DARENTH TABLE TENNIS CLUB

KENT COUNTY JUNIOR RATINGS

last updated 09/03/2008

POOR TURN OUT FOR COUNTY RATINGS EVENT

There was a very poor entry for the last of the season's rating events run by the KCTTA - only 22 entered of which 19 checked in.   Almost all of the big guns were missing.   Perhaps Mothering Sunday was not the best of days to choose to run the event.   As such there was only one age band, Under 18, split into two groups of six and one of seven.

Only two of the Darenth juniors took part, way below the usual number who normally compete.   Joel Galley went into Group 2 with Claire Harvey (Meopham), Dan Pooley (Leigh), Barnaby Yau (Kemnal), Harry Skinner (Byng Hall) and Nicole Sears (Howard).   Galley had only one loss, in straight games to Harvey.   Of his successes he had 3-0 wins over Yau and Skinner, 3-2 from 1-2 down against Pooley and another 3-2 over Sears.   The latter was notable for the first game that had everyone watching.   It's not often a game is decided 32-30 – it wasn't common even when games were played up to 21!   Galley finished second in the group to Harvey.

Darenth's second competitor, Meg Sullivan, went into Group 1 with Kent Under 18 No. 2 Richard Carden (Wyvern), Warren Bird (Howard), Adam Simpson (Byng Hall), Ling-Ling Guo (Meopham), Michael Hill (Meopham) and Max Kitson (Byng Hall).   Sullivan began with one of the best wins of her career to date, a straight games win over Bird.   She had two more wins to her credit, three straight over Hill and 3-1 over Kitson although she had to make a charge to snatch the fourth 12-10.   Sullivan had losses to Simpson in four, predictably in straight games to Carden and also Guo where there was a lot of giggling on both sides of the net.   She finished in fourth place.

The afternoon groups saw Galley in Group 2 with Andrew Lockwood (Byng Hall) and Bird.   Galley recorded a 3-0 win over Bird but struggled against Lockwood and went down in straight games.   He finished second in the group and fifth overall.

Sullivan went into Group 4 with Daniel Chen (Kemnal) and Yau.   She beat Yau comfortably but didn't place the ball quite well enough to beat Chen.   This meant a three-way tie with Sullivan finishing second on count back and eleventh overall.

Not too disappointing a day but the best news was that Sullivan will be part of the Kent Cadet squad next season and no doubt Development Officer Mark Walsh will give her a chance in due course.   This is a just reward for her hard work and improvement in recent months.