The table tennis season came to a close with scenes of celebration for division two champions Dawlish Aces as the team of Ed Crawford, Dave Davies, Steve Cooper and Ozzy Dee romped home 8-2 winners over relegation doomed 21 Up to claim the title for the first time, writes Alan Maynard.
Ed Crawford won his games without dropping a leg, which was reflective of his form all season. He concluded the season runner-up in the division two rankings, second only to Newton Abbot Academicals' Jim McIvor, and proceeded to rock the end of season tournament with a shock defeat of the league's number one seed Dennis Gibbs, 13-11 in the fifth set.
For the Halwell teams, it was second place for both the A and B teams in divisions one and two respectively.
Halwell A fought off a last gasp challenge from Brixham Gulls to hold on to the runner-up spot, while Halwell B's Adrian Allen, Dave Nicholls and Denys Treeby were able to secure maximums to leapfrog Newton Abbot Academicals to claim second place in division two.
Dawlish Diamonds managed to lift themselves off the bottom of the division two table, the spot they had occupied for the majority of the season, accruing 24 crucial points in the last four matches to send last season's division three champions 21 Up back to the bottom.
The three Brixham teams in division three were able to pull away from the foot of the South Devon league with wins for Swifts and vital points to add to Pirates' total to send Newton Team Spirits to seventh and debutants Torre Table Tennis Club to the bottom by just four points.
Torre gave everything they had to claw off the bottom in an 8-2 defeat to Dawlish Drifters, with three of the games running the distance and four more played out in four sets, but were unable to notch up the win they needed to send Spirits bottom.
In the cup competitions, Newton Abbot Academicals edged a close affair with Halwell A.
After the seventh game and 4-3 up, Halwell just needed one more win to go through to the final, but Jim McIvor was able to level the score, beating Mick Atkinson in three before Doug Morgan, in the final leg of the match, turned it all around, beating Rod Sugden 11-8 after being 2-1 down in sets.
Academicals meet Marldon Millers in the final – they eased past Brixham Sharks and Dawlish Drifters 5-0, 5-0.
The doubles final will see division two champions Dawlish Aces in action again as they slogged it out against Newton Knights over two matches to a marathon 5-4 victory for the right to meet Brixham Trawlers.
The end of season closed tournament saw some competitive table tennis.
There were trophies for Dennis Gibbs in the veterans' competition (runner-up Colin Harrop), Colin Harrop in the super-vets' (runner-up Geoff Read), David White, who won both the cadet (runner-up Robert Stephens) and junior boys' (runner-up Michael Lu) events, Ed Crawford winning the division two singles (runner-up Nigel Hunt), Michael Lu winning the division three singles (runner-up Ed Thompson), Dennis Gibbs and Nick Halse winning the doubles (runners-up David White and Joe Clifford Jnr) and, finally, Joe Clifford jnr overcoming Ed Crawford to claim the men's singles title.
Division one: Full of Beans 5 (Tracey Lyon 1, Martin Dilkes 1, Pat Lyon 3), Brixham Trawlers 5 (Chris Baron 2, Ian May 0, Terry Stead 2); Newton Knights 6 (Richard Jessop 3, Kevin Stevenson 2, Nick Bureau 0), Taverners 4 (Colin Harrop 2, Gerald Norton 1, Geoff Read 1); Brixham Gulls 10, Full of Beans 0 (conceded); Brixham Gulls 10, Marldon 0 (conceded).
Division two: 21 Up 1 (Robert Excell 1, Les Warren 0, Nathanael Sheehan 0), Marldon Millers 9 (Nigel Hunt 3, Mike Wickens 3, Tony Munson 2); 21 Up 2 (Robert Excell 0, Les Warren 0, Martin Excell 2), Dawlish Aces 8 (Ed Crawford 3, Karolina Czyz 2, Dave Davies 2); Newton Abbot Academicals 10 (Jim McIvor 3, Chris Womack 3, Doug Morgan 3), Dawlish Diamonds 0 (Derek Mothersele 0, Don Beesley 0); Marldon Millers 4 (Tony Munson 0, Mike Wickens 0, Alan Tyrrell 3). Tykes 6 (Steve Metcalfe 2, Kevin Ayling 2, Pat Darch 2); Dawlish Diamonds 3 (Don Beesley 0, Dave Townsend 0, Bruce Freeman 0), Halwell B 7 (Adrian Allen 3, Dave Nicholls 3); 21 Up 0 (Martin Excell 0, Robert Excell 0), Halwell B 10 (Dave Nicholls 3, Denys Treeby 3, Adrian Allen 3); Tykes 10, Newton Abbot Academicals 0 (conceded); Halwell B 10, Dawlish Diamonds 0 (conceded); Dawlish Diamonds 10, 21 Up 0 (conceded); Tykes 10, 21 Up 0 (conceded).
Division three: Hasbeens 8 (Dave Alexander 2, Richard Fitzgerald 3, Gerry Bennett 3), Brixham Pirates 2 (Joe Holmes 0, Caolan Walpot 1, Keiran Rapier 0); Torre Table Tennis Club 2 (Ilya Smirnov 1, Nathanael Sheehan 0, Mick Blyth 1), Dawlish Drifters 8 (Karolina Czyz 3, Bruce Freeman 3, Richard Rains 1); Brixham Rebels 2 (Janette Atkinson 0, Marilyn Parton 0, Kevin Salt 2), Brixham Swifts 8 (Michael Lu 3, Robin Swift 2, Dan Asker 0); Brixham Rebels 0 (Janette Atkinson 0, Kevin Salt 0, Marilyn Parton 0), Barnabas Sports Trust 10 (Roger Doxat-Pratt 3, Ed Thompson 3, Hugh Doxat-Pratt 3); Brixham Swifts 6 (Robin Swift 1, Michael Lu 3, Dan Asker 1), Brixham Pirates 4 (Joe Holmes 2, Caolan Walpot 2, Henry Smithson 0).
Challenge Cup – quarter-final: Marldon Millers 5, Brixham Sharks 0; semi-finals: Halwell A 4, Newton Abbot Academicals 5; Marldon Millers 5, Dawlish Drifters 0.
Dyment Doubles Shield semi-finals: Brixham Sharks 1, Brixham Trawlers 5; Newton Knights 4, Dawlish Aces 5.