THIS was the first match of the season for newly promoted Tavistock first team in the Plymouth Company League?s division one. The recently appointed captain Paddy Kerr was forced into making a last minute team selection which was missing a number of key players due to holiday and work commitments. First up was Dave Ruffell playing at number five for Tavistock against Phil from OPMs. The first game was tight with each player trying to find the opponent?s weakness. Dave failed to utilise his forehand in a couple of crucial points with Phil coming out on top in the first 10-8. The second game followed a similar pattern which Phil won 10-9. In the third game Dave worked the openings well and a number of strong forehand drives secured this game for Tavistock 9-4. The following game went with OPMs which gave them the first rubber 3 games to 1. Next up was Colin Grice for Tavistock against Dominick for OPMs. Colin lost the first game 9-0 against a youthful opponent, who was clearly on form. In the second game Colin was determined to make his mark on the game and battled to get four points against a strong opponent. In the third game it all went Dominick?s way with OPM taken the second match 3-0. Next up was Stuart Cox for Tavistock against Kevin Hall. The first game looked lost for Tavistock with Kevin taking an 8-6 lead, however Stuart had other ideas and battled back to win the first game 10-8. The second game followed a similar pattern with Kevin taking an 8-5 lead, however Stuart was not phased by this and again battled back with some strong ground shots to win the second game 10-8 and take a 2-0 games lead. Stuart exerted his supremacy over his opponent in the third game to win this 9-3 and take the first match for Tavistock 3-0. Next up was Richard Bache of Tavistock against Ross from OPMs. This was Richard?s first game for Tavistock firsts after a successful year in the second team and a player now that has attained a level of fitness commensurate with his skills. The first game saw an exchange of handouts before Ross took the first three points. Richard battled back to level the game at 3-3, however an unforced error saw his head drop and gave his opponent a string of points and the first game 9-3. The second game saw a similar outcome which Ross won 9-2. Despite a valiant effort from Richard, the result in the third was inevitable, 9-2 to Ross and the match 3-0. Finally the captain Paddy stepped up for Tavistock against Sam. Following a gallant effort from Paddy in the first (9-7) Sam won the match 3-0, which meant OPMs had won the tie 3-1. Hard match for second team TAVISTOCK second team, who won the Plymouth Company League division three under the inspirational leadership of Mike Gray, look forward with confidence to the new squash season. In their first match, Tavistock Second team came up against the formidable David May Motor Services. Last season, David May?s team had come down from the division one and are a team to be reckoned with, having some excellent players. First up for Tavistock in fifth string was Pete Walshe against Mike Hawkins. Pete was obviously match rusty and lost the first game due to unforced errors. Pete won the second game, but Mike came back strongly in the third. The fourth game was a real battle with Pete fighting back to 8-8. Mike held on to win the game 10-8 and the first match 3-1. Next up was veteran Tavistock player, Malcolm Holton. Last season Malcolm was a revelation, and only lost once during the whole season. Malcolm came up against a young opponent Ben Phillpotts and despite suffering from severe toothache, Malcolm set about his task with ruthless efficiency. He won the first game 9-3 and although Ben fought back and just lost the second game 10-9, Malcolm could see victory in his sight and kept the pressure up to win the match 3-0. There is a welcome return to competitive squash for Andy Howell. Andy hasn?t played for Tavistock for a number of years, but is starting to recover his fitness and form with delightful drop shots and subtle low boasts. Playing at number three Andy came up against an old, seasoned campaigner, Sam Balsdon. Andy lost his first game 7-9, but began to find his form and gave Sam all sorts of problems, with accurate drops and tight shots to the wall. Andy won the second game 9-7 and began the third game confidently. Sam came back, retrieved everything and worked hard to win the third game 10-9. Andy was feeling the pace and his lack of match fitness meant that Sam was able to capitalise on this and won the fourth game 9-0 and the match 3-1. Phil Honey has taken on the number two in the team and came up against a hard hitting and accurate player, Cliff Drew. Phil is very fit and despite losing the first two games, came back with some excellent long rallies to win the next two games. With the scores at two games each, Phil was looking to be in a dominant position, but Cliff raised his game and despite Phil?s hard work and dogged resistance, Cliff won the fifth game 9-5 and the match 3-2. Dave Ruffell played number one for the team last season and has developed into an excellent player, gaining confidence with every match. Dave is a hard working and skilful left-hander, who can cause unwary players all sorts of problems. Dave came up against Martyn Newberry who used to play county level squash. Dave lost the first game 3-0, but began to find his form in the second game, losing it 9-7. However, Martyn turned on the pressure and did not allow Dave to get into the game, winning the last game 9-1 and the match 3-0. Despite losing 4-1, Tavistock took heart from the fact that they were meeting one of the strongest team in Company league two in their first game and are look forward to their next match against Plymouth University. l Anybody interested in getting fit and playing squash should come along on Wednesday evenings to join in the club nights. There is a range of players, from beginners to experienced players and it is great fun. There is also aerobic equipment available for members to use free. The squash club is signposted on Pixon Lane.
