SUCCESSIVE 8-2 victories have kept Our Lady of Peace A in the Reading & District League Division One championship hunt.

Krasimer Ivanov got a maximum as they beat Sonning Common & Peppard A 8-2, while he again starred with a treble as they beat Kingfisher C, Daniel Moses also getting a maximum in this one after holding off Tony Reynolds to win 7-11 11-7 11-6 6-11 11-3.

Kingfisher B’s two-man team just held on to win 6-4 against Sonning Common & Peppard A thanks mainly to a Hari Gehlot maximum which began with a tight tussle against Gary Morgan to win 15-13 11-13 12-14 11-4 11-6.

Steve Miller gained an impressive treble as Our Lady of Peace B beat YMCA 7-3, Pete Bradley getting a consolation win against Harry Munro 7-11 15-13 11-9 5-11 15-13.

YMCA, however, had earlier given themselves hope of avoiding relegation after a 7-3 win against Kingfisher D, Dave Halfpenny and Neil Hurford with fine trebles.

Sonning Common & Peppard B grabbed a first point of the season against a two-man Kingfisher C side. From 5-3 down Jeremy Willis enjoyed large slices of luck to defeat Stuart Williams before he and Nigel Maltby teamed up to defeat Andrew Parker and Stuart Williams in the decisive doubles 6-11 11-4 11-2 9-11 11-7.

In Division Two, Kingfisher F saw their promotion charge dented by a 7-3 defeat to in-form Our Lady of Peace C.

Clive Perry starring for the OLOP team with a maximum. This was the Kingfisher teams first defeat of the season. Second-placed Kingfisher G fared no better as they were beaten 6-4 by third placed Curzon Club A, John Willcocks treble backed by two wins from Jon Willis and a hard fought doubles win by the pair against David Joyce and Melvyn Lovegrove 8-11 11-8 7-11 11-7 11-9.

Sonning Common & Peppard C were able to ease any relegation fears with a 7-3 derby win against Sonning Common & Peppard E, Niall McGrane’s treble for the E side proving in vain. Tidmarsh B continued their improved form with a fine 9-1 win over Kingfisher E, Dom Cutter and Barry Carter both starring with trebles. Denise Weller’s maximum steered Pangbourne WMC A to a 7-3 win at Tilehurst Methodists A.

There were a trio of surprise results in Division Three last week. Pride of place went to lowly Sonning Sports A who pulled off one of the shocks of the season with a 6-4 success over leaders Tidmarsh C. This was a great team effort - two wins apiece for Keith Machin and Chris Dexter - while Bob Woodmansee won the final set to give his team the win. Lee Calcutt again won all his three sets for Tidmarsh - but to no avail on this occasion - Chris Webb with Tidmarsh's other set.

However, Tidmarsh still lead the table on sets difference because their nearest rivals, Pangbourne WMC B, also fell victim to something of a surprise result when Kingfisher I held them to a 5-5 draw, despite only having two players. For Kingfisher, Eric Holmes and Carol Byers each had a couple of wins and then teamed up for a great comeback win in the doubles from two games down to win 3-11 9-11 11-8 11-3 11-6 For Pangbourne Clive Taylor had two wins.

Fourth-placed Springfield A were the other leading team to have their wings clipped by lowly opposition as Our Lady of Peace D held them to a 5-5 draw - two wins apiece for Dave Godfrey and Wendy Porter. Phil Burke was once again the main man for Springfield with yet another treble.

Milestone A consolidated third position and moved to within a point of the two leading teams with a 6-4 win against Tilehurst Methodists B - who had to field a reserve. Captain Arun Rajagopal continued his consistent form by hitting another treble for Milestone including a great comeback win against Jes Eassom 4-11 7-11 12-10 11-5 11-7 - and, just to add even more drama to the comeback, Rajagopal was actually five match-points down at 5-10 in the third game. Chris Collins had another useful double for Milestone but lost to Eassom - who notched a double himself with success over Milestone's John Crosfield.

Kingfisher H were pushed all the way by plucky bottom-of-the-table Tilehurst Methodists C - and were largely indebted to Jarek Chmielowiec who hit a fine maximum in their 6-4 win as well as teaming up with Igor Sremac to win a tense five-game doubles encounter. For Tilehurst both Paul Treadgold and Mike Williams had two wins whilst Masoud Ghabachi gave Peter Bennett an early scare before Peter eventually got home 9-11 9-11 11-5 11-8 11-6.

In Division Four, Dave Edwards hit a great hat-trick to help Tidmarsh D win 7-3 at Kingfisher K.

Sonning Common & Peppard F beat Tilehurst Methodists E 7–3 with Angus Jones obtaining yet another treble, while at the top Milestone B beat second place Springfield B 9–1 with Sachin Mundra and Zoltan Kelemen both gaining maximums. This was the Springfield teams first defeat of the season and pushes Milestone three points ahead of the field.

In Division Five, Derek Anderson hit another maximum and Wayne Alleyne a double, to assure Reading FC C both points, in their 6-4 win over Sonning Sports B, for whom Michael Byrne and Sally James each won one, and Cris Reynolds won two.

Our Lady of Peace F emerged victorious from a close match with Springfield C, the 6-4 score line hinging on the doubles, which OLOP won 9-11 13-11 11-9 11-8, and Simon Brookes’ 10th game victory. Both Simon and Andrew Adair finished with two wins apiece, but Hari Laddunuri’s single was also crucial to OLOP’s win while, for Springfield, Rob Atack and Chris Speight also won two each.

Gerry Bacon was in imperious form, leading Sonning Common & Peppard H to a 7-3 win over the BBC Club, with Mike Casserley and Julian James providing great support, winning two each. For the BBC Club, John Scott won two singles and the doubles, partnered by Mojtaba Safavi, while Phil Peat narrowly lost 11-13 9-11 9-11, to Julian James, as did Mojtaba, who was defeated 8-11 10-12 11-9 13-15. Kingfisher L suffered a blow to their Championship hopes, eventually losing 2-8 to Tidmarsh E, with only Ken Robb having any joy on the night, recording both their wins. For Tidmarsh, Isaac Davies recorded his second maximum, while Steve Andrews and Mike Bundy each won two. Springfield D returned to winning ways, beating Milestone C 8-2, their win courtesy of a Stephen Leggett maximum and two wins each for Colin Jones and Paul Martin, with John Evans recording both of Milestone’s wins.