TABLE TENNIS: Suffolk first and second teams found themselves in the same division for the current term, playing in Division Two C.The first team started with an emphatic 10-0 win over Norfolk, who were without Jon Cockburn, but nevertheless it was a great team performance as Lee Ballam was making his debut for the first team.

TABLE TENNIS

SUFFOLK first and second teams found themselves in the same division for the current term, playing in Division Two C.

The first team started with an emphatic 10-0 win over Norfolk, who were without Jon Cockburn, but

nevertheless it was a great team performance as Lee Ballam was making his debut for the first team.

Suffolk found the pace harder in the second match against Lincolnshire, where they managed a 5-5 draw. The star for Suffolk was Richard Hutchinson, who defeated the high-ranking and two-time top-16 winner Andy Wignall 3-0.

Perhaps Suffolk deserved better as both Dosher and Ballam lost their matches in five sets. Vicky Gray played superbly to beat Jody Cox at nine in the fifth set.

Against Bedfordshire, another good team effort saw the first team win 6-4. Dosher and Hutchinson both dropped the first leg in their match with Robert Dynes before winning.

Elsewhere Aimee Sparkes and Andrew Warner scored crucial wins over Val Murdoch and Chris Stone respectively.

In their final match against their second team Suffolk first won 9-1 as only Andrew Holmes tasted success for the seconds over Warner.

Ian Brown pushed Hutchinson to a fifth set, while Gary Bloomfield made Warner sweat before going down. Aimee Sparkes enjoyed a rare win over her close friend Claire Emmerson 3-1.

The second team had different fortunes as they were beaten three times, but managed a draw against Northants.

In their first match against Bedfordshire Ian Brown won both his matches over Dynes and Hammish Weung, but the teams just lost 6-4.

Claire Emmerson enjoyed an excellent win over Val Murdoch and Gary Bloomfield beat Dynes.

Against Northants, both Emmerson and debututante Carol Clarke won their games and were backed by Ian Brown with one win.

Brown played one of the games of the weekend with current top-16 winner Dave Gattis and amid several brilliant rallies just lost out in the fifth.

Against Hertfordshire seconds they were never in the hunt, going down 9-1.

THE Suffolk Senior Table Tennis Championships are taking place at Stowupland High School on Sunday.

The line-up includes the county's top three players, including defending champion and number-one ranked player Paul Cicchelli for the men's title.

Vicky Gray is the woman's number one ranked player for the women's singles title.

Richard Hutchinson has again been paired with Michael Wright and is seeded to be in the same half as Nigel Hodder, Andrew Warner, Andrew Dosher, Ian Brown and Tim Avis.

In the woman's event, the groups have paired Aimee Sparkes and Claire Emmerson with Sonja Talbot, while Vicky Gray is paired with Susan Suckling and Carol Clarke.

The action starts at 9.30am with the open singles which is played up to 11 and is open to all players.

Players who didn't send a SAE can contact Andrew Dosher on 07968 135602 for their start time.