Fall Pole dances his way to victory

JOHN Fall rolled back the years to produce the performance of his life to help Ballymoney retain the Division One title for a 3rd successive year.

The team secured a 5-5 draw in the final match against local rivals Ballymena Academy to win the Ballyclare league by a single point.

Ballymena had played a 4 man team all year but in the final match they cunningly dropped their fourth man to play with their top three only. Ballymoney could have followed suit but sportingly retained their four man format even in the crucial decider.

Mark McGuiggan lost out to Pavel Sulkowski 3-1 in the opener but went on to defeat Wayne Charlton 3-0 and importantly Dawid Sulkowski 3-0.

Brian Orr won against Wayne 3-0 but lost out 3-1 to Pavel who remained undefeated and played some top class table tennis.

Gary McClelland lost out to the 2 Poles but managed to take a set of each of them.

Following John Fall’s 3-0 win over Wayne, the match now hinged on the winner takes all encounter between John and Dawid Sulkowki. John lost the 1st set but clawed his way back levelling the match at 1-1.

From this point there was only one winner with Fall counter attacking and out playing his talented opponent. Fall playing with his heart on his sleeve and entertaining the gallery forced Dawid into errors and with clenched fist and gritted teeth came through 3-1 in the match of his life.

This left the team leading 5-4 in the match and the draw and league secured. Orr and Fall tried hard to win the match in the doubles decider but had to succumb 11-8 in the 5th set to the Poles who were still smarting from Fall’s resistance in the singles.

Following the match John Fall commented: “This is a fantastic result for the toon against top class opposition.

“The result is even more satisfying after Academy unsportingly played a three man team for the first time this season!”

Man of the Match – John Fall

Division 2

Paul McGuiggan’s Division 2 troopers finally got the result they had been waiting for all season – a win!

Ballymoney B with the unbeaten Mark Lynn, Paul, Aaron Douglas and Ruth McGilligan battled through to win 6-4 against fellow strugglers Academy Towers.

Following numerous draws in the league the team should be proud of the way they have played which was the first season or first season back after a break for most of the team. Mark will certainly move up to join the ranks of the top flight next season and hopefully Paul, Aaron and Ruth will again try to improve within Division 2.

Division 4

David Peden and his Ballymoney C team have clinched the Division 4 title followings a ‘no show’ from Academy Nuggets. All the team have improved dramatically throughout the year and can look forward to moving up into Division 3 next season where life will be a lot tougher. David will now have more time with his sheep before returning for the new season.

League Tournaments

Next month sees each Division having it’s singles event as well as Junior, Veteran and Hard bat competitions. April will also see the conclusion of the Knock Out Cups with Ballymoney B and C still involved. The league ends with the annual dinner and prize giving at Allen Park Golf Club on Friday 7 May.

North Antrim Open

Ballymena Academy hosts the North Antrim Open on the 10th April 2010. This is a good opportunity for local players to play against the leading players in Ulster. Entry forms can be obtained from event Organiser, Norman McBride on 07879885683.

Open Night

Ballymoney Table Tennis club will be holding an Open night on Wednesday 7 April at the club’s premises in the basement of the Methodist church in Seymour Street, Ballymoney. All new players, young or old, are welcome to come along and try the sport. The session will run between 7.00pm and 9.00pm.