Clacton & Dist: Gracie leads the way

Three wins in three consecutive games for Clacton's leading female player, Gracie Edwards, was the highlight of Nomads Panthers' 7-3 victory against Walton A in Division One of the Clacton League.

Gill Locke took two, John Hatley one, while Edwards (pictured above, photo by Gavin Price) and Hatley combined for doubles to keep the Panthers' lead at the top at 16 points.

For Walton, Kevin James won two and Derek Willis one, James beating Hatley 11-4 in the decider and Willis beating the same player 11-6 in the decider.

Windsor Hawks maintained their lead at the top with a 7-3 success against Walton C. Andy Vincent's hat-trick included a 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4) victory above Pete Burrows. There were two wins for Felipe Rodriguez and one for John Barton, while Burrows took a couple for Walton.

In Division TwoLeaders Windsor Buzzards failed to win for the first time this season after Nomads Jaguars were left in a draw. Jonathan Hockley was the Jaguars star, winning his three and sharing with Dad John a five-set doubles victory over Scott Campbell and Pete Bloomfield. Chris Petrou posted an 11-9 in the fifth win over Andy Cawley to guarantee the draw. Campbell and Bloomfield each won two for the Buzzards.

There were trebles for Neil Chegwidden and reserve Kelvin Olano-Harper as Windsor Penguins inflicted a 6-4 defeat on second-placed Brotherhood C.

This defeat for the C team allowed third-placed Brotherhood D, 6-4 winners over Windsor Kestrels, to make up ground, Mark Salter taking three, Paul Alden two and Tricia Salter one. For the Kestrels, Peter Aumord won two and Debra Found one, the pair combining to pass Alden and Tricia Salter 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9) in the doubles game. Allen Denyer failed to get on the scoresheet for the Kestrels, but it was good to see him back in action for the first time this season.

Bottom side Windsor Magpies went down 10-0 to Zein Shafat, Bob Jillins and Dave Miller of Nomads Tigers, Jillins 11-6 in the fifth win over Dave Sweetland, the only match that went the distance. And although second-from-bottom Brotherhood G lost 8-2 to Windsor Harriers, Brotherhood's Danny Still excelled to take two points and just failed to convert them into a debut Hat-trick in Division Two, with an 11 -9 deficit in the fifth inning. his last singles match.

Long-time leaders Brotherhood F were put to the test by the third-placed Nomads Bobcats in Division Three before emerging as a 7-3 winner. Lucy Carvell was undefeated for Brotherhood, her treble including a hard-fought 3-2 (5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10) victory over Matt Sage. There were a pair each for Ruby Gallagher and Tom Bryden, as well as Sage for the Bobcats, who teamed with Sam Watling to a four-set doubles win against Bryden and Carvell.

Second-placed Brotherhood H eased past lowly Holland Vulcans 10-0, Owen Woollards 3-1 (11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9). The victory over Derek Foxley became the only match extended to a fourth set.

Fourth-place Walton D started their second half of the season with an 8-2 success against a visiting Holland Hurricanes side. Lynette Sparks remained undefeated, while there was one each for Maggie Earle and Adrian Sexton. Both of Sexton's matches were close: he defeated Gerry Widnell 12–10 in the decider, but lost 11–9 in the decider to Ian Gwillim. Gwillim took both Hurricanes points.

Andrew Cousins ​​led the way for Nomads Ocelots, 7-3 winners against Holland Lancasters. Hazel Blanche won two and Arthur-Wells Garrett one, with Cousins ​​and Wells-Garrett taking the doubles 11–7 in the decider against Dave Wright and Pam Cousins. Wright won a pair for the losers, with Cousins ​​enjoying an 11-9 in the decisive win over Wells-Garrett, but losing to Blanche by the same score.

Holland Mosquitos, playing with a guest player, lost 9-1 to Windsor Falcons, although their captain, Pam Blakeley, had the consolation of a 3-2 (11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7) victory over Matt Thomas.

* The The Leagues Handicap Singles Tournament will take place on Saturday February 8 at Windsor venue St James Hall. The number of registrations will be limited to 32 and that number has almost been reached. Full details have been distributed to all players.

* The draw for the first round of the Handicap Cup knockout stages will see the six remaining Brotherhood teams drawn against each other. In two intriguing matches, the youngsters from Division Three Brotherhood F and Brotherhood H will both play against higher ranked opponents, against Division Two Brotherhood C and Division One Brotherhood B respectively. Unusually, teams from the same division have not been drawn against each other.

The full draw is: Windsor Harriers v Nomads Lions; Nomads Ocelots vs. Walton B; Windsor Falcons vs Walton A; Brotherhood C versus Brotherhood F; Brotherhood B versus Brotherhood H; Windsor Penguins vs Walton C; Nomads Bobcats vs Windsor Kestrels; Brotherhood D versus Brotherhood A. The matches will be played in the week of January 27.

*There are a number of matches between teams from the same club that must be brought forward and played before April 4. The relevant teams have been notified by email and team secretaries are urged to refer to the League Handbook (page 4) for details of these fixtures.

RESULTS
Division 1
Walton A3 Nomad Panthers 7
Walton C3 Windsor Hawks 7
Division 2
Windsor Kestrels 4 Brotherhood D 6
Windsor Buzzards 5 Nomads Jaguars 5
Windsor Penguins 6 Fraternity C 4
Nomad Tigers 10 Windsor Magpies 0
Fraternity G 2 Windsor Harriers 8
Division 3
Holland Lancasters 3 Nomads Ocelots 7
Holland Muggen 1 Windsor Falcons 9
Brotherhood H 10 Holland Vulcans 0
Brotherhood F 7 Nomads Bobcats 3
Walton D8 Holland Hurricanes 2