Joel Coughlan and Erica Nolan showcased remarkable synergy throughout the season in the first division of open grade fixtures at the Leichhardt Park Table Tennis Centre, ultimately securing the premiership flag in a first-past-the-post competition.
Heading into the final round last week, Coughlan and Nolan held a solid three-point lead over their closest rivals, Matthew Pettett and Nolan Hao. However, Hao’s last-minute unavailability posed a challenge. Despite arranging a substitute, Coughlan's team secured a decisive victory, extending their lead to an impressive four points to win the competition.
The second division premiership race was fiercely competitive, with the leaderboard positions constantly shifting. Just a few weeks before the season's end, three teams were still in contention. However, Allan Clarke and Patricia Green's team faced setbacks due to player unavailability, narrowing the contest to teams led by Pam Clarke and Geoff Geddes and Leo Lai and Linda O’Sullivan. Heading into the final bout, Clarke and Geddes had a slender one-point lead. Remarkably, the fixture's draw pitted these two teams against each other in the season's last round.
Lai and O’Sullivan had a standout performance in the final round, securing a victory by one point, which tied them with Clarke and Geddes on the preliminary points table. The sport's rules required officials to compare head-to-head results, ultimately declaring Lai and O’Sullivan the winners.
This virtual final highlighted the critical impact of doubles matches in two-person team competitions, a common format in Australia and globally. Each player won a singles rubber, but Lai and O’Sullivan dominated the doubles, winning three competitive sets to clinch the overall victory.
A new season of top-grade fixtures will commence after the school holidays. In the meantime, the local club will continue its activities, including Club Night at 7:30 pm on Mondays, Wednesday morning practice at 9:00 am, and the Top Table fixture on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm. The Saturday practice session from 2:30 to 4:30 pm will also continue.
The annual eight-day Australian Senior, Youth, Junior, and Para Championships will be held in Western Australia starting Saturday, July 7. Unfortunately, no local players were available for selection in any category. However, one of the city’s leading players, Matthew Pettett, will attend as the Head Coach of the state contingent. Pettett, who has been mentoring state teams for several years, took on the head coaching role a couple of years ago.
As always, to see the full breakdown as well as a great collection of images form Season 2, make sure to visit the Fixtures page of our website: https://www.rockhamptontabletennis.com/fixtures-v2