Under 11 Girls Singles:
Sophie Rinnhofer won the first County title of the day, beating Erin Darwen (Free Church) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6.
Under 13 Girls Singles:
Sophie continued with her good run, winning the Under 13 Girls County title as well. She beat Emma Pulman 3-0. She followed this with a 3-0 win (11-9, 11-4, 11-7) against Milly Green, who also beat Emma, finishing as runner up.
Cadet Girls Singles:
Lisa Rinnhofer followed in her sisters’ pathway, winning the Cadet Girls title. She beat Milly Green 11-2, 12-10, 11-5, followed by an 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 win against Jennifer Singleton (who finished in the runner up position).
Junior Girls Singles:
Lisa then played Jennifer again in the Junior Girls singles event. This time she won 3-1, followed by a 3-0 win against Milly Bradshaw (Rugby). Finishing top of the group, Lisa then played Livvy Fletcher in the final. This was a closely fought battle with Lisa going 2-0 (11-9, 11-9) only for Livvy to battle back to level the match at 2-2. It was close throughout the 5th set, with Livvy coming out on top 11-8. The girls had some excellent rallies.
Junior Boys Singles:
Sam Henderson started the Junior Boys singles event with 3-0 wins against both Lewis Singleton and Niall Herbert. Being second seed in the event, Sam had a bye to the semi-finals, where he faced third seed Lee Dorning. Sam started best out of the blocks winning the first end 11-7. He then held on to win a close second set 12-10, and continued to dominate the match winning the third set 11-5. This was an excellent match, exchanging a number of topspin and counter topspin shots. Sam then faced fourth seed Sam Weaving in the final, who had beaten top seed Timmy Cooper 3-0 in the other semi-final. Henderson continued with his excellent performances, winning 3-1 (11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7). Sam has become Junior County Champion in his final year as a junior, having previously finished runner up two years ago.
Junior Boys Doubles:
Sam Henderson teamed up with Sam Weaving in the Junior Boys doubles. The two Sam’s faced the two Adam’s (Cofler and Pulman) in the first round, winning 11-5, 11-2, 11-4. They then received a walkover due to the withdrawal of Tom Harris. In the final, the two Sam’s faced top seeds Timmy Cooper and Lee Dorning, who are a regular partnership, and this was evident in their 11-3, 14-12, 11-7 win again the Sam’s!
Women’s Restricted Singles:
Lisa Rinnhofer had some great performances in the Women’s Restricted singles, reaching the semi-finals (beating both Fiona Wyburn and Livvy Fletcher 3-0). She then faced Milly Bradshaw who won 12-10 in the deciding 5th set in the semi finals. Milly went onto win the title, beating Nicola Francis 3-0.
Men’s Singles:
There were a large number of Colebridge players involved in the men’s singles. Sam Henderson successfully won his group, but then lost to the awkward and experienced player Pat Glynn 3-2 in the last 16 round. Ben Willson had a tough group, facing number 1 seed Laurence Sweeney and Ron Vose. Ben Willson lost 2-3 to Sweeney and 1-3 to Vose. Tim Fell, Jamie Fellows, and Awais Muhammed were also unable to make it out of their groups. However, the battle of the Colebridge players took place in group 4, where Michael Rinnhofer and Edward Lynn battled it out. Michael prevailed as the winner in the all Colebridge match winning 3-2, only to lose out closely 2-3 to Simon Griew. Ed then beat Simon 3-2, so the results went to count back on points, with Michael coming out on top. Michael then beat Griew’s team mate Nilton Green 3-2, only to lose out very closely to Timmy Cooper 11-9 in the 5th set. Laurence Sweeney went on to win his second County Men’s Singles title, beating Mark Jackson 3-2 in the semi-final, and Mike Browne 3-0 in the final.
Men’s Restricted Singles:
There were five Colebridge players in the Men’s restricted singles. Unfortunately only Ben Willson and Michael Rinnhofer succeeded as winners in the group stages. In the knockout stages, Ben beat Jim Watts 3-0, but then lost to Simon Griew 1-3. Michael managed one round further (beating Chris Blowey and Justin Rai) to reach the semi-finals, only to face previous his earlier nemesis Simon Griew. This was also another 5 set battle with Michael losing out 8-11 in the decider. Simon went onto win the restricted singles county title, beating Ron Vose in the final.
Women’s Doubles:
Kate Hughes and Jo Outhwaite won the Women’s doubles, but not without a battle against the ever improving junior girls. In a round robin event, Hughes and Outhwaite beat Milly Bradshaw and Nicola Francis 13-11, 11-6, 12-10 in the first match. The deciding match was against Lisa Rinnhofer and Livvy Fletcher. The youngsters started well winning 11-5, only for Kate and Jo to level the match 11-3. The next two sets were also shared, so the match went to the deciding set. Experience eventually prevailed, with Kate and Jo winning 11-6, to win the County Doubles title.
Mixed Doubles:
Kate Hughes won her 5th successive Mixed Doubles County title alongside Ryan Stockham (from Rugby). Having had a slightly slow start against Jackson and Francis, they got into a better groove, beating fellow Colebridge father and daughter partnership (Michael and Lisa Rinnhofer) 3-0 in the semi-final, followed by Timmy Cooper and Livvy Fletcher in the final.
Veteran Men’s Singles:
Michael Rinnhofer and Tim Fell were the only two representatives in the Veteran Men’s Singles. Unfortunately with tough groups, neither Colebridge player could win their groups, Michael losing out to Ron Vose; and Tim losing to Chris Hughes. Mark Jackson (St George’s) beat Stephen Robinson in the final.
Over 50’s Men’s Singles:
Tim Fell and John Chandler competed in the Over 50’s Men’s Singles. Fell lost in the group stages to Stephen Robinson, whilst John Chandler lost to Ron Vose. Michael Browne won this event, beating Andrew Frain in the final.
Over 60’s Men’s Singles:
Tim Fell, John Chandler and John Overton all competed in the Over 60’s Men’s singles. Unfortunately no-one proceeded from the group stages. Pat Glynn was the champion, beating Phil Paine in the final.
Over 70’s Men’s Singles:
John Overton was Colebridge’s representative in the Over 70’s Men’s singles. The four players competed in a round robin. John competing in his first County Championships for a few years finished in 3rd place, losing out to Terry Cooper (winner) and William Fletcher, but beat Jack Koumi.
Women’s Singles:
Kate Hughes started the defence of her County Singles title with a 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-4) win against Nicola Francis. Rising cadet, Lisa Rinnhofer battled her way to the final, with five set wins against Milly Bradshaw and Livvy Fletcher in the group stages, and then Jo Outhwaite in the semi-finals. Despite Lisa playing well, Kate was too strong, and successfully retained her County singles title with an 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 win; and to complete her treble of titles for the day!
Men’s Doubles:
Rinnhofer and Willson playing their first doubles competition together, lose in the first round to Chris Blowey and Harry Purewal 12-10 in the 5th set. Tim Fell (playing alongside Gary Jackson) proceeded to the quarter final stage, losing out to Earl and Laurence Sweeney 6-11 in the 5th set. Colebridge partnership of Edward Lynn and Sam Henderson, made steady headway in the draw, beating Alan Hewitt and Justin Rai 3-0, following by a 3-1 win against Nilton Green and Simon Griew, then a semi-final 3-0 win against the Sweeney’s. Due to a slight backlog of matches, the final of the men’s doubles was the last match of the day. It was a close 5 set match, against Mike Browne and Pat Glynn (who had beaten top seeds Ryan Stockham and Mark Jackson 3-2 in the other semi-final). Despite the Colebridge duo going 2-0 up in sets, the experienced veterans fought back, saving several match points in the 4th set. The Colebridge pair hung on to win a tight 5th end 13-11, with the final ball being hit at 11.15pm! The new ‘Mark Read Memorial Trophy’ was presented to Lynn and Henderson as Men’s Doubles Champions.
Despite the long day, there was some excellent table tennis played throughout. Well done to everyone.