Defending champions Newton Abbot Men's firsts finished their season with a comprehensive five-nil (20pts to 2) victory over a weakened Exeter Golf and Country Club. The points were no help though, as Torquay claimed the Devon crown despite slipping to their first league defeat of the season at the hands of Devon and Exeter Exonians.

With Golf and Country travelling with a team of just four, Kevin Appleby had a walkover at five. Fourth string Nigel Bell battled with a thigh injury but came through in four, as did Phil Borrett at three.

Captain Lee Curtis played well for his 3-0 win and top string Lewys Hurst completed the evening, and the first's season, with an entertaining 3-0 win over Ben Sutton.

It seems that when the men's firsts win, the rest suffer, and that was the case with defeats for the 2nds, fourths and fifths, as well as a 20-0 walloping for an under-strength ladies firsts. There were no fixtures for the thirds or the ladies' seconds.

Newton Men's seconds travelled to Torquay to take on the second team from Barton, minus top string Matt Hunt but were still able to take the match to the deciding leg.

There were four 3-0 results, two for each team, as Dave Lewis and Sean Hooten recorded 3-0 wins for the home side over Rob Muddiman and Nick Richards respectively and Steve Davey and Thomas Wilson reciprocated with wins over Richard Crook and Ian Maxfield.

This left the result to be decided by the battle of the top strings where Steve Lewis, representing the home side, tackled Dave Brown. Brown led 1-0 and 2-1, before Lewis took the final games to give Torquay a 3-2 win (14-8).

The fourths were also missing their top string in their home game against Sidmouth, Luke Ruderham suffering a football related injury, so Tim Dickinson was drafted in at one and took one of the four points his side collected, losing 1-3 to Mark Trafford.

The other points were garnered by a resurgent Shaun Mutton as he beat Chris Marriot in four. The rest of the team, Barry Knight, Ian Davies and Steve Lewis, all lost in three.

Victory for Sidmouth, third from bottom in division three, almost certainly doomed Newton Abbot fifths, one place below them, to relegation.

The fifths lost yet another match 2-3, this time away at Golf & Country 4. James Green lost 0-3 at five and Claire Simmonds at four, 1-3. Battling Les Lachenicht produced his best squash in a storming 3-0 win while second string Kev Smart, carrying a back injury, lost in four. Top string Andy Maker came back from losing the opener 1-9 to take the next three and continue his good run of form.

For a variety of reasons, only two first team ladies were available, and only two substitutes came forward for the home tie against a strong D & E 1, so a defeat was not unexpected.

Dawn Widdicombe and Julie Wyman competed well against Rosemary Thompson and Harriett Coogan but the visitors proved too strong in 3-0 wins and this also proved the case as Claire Simmonds and Julie Stevens both lost in three to Zoe Wellicombe and Kirsty Snell respectively, giving the visitors a 20pts to nil win.

The club veterans' tournaments came to a conclusion this week with both men's and ladies finals ending in 3-0 wins for the pre-match favourites.

In a battle of the Julies for the ladies' title, first teamer Stevens proved too strong for Wyman from the seconds in an entertaining final.

The same happened in the men's final as defending champion Nigel Bell took on second team regular Nick Richards and while Richards chased down every ball and competed in every rally, it was Bell who was dictating the pace and controlling the game, adding his name to the trophy for the third year in succession and entertaining an appreciative audience in the process.