After taking a loose approach to the first game. Hamel tightened up his play in the second set with serve-hit combinations that forced Burrowes back from the table.

Burrowes, an attacking lefthander, fought back into contention in the decider however, after a lapse of concentration by Hamel allowed him to recover from 4-11 to 13-13.

Hamel’s ability to counter-hit as well as loop enabled him to finish off the challenge in a series of fast exchanges.

Scott was not able to settle into his defensive groove in the early stages of his match against Hamel, but came back strongly towards the end as his opponent made more errors.

Steven Dixon and Stephen Adamson gave Hamel useful support. with Dixop taking his singles success record above fifty per cent this season with an impressive win over Burrowes. John Armstrong and Alan Alabaster, Riccarton I’s hard-bat defensive pair, won all their singles against University. Peter De Boer,, the Canterbury No. 7, looked the best of students.

University . might have improved its chances against Riccarton if it had not rested its top player, Michael Prisk, the Canterbury champion, for the match. Lyndon White, the leading provincial junior, was the best per-, former for Avonside 11. The Christchurch Boys’ High School pupil has a good command of spin and he .used this well to outplay Graham Lamb and Grant McCarroll. Pam Shadbolt, the secondranked provincial woman, had a return to form for Linwood I and won two singles. Results —

Riccarton I 9, University 3 Singles; A. Alabaster beat P. > Boer, 21-13. 21-17: beat M. Addis, 21-17, 15-21,21-16; beat T. Sargent, 21-15, 21-12, J.

Armstrong beat Addis, 21-16, 2422; beat T. Sargent, 21-18, 21-18; beat De Boer, 22-20, 19-21, 22-20. C. Tipper lost to Sargent. 19-21, 19-21; fust to De Boer, 9-21,18-21; beat Addis, 21-15, 21-18.

Doubles: -Armstrong and Alabaster beat De Boer and Sargent, 21-17, 19-21, 21-11; Tipper and Alabaster lost to Addis and Sargent, 21-17, 18-21, 17-21; Tipper and Armstrong beat Addis and De Boer. 21-18, 16-21, 21-16. Avonside II 8, Riccarton II 4

Singles: J. Baxter lost to G. Lamb, 14-21, 18-21; lost to G. McCarroll, 13-21, 18-21; beat M. Van der Aa, 21-18, 21-18. M. Kelly lost to McCarroll, 14-21, 18-21; beat Van der Aa, 21-13, 21-16; beat Lamb, 21-19, 21-14. L. White beat Van der Aa, 21-17, 21-11; beat Lamb, 21-18, 21-19; beat McCarroll, 21-12, 21-18. Doubles; Baxter and Kelly lost to Van der Aa and Lamb, 16-21, 17-21; White and Kelly beat McCarroll and Lamb, 21-14, 2119; White and Baxter beat McCarroll and Van der Aa, 17-21, 21-15, 22-29. Linwood II 9, Avonside I 3 M. Hamel beat B. Scott, 21-13, 23-21; beat B. Radford, 21-11, 2321; beat Michael Burrowes, 10-21, 21-11, 21-16. S. Dixon beat Burrowes, 21-18, 21-16; lost to Scott,

17- 21-18. 12-21; beat Radford. 21-12, 21-11. S. Adamson beat Radford, 15-21, 21-16, 21-16; lost to Burrowes. 21-19, 17-21, 15-21, lost to Scott, 15-21, 16-21. Doubles: Adamson and Hamel beat Scott and Burrowes, 21-12, 18- 21-11; Dixon and Hamel beat Radford and Burrowes, 21-5, 21-8; Dixon and Adamson beat Radford and Scott, 21-15, 15-21, 21-19. Linwood I 8, Avonside 111 4

Singles: K. Duffy beat B. Wilson. 21-18, 21-15; beat J. Richards, 21-15, 19-21, 21-10; beat T. Flint, 21-16, 21-13. A. Armstrong lost to Richards, 16-21, 16-21; beat Flint, 21-13, 10-21, 21-8; beat Wilson. 21-13. 21-13. Miss P. Shadbolt beat Flint, 19-21, 21-13, 21-17;. beat Wilson, 19-21, 21-16, 21-12; lost to Richards, 21-14, 1821. 19-21.

Doubles: Duffy and Armstrong beat Flint and Wilson. 22-20, 2527, 23-21; Miss Shadbolt and Armstrong lost to Wilson and Richards, 18-21,17-21: Miss Shadbolt and Duffv lost to Richards and Flint, 18-21, 21-17, 16-21.

Points (matches played in brackets): Avonside I (s),’Riccarton I (6), 8; Avonside II (6), Linwood I (6), 7; Linwood II (5), 6; Avonside 111 (5), University (5), 4; Riccarton II (5), Dallingtori (5), 2.