3 out of 6 at Inter League
The Inter League was held at Inverclyde National Sports Centre on 1st & 2nd March 2008. The West of Scotland had 14 Teams competing over the two days. Last year, the West competed in 6 finals and won 2 titles – How would they fair this year?
Men’s Event
The A team - Craig Hardie, Terry McLernon jnr and Paul Marshall - remained undefeated on Saturday but an injury to Craig Hardie prevented him from competing on the Sunday, so it was left to the efforts of Terry and Paul.
In the final 2 matches, they faced Edinburgh 2 - the boys lost this one, 3-1, but with Edinburgh 2 beating Edinburgh 1, there was a glimmer of hope for us to retain our title.
The stage was set for the final match against Edinburgh 1. With the West only having two players, this was a mammoth task. Paul Marshall was up first against Willie Mabon. Paul battled hard, but Willie unleashed some blistering backhands to win the match. Terry McLernon was next up against James Russell. Terry played some devastating stuff and his service was as deadly as some of his forehands. Terry won 3-1.
With Craig Hardie injured, Edinburgh was awarded the 3rd match.
Terry was up next against Willie Mabon and once again his services made the difference. Terry won this match 3-1. Which set up “the big match”
Paul Marshall faced James Russell. Paul raced to a one nil lead and 9-5 in the second only for the wily James Russell to claw his way back. James then hit form and won the match 3-1.
West of Scotland B finished in 4th place with W.o.S.T.T.L. Chairman Terry McLernon having to stand in as Tam Lawlor got injured in the first match of the weekend. Allan McCarry continued his rich vein of form that he has shown in the Premier Division this season. James Weatherston also had some terrific matches throughout the weekend.
Ladies Event
The West of Scotland Team was Maureen Moran and Josie Bruce. The ladies won all their matches to set up a final match against Dundee 1; this included a good win against Stirlingshire 1 (Senga Thomson and Roxanna Milne). The Dundee team was very experienced in the form of two former Internationalists – Julie Lawrence and Elaine Forbes. Dundee won this match 3-0, but a very good effort for our women. Maureen Moran showed her professionalism in her matches against the up and coming players and scored fine wins against the returning Roxanna Milne and Natasha Milliken. Josie also played some great stuff and will no doubt be looking forward to working her way up the ranking list.
Veterans Event
The West A team comprising of Davie Thomas, Peter Shaw and Malky
Hutton reached the final of the Vets Team event with solids wins against West B, Perth, and Edinburgh. In the final match they faced Stirlingshire A. Unfortunately they lost this match 3-1.
The West B team of Roy Claxton, Billy Davidson and Neil Doherty were involved in some very close matches with Roy Claxton only losing 1 match throughout the weekend.
Junior Girls
The team of Corinna Whitaker, Natasha Milliken and Stephanie McCallum won this event, victorious in all five matches. They all contributed to the win and can be pleased with their efforts. The girls showed that they are a dominant force in this age group.
The Junior Boys A team (Sean Doherty, Nathan Courtney and Basel
Razouk) won the junior boys title, following a 3 way count back with Stirlingshire and Dumfries. The West emerged champions with a better games ratio in the count back.
The B team of Graeme Donnelly, Sam Murdoch and Gary Taylor were involved in some good matches and beat Perth. They were also involved in closely fought matches against Dundee and Stirlingshire.
Cadet Boys
The Cadet boy’s teams of Adam Baillie, Chris Barclay and Craig McGregor (A Team) and Jonathan Diack, Jacob Aitchison, Andrew McPherson all battled hard at this age group. The boys enjoyed the experience of playing at this level and I’m sure they will be back next season! Both teams were involved in close matches.
Cadet Girls
The West team of Lucy Elliott and Jillian Hyslop played well as a team in this event, due to playing together in the junior league. Both girls both won games and were able to cause problems against more experienced players. They can be pleased with their efforts.
Minor Boys
The Team of Scott Barton, Adam Gaffney and Duncan Smith won the e
vent after a great match against Stirlingshire. Scott Barton got the West off to a bright start with a solid win against Alex Wheeler. Blair Fowler levelled the match for Stirlingshire with a 3-1 against Adam Gaffney. Christopher Wheeler then gave Stirlingshire a 2-1 lead with a 3-0 win against Duncan Smith. Scott Barton levelled the match with a good win against Blair Fowler. So, with the match perfectly poised at 2-2, up steps Adam Gaffney. Adam played superbly to win his match against Alex Wheeler for the West to win the title for the first time.
The West B team (Connor Moran, Grant Lewis and Stuart Lewis) gave a good account of themselves and can be proud of the effort they put in. Considering that this is still a young team they can look forward to next season. They had a close match with Edinburgh.
Minor Girls
The team of Haley Doherty and Nadia Doherty, both competing for the first time at this level, found it a difficult task, but no doubt enjoyed the experience.
Inter League Results
|
Event
|
Winner
|
Runner Up
|
|
Minor Girls
|
Dumfries 1
|
Dumfries 2
|
|
Minor Boys
|
West of Scotland 1
|
Stirling & Midland 1
|
|
Cadet Girls
|
Edinburgh & Lothians
|
Dumfries
|
|
Cadet Boys
|
Dumfries
|
Edinburgh & Lothians
|
|
Junior Girls
|
West of Scotland
|
Stirling & Midland
|
|
Junior Boys
|
West of Scotland 1
|
Stirling & Midland 1
|
|
Vets
|
Stirling & Midland 1
|
West of Scotland 1
|
|
Senior Ladies
|
Dundee 1
|
West of Scotland
|
|
Senior Men
|
Edinburgh & Lothians 1
|
Edinburgh & Lothians 2
|
This year proved to be a good year for the West of Scotland at the Inter League. The fact that we were in six finals and came away with 3 titles shows an improvement from last year. The players all showed good team spirit and all enjoyed the experience.
The number of injuries sustained by our teams had an effect on some of our placings, but no doubt those players injured will be back next year!
Special thanks go to Cameron Hyslop and Ian McPherson who both performed their task to the highest standard. Thanks also must go to Moira for her assistance over the weekend.
Philip McCallum
W.o.S.T.T.L. Coordinator