A CHAMPION’S performance from Moses Lewis saw him win all three of his matches with the loss of one game for Budmouth A against Springfield A, in the titanic top of the table clash that ended in an 18-18 draw in Division One of the Weymouth & District Table Tennis League.

In two seasons Jeff Rigby (6) has been a revelation and has lost just a handful of legs and never a match, but Moses’ dominant performance of style, shot selection and determination saw him through to a deserved 3-0 victory.

This set the tone for the match, with Nathan Calton (2) only just losing out 3-2 to the persistent Tim Scott (4) in match two.

Josh Clark (7), who swept through Andy Pipe (5) in the first fixture 3-0, had to fight back from 2-0 down this time, winning 11-9 in the fifth.

Springfield were always chasing the game thereafter and with two matches remaining they were losing 18-12, but a captain’s performance from Pipe saw him defeat Calton 3-0 to set up the doubles for Scott and Rigby to beat Lewis and Clark also 3-0 to ensure the match was drawn 18-18.

The teams’ last match earlier in the season was a 19-19 draw and so these teams are certainly very closely matched.

While mathematically Budmouth A have not won the league, it is all but certain, and thank you to Jeff for probably his last match in the WDTTL before retiring – he has set a high bar for others to achieve through the course of their table tennis lives.

The match was played in typically good spirit as Red Triangle ran out 19-14 winners over Park District X, Derrick Dawson, Shaun Beauchamp and Mike Spracklen could do little to stop John Ryan picking up a maximum but they were too strong for his colleagues.

They each picked up six points along with a leg in the doubles.

All Saints A remain in third place in Division Two after a hard fought 25-10 victory over Colliton C.

Half the matches went to four sets but only Peter Loakes (3) managed to grab a win on the night for Colliton with a 3-1 defeat of Ollie James (7).

Jess Moggeridge continues to grow and won all of her matches without dropping a leg, ably supported by James and Ethan Clark (9).

Loakes and Andy Ray (2) did manage to win the doubles 3-0 but the match was well over by that point.

Top-of-the-table Springfield B played their last match of the season this week against Shipton Gorge C and came out 21-18 winners, though Shipton may have done enough to give their counterparts, Shipton Gorge B, a chance of pinching the title from them.

It was an unexpectedly close match with Shipton punching well above their weight.

The evening started with Dan Corren (6) taking up a strong attacking game to pull off a surprise 3-1 victory over Chris Whitefield (6).

Despite the Springfield team throwing what they could at Shipton, often in the shape of some unreturnable serves and blistering forehand drives, Shipton stood firm leaving the match still within their grasp going in to the doubles.

They could not quite carry it over the line, however, despite a close five setter, with Springfield remaining the more consistent and experienced pair.

There was no doubt that the Shipton were left feeling they were the real winners, having played the best match of their season, and Springfield wondering whether their title race with Shipton B had been lost.

Springfield have a nervous wait now with a 51-point advantage and 62 points available to Shipton B.

In Division Three, Wey Valley and Budmouth E fought out an entertaining match, which the former eventually won 20-18. Ethan Bingham led the way for Wey Valley with a maximum with Joe Bingham (6) and Richard Lane (5) also contributing well.

Sophie Storey (6) won her first two matches but found Bingham a step too far in losing in straight sets.

Both teams are still in the mix for the third to fifth places in the division.