Mannamead are able to climb table in Division 2

MANNAMEAD B Ladies had three games to play in a week and with some grit, determination and good play managed to take themselves from bottom of Division 2 up to fourth place and well out of the relegation zone.

- DAVE AND SUE GALE

Firstly, there was a close match against Plympton B with four tiebreaks and long rallies which Mannamead won 59-42.

The second match was against fellow strugglers Yelverton B and Mannamead, knowing they had to gain maximum points if possible, played well from the beginning and proved too strong for Yelverton winning 72-16.

This meant Mannamead B required 38 points to secure fourth place and Plympton A needed just 28 points to take second. As always, there were very close matches with really great tennis and Mannamead took the win 57-43 giving them fourth place and Plympton A second.

Tavistock A’s Hilary Picton and Karen Robinson, playing together for the first time, really struggled against the drop shots and lobs of Menheniot A’s Zoe Harris and Debbie Smith and were unable to take a single game.

They fared better against Menheniot’s first pair of Tam Hemming and Lucy Matthews, though, enjoying the pace of the ball.

Tavistock’s Olivia Clark and Claire Duffin are improving week on week but struggled to cope with Zoe and Debbie’s play losing the championship tie-break 4-10. They also preferred the pace of the ball from Tam and Lucy but still went down 5-6, 3-6 as league leaders Menheniot won 69-22.

Plympton A were too strong for Yelverton B and won all four events and the match overall, 72-14.

St Budeaux A finished the season as Division 1 winners after their 59-24 win over Devonshire A, while Yelverton A secured runners-up spot with their 72-12 win over Devonshire B.

Ivybdridge A travelled to Mannamead A and saw some very competitive matches, but sadly the Mannamead first pair of Sally Lewin and Nancy O’Connor had to retire after the first match due to injuries as Ivybridge won 46-41.

Division 3 league leaders St Budeaux B continued their league dominance with a 72-8 win over Looe A, while Hill Lane A were too strong for Tavistock B.