Open Grade Season Builds Towards a Competitive Finish

The latest round of open grade fixtures at the Leichhardt Park Table Tennis Centre on Campbell Street produced a string of close results and more than a few surprises. With just two rounds remaining in the year’s third season, the stage is set for a dramatic finish to what has already been a highly competitive campaign.

This season marks the return of the four-player team format, which has not been seen for some time. While each side fields four players, the line-ups are split into two sections, with weekly results aggregated to decide the standings.

At present, the combination of Rayden Smith, Erica Nolan, Chris Leitner and Jeffrey Jordan hold an impressive six-point lead over the quartet of Matthew Pettett, Monica Deeth, Linda O’Sullivan and Julien Wright. Just one point further back sit Jakob Baker, James O’Sullivan, Geoff Geddes and Hilton Kane, while teams led by Dane Coughlan and Judd Carr share fourth place only a couple of points adrift.

The last round featured several gripping encounters. Erica Nolan worked hard to edge past Judd Carr in five tight games before narrowly falling to Leo Lai in another deciding set. Chris Leitner and Pam Clarke played out a titanic battle, with Leitner eventually prevailing in the fifth after leading two games to one earlier.

One of the clashes of the night saw Jakob Baker squeeze past Ann-Louise Stewart 12-10 in the decider of a hard-hitting, game-for-game duel. In the same fixture, James O’Sullivan impressed with a five-set victory over in-form Nick Green (11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9). O’Sullivan’s effort mirrored his recent triumph in the veteran singles final at the closed championships, where he had edged Stewart. This time, however, he used a different tactical approach to secure a straight-sets win.

Elsewhere, Hilton Kane staged an excellent comeback against Joe Clifton. After dropping the first game, Clifton rallied to win the next two, but Kane produced a strong finish to claim the match in five.

Joel Gifford, filling in as a substitute, partnered Matthew Pettett to a solid doubles victory over Dane Coughlan and Glen McDonald. In his singles, Gifford showcased his trick-shots but fell in four to Coughlan and then bowed out to McDonald in a five-set thriller (11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 16-18, 7-11). Pettett was also tested by Coughlan, who forced a fifth set before Pettett asserted control in the decider.

Perhaps the most dramatic match of the evening came when Linda O’Sullivan edged Patricia Green 12-10 in the deciding game of a tense five-setter. Green looked certain to close it out when she led 10-8 in the fifth, but O’Sullivan fought back, forcing deuce and then sealing the win with the final two points. Green did claim success in doubles with her captain Cooper Bulow, but in her other singles fell to Julien Wright in four competitive games.

With the ladder so tightly packed, the final two rounds promise plenty of excitement before the season’s end.