Cornwall’s second and third county badminton teams travelled to Torquay to take on Devon 4 and Somerset 2. The second team’s first match was against Somerset 2 and they resumed their good form and after two tight singles wins for Tony Clark and Sam Spencer the rest of the team followed taking all but one of the games to win 10-1.
The afternoon match was against Devon 4 their main promotion rivals. Wins in the singles from Tony, Melissa Lin and Mollie Bailey meant that Cornwall had a 3 -2 lead going into the doubles. After a solid win from Tony and his partner Sean Havis, Cornwall’s second pairing of Dave Harrington and Richard Townsend had to use all their experience to win their game in three very close ends. The women’s no 1 doubles pair of Amy Cox and Amelia Burrell secured the tie in Cornwall’s favour with an assured, straight sets win over their opponents.
The final result Cornwall 2 wins 8-3. They are now top of the table with two more matches to play to complete the season later in March.
Sean and Amy winning in Torquay
Team: Tony Clark (Plymouth), Sam Spencer (Camborne), Dave Harrington (Saltash), Sean Havis (Falmouth), Richard Townsend (Callington), Mollie Bailey (Camborne), Melissa Lin (Camborne), Amy Cox (Falmouth), Amelia Burrell (Camborne)
Cornwall third team had a mix of youth and experience and their first match was against Devon 4. Cornwall 3’s number 1 singles player Mark Pearson played a tight three end game just losing to his more experienced opponent 21-19 in the third end. Both Cornish women’s singles players Beckie Bailey and Yin Ling Tan produced good performances to make the score 2-3 to Devon. The doubles proved harder with both men’s pairs losing in straight ends and only Beckie and Yin maintaining their winning ways. The final score was 3-8 to Devon 4.
In the afternoon against Somerset 2 the team had a reshuffle and Jack Dyer set the tone of the match with a comfortable win over his opponent leading the way to a 4-1 lead after the singles. Youngsters Elliot Dyer and Mark Pearson played their first senior match together and produced a good performance to win against their more experienced opponents. Another new pairing of Josh Richards and Nic Batten also battled hard to win. The tie was already won but the mixed pairs were determined to improve the score. Jan Santillo and Jack outplayed their opponents to win in two ends. Lorna Riggs and Elliot fought hard to win the last match of the day in three very close ends. The final score was 9-2 to Cornwall 3.
Team: Jack Dyer (Camborne), Mark Pearson (Camborne), Elliot Dyer (Camborne), Josh Richards (Camborne), Nic Batten (Falmouth), Beckie Bailey (Camborne), Yin Ling Tan (Falmouth), Jan Santillo (Liskeard), Lorna Riggs (Newquay)
