PARK District retained top spot in Division One of the Weymouth & District League with a 27-7 win over two-player Red Triangle.

Springfield A entertained a determined Colliton X in this reverse fixture which Springfield won 27-12. Raj Lehal top-scored for Colliton with five hard-earned points beating James Green (6) in the final game of their match 11-6.

He played well against Moses Lewis but lost out in the fifth.

Mick Hogan (4) secured a good victory in beating Green 3-1 but succumbed to both Lewis and Tim Scott.

Andy Crouch struggled for points – although playing well, his counter hitting was not as effective at this venue as it might be at his home venue. Nevertheless, two valuable points won.

As for Springfield, Lewis (9) and Scott (9) did the damage. They were supported by the ever improving Green who partnered Lewis in the doubles gaining a 3-1 win.

It was another close match between Preston B and YMCA with the visitors just edging it 19-18. Andy Webb (8) led their charge losing only to Derrick Smith (6) in a five-setter.

Smith also overcame Brian Hansford (3) who had an off night losing also to Roger Lovell (7). The result hung in the balance up to the doubles which Preston won but YMCA gained the points required in a five-setter to seal the win.

Elsewhere, Preston A secured a 24-11 win over Wey Valley with Derrick Smith scoring a maximum.

A young Budmouth B team put up a very strong performance against the more experienced Shipton C before eventually going down 23-17.

George Ackerley (9) was the strongest player of the night with some very consistent and attacking play that ultimately was too strong for all the Shipton players despite occasionally struggling with their defensive counter play.

Sam Melhuish (5) also played some mature games using his service well and a powerful attacking forehand to come back from 2-0 down to beat Dan Corren (6) and take a game off both Tom Baldry (8) and Dave Poole (7).

Ashleigh Browne who played up from Division Three also had some good attacking rallies but struggled with her chop game which left her struggling to take any games from the more experienced Shipton players.

Baldry was the best player of the Shipton team, using his block well to limit the power of the Budmouth attack and Poole was back to his old form matching the younger players with some equally blistering smashes.

The evening finished with a very competitive doubles match with Budmouth remaining highly motivated to the very end, and were rewarded by coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Preston C versus Wyke A was a fun game with some odd results, which Wyke managed to win 21-17. Dave Clegg (5) beating Ian South (7) was great then Paul Robson-Rowell (3) beat Clegg 3-1.

Robson-Rowell did really well as he was playing up from Division Three for Wyke A. Stuart Walden took all nine of his points but struggled against Mal Smith (5).

Steve Rockett (4) was his usual steady self. All Saints A almost scored a maximum 30 points, but Peter Loakes (5) defeated Richard Lane (8) 3-2 for the sole Colliton C victory.

Colliton C did win legs in eight of the 10 matches played, therefore picking up 12 useful points in a 29-12 loss.

Colliton B had a near perfect 30-5 win over Preston D. Another excellent evening of table tennis saw Colliton D gain a 22-15 win over two-player Springfield D.

Game of the evening was Daniel Scotchmer versus Barry Thomas. It looked as though Scotchmer was going to cruise to victory having won the second game 11-3 but Thomas had other ideas.

Suddenly the Colliton youngster had no answer to Thomas’s tomahawk serve and he started to power his forehand with great accuracy, enabling him to win the next two games.

The final game started off evenly, but Scotchmer having set up a three-point lead, stayed calm and went on to win the final leg 11-8.