Fenwick keeps title Ma stars for women

Canterbury's Simon Fenwick retained the men's singles title at the Nelson open table tennis championships at Saxton Stadium on Saturday.

Fenwick, the No1 seed, beat doubles partner Ken Trower (Nelson) in the semifinals to set up a final with Nelson player James Fairbrass.

Fenwick had the final under control from the start and looped the ball consistently from both wings which kept Fairbrass under pressure, winning 11-5 11-8 11-8 11-7. Fairbrass reached the final with a win over Paul Op Den Buysch who had earlier beaten Donny Harris in a seven-set thriller.

Joanna Ma, formerly of Otago and now living in Nelson, captured the women's singles title with an 11-5 11-5 12-10 12-10 win over Canterbury's Mimi Walle. The match was tight with pen-holder Ma just holding a slight edge.

Ma beat Nelson's Glenda Ferguson in one semi while Walle beat New Zealand under-15 representative and fellow Cantabrian Ola Ratka 12-10 11-9 11-6 11-5 in the other semi.

Fenwick and Trower won the men's doubles final 11-13 9-11 11-8 11-5 11-6 against Op Den Buysch and Harris, with the women's event was won by Walle and Ratka over Ma and Caroline Bellamy (Nelson) 11-9 11-4 9-11 11-2.

Fenwick captured his third title when he partnered Valle for a win in the mixed doubles final over Fairbrass and Ma 11-8 11-7 12-10.

The second-grade men's singles was played in groups and attracted 22 entries.

The two top seeds, Harris and Trower, met in the final of the knockout stages with Harris running out the winner 11-4 11-8 11-7.

Trower had a tough semi, just getting the better of Nelson junior Oliver Bellamy 11-7 in the fifth, while Harris beat Tomas Watson (Nelson) in the other semi.

Ratka and Bellamy met in the women's second-grade final and after many fast rallies close to the table, Ratka got home 11-6 11-4 11-13 11-6.

Harris added the men's doubles title with Op Den Buysch when they beat Nelson's Phillip Higgins and Nigel Deighton in the final 11-3 8-11 11-5 11-7. The latter pair did well to reach the final as they beat the top seeds in the semifinal.

Steve Bellamy captured the mixed doubles title with daughter Caroline when they beat Marlborough's Warren Haszard and Nelson's Thelma Mathieson 11-6 11-5 14-12. Mathieson and Bellamy won the women's doubles title over Ratka and Cindy Holden (Nelson) 11-9 11-7 11-5.

Canterbury's Piotr Ratka dominated the over-40 events, winning the singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles. He beat Higgins in the singles final 11-6 11-4 11-6.

The two women's singles finalists Ma and Walle met in the over-40 women's final with Ma winning 11-6 11-7 11-8. Wellington's Malcolm Wong won the over-50 men's singles, beating Canterbury's Robert Maxwell 7-11 11-3 11-4 11-5 in the final.

Wong added the men's doubles title in partnership with Marlborough's Peter Wells against Haszard and Nelson's Gary Basher 11-9 11-4 7-11 9-11 11-6.

The men's under-21 section was keenly contested with the top six Nelson players competing against Marlborough's top players, Nelson's Henry Neas beating Nelson's Oliver Bellamy 11-4 11-8 11-6 in the final. Bellamy beat Tom Gilberg (Nelson) in a high quality semi while Neas beat Nelson's Abel Mok in the other semi.

Ola Ratka added the women's title with a 12-10 11-7 8-11 6-11 11-2 win over Caroline Bellamy.

Sunday's under-18 competition was full of interest with results not going to seeding.

Oliver Bellamy came through the field to take the boys' under-18 title 11-9 6-11 11-9 11-7 over Abel Mok. Earlier Mok had come back from two sets down to beat Tomas Watson, who had beaten Henry Neas.

Ola Ratka beat Caroline Bellamy 11-7 11-8 11-9 in the under-18 girls' final with Nelson's Tayla Nesbitt third.

The under-15 boys' section had 10 entries from Canterbury, Marlborough and Nelson. Oliver Bellamy added the under-15 boys' singles title to his growing collection of titles when he beat the enthusiastic Rigel Blanchet from Nelson in straight sets. Blanchet did well to reach the final as he beat Canterbury's David Walle in five close sets in the quarters and Marlborough's Fynn Sawyer in the semi.

Ratka added another title when she won the girls' under-15 singles 6-11 11-3 11-4 11-9 over Nesbitt. Nelson's Nikita Goodwin was third.

David Walle dominated the Nelson Orthodontics under-13 section, beating Fynn Sawyer 11-1 9-11 13-11 15-13 in an absorbing final. Walle had a tough semi against Blanchet, just getting home 11-9 in the fifth, while Sawyer beat Nelson's Oscar Baden in the other semi.

Other results – men's singles plate:

Robert Maxwell (C) bt Kikiwa Duffin (N) 11-9 11-9 11-7; second-grade plate: Maxwell bt Matt Pigou (M) 11-9 11-7 7-11 10-12 12-10; over-40 men's singles plate: Maxwell bt Rene Van Sint Annaland (N) 11-7 11-9 11-9; over-40 mixed doubles: Piotr Ratka (C)/Mimi Walle (C) bt Warren Haszard (M)/Thelma Mathieson (N) 11-7 11-5 11-2; over-40 men's doubles: Ratka/Malcolm Wong (W) bt Peter Wells (M)/Haszard 11-9 16-14 11-9; over-40 women's doubles: Glenda Ferguson/Mathieson bt Walle/Cindy Holden (N) 5-11 8-11 12-10 11-9 11-8; over-50 mixed doubles: Russell Holden (N)/Ferguson bt Lionel Wells (N)/Karen Holmes (N) 11-9 11-6 11-6; over-60 men's singles: Wells bt Gary Basher (N) 11-4 11-9 11-6; over-60 women's singles: Ferguson bt Margret Jansen (N) 11-3 13-11 11-8; over-60 men's doubles: Wells/Basher bt Wells/Ross Kawharu (N) 11-9 11-4 14-12; over-60 women's doubles: Ferguson/Madeline McCrae bt Mathieson/Jansen 11-6 1-11 11-2 4-11 11-7; over-60 mixed doubles: Basher/Jansen bt Michael Browning (N) 11-13 11-5 6-11 13-11 11-7; under-21 boys' singles plate: Tomas Watson (N) bt Max Delannoy (N) 3-0; under-21 boys' doubles: Henry Neas (N)/Oliver Bellamy (N) bt Watson/Tom Gilberg (N) 5-11 11-8 9-11 11-8 11-6; under-21 mixed doubles: Abel Mok (N)/Caroline Bellamy (N) bt Watson/Orla Ratka (C) 11-9 4-11 5-11 12-10 11-8; under-18 boys' singles plate: Minjune Kim (N) bt Anhtu Nguyen (N) 11-13 11-6 11-8 14-12; under-18 boys' doubles: Watson/Gilberg bt Neas/Sam Flaherty (M) 11-4 6-11 12-10 9-11 11-4; under-18 girls' doubles: Ratka/Bellamy bt Tayla Nesbitt (N)/Nikita Goodwin (N) 13-11 5-11 11-1 8-11 11-6; under-18 mixed doubles: Bellamy/Bellamy bt Flaherty/Ratka 8-11 11-9 11-9 11-8; under-15 boys' singles plate: Zac Pellowe (N) bt Connor Nesbitt (N) 11-9 11-8 5-11 6-11 11-4; under-15 boys' doubles: Bellamy/Rigel Blanchet (N) bt David Walle/Yerren Van Sint Annaland 11-5 11-6 11-3; under-15 girls' doubles: Nesbitt/Goodwin bt Ratka/Mariah Op Den Buysch 11-6 7-11 9-11 11-9 11-7; under-15 mixed doubles: Walle/Ratka bt Blanchet(N)/Op Den Buysch (N) 11-6 11-4 11-4; under-13 boys' plate: Van Sint Annaland bt Matthew Goodwin (N) 11-5 11-4 11-5; under-13 boys' doubles: Walle/Fynn Sawyer (M) bt Blanchet/Oscar Baden (N) 11-7 11-8 9-11 11-9.

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