A keen contingent of Rockhampton Table Tennis players participated in the annual Mackay Open Championships over the weekend, returning home with some commendable performances. The event saw excellent attendance, and the high quality of participants from many clubs made for tough competition in many of the staged events.
One of the city’s leading ladies in the sport, Ann-Louise Stewart, delivered impressive performances, losing only three matches at the tournament—all finals against the same opponent. In the prestigious women’s open singles final, Stewart was outplayed by state team-mate Emma Widdup of the home club. Widdup also edged out Stewart in the gold medal matches of both the over-40 and over-50 women’s singles events.
Fellow local top-grader James O’Sullivan played tenaciously but was defeated in the semi-finals of both the over-50 and over-60 men’s singles by Townsville’s Mike Summers. O’Sullivan did well to reach the quarter-finals of the premier men’s open singles event, only to be outed by the highly favored Olav Dahl of Townsville in a match featuring many fine rallies.
Joel Gifford, another local player who subs in top-grade when available due to work commitments, returned encouraging results in the veteran competitions he entered. His straight-sets win over Mackay’s current number-one male player, Michael Ruhl, and his victory over the solid game of Marshall Muller (Toowoomba) by three sets to one were impressive. His win-loss ratio over the weekend was commendable.
Linda O’Sullivan, recovering from an injury, did not play in many events but performed well to reach the final of the over-60 women’s singles. After beating several good players, she was bested by Mackay’s reliable Anne Sheridan in the final.
The only local juniors able to make the trip were brothers Cooper and Jackson Bulow. Cooper excelled, winning the lowest ratings event on the program, a great result considering he only started competing this year through the Queensland Schools Championships via his Gladstone school. This was his third major tournament, and a win at this level was impressive. Jackson, who recently took up the sport, was participating in his first tournament, and reports on his performances were very positive, indicating a promising future for both brothers.
Late bloomer Warun Wilkinson, who recently took up the sport and qualifies for some veteran events, also performed well. Although he did not return home with any gold medals, he finished ahead of several good players and challenged many others across his competitions.
At the Leichhardt Park playing centre, the stage is set for an exciting finish in the second division of open grade fixtures this week. Going into the final round, Pam Clarke and Geoff Geddes hold a one-point lead over Leo Lai and Linda O’Sullivan. These sides face off in the last round before a break during the school holidays. A solid victory by Lai and O’Sullivan could catapult them into the top spot, as the remaining teams don’t seem likely to upstage the leaders.
In the top division, the pairing of Joel Coughlan and Erica Nolan hold first place, three points ahead of Matthew Pettett and Nolan Hao. The draw determines that the top two teams will also face off this week, staging a virtual final. With three points to make up, Coughlan and Nolan go into this round with confidence.
Detailed fixture results can be found at the following link: https://www.rockhamptontabletennis.com/fixtures-v2