Anne Borrowdale

Our players were out in full force on the Ayrshire coast at the North Ayrshire Open last weekend. The event started with a brilliant Friday night Scotland v Ulster Junior International friendly match organised by Table Tennis Scotland. Our own Shannon Brown represented Scotland as the national team won 6 out of 7 matches to take the overall victory.

Shannon was back in action on Saturday. The Women’s Singles showcased her skill and resilience, the highlight being a nail-biting 5th set win at 11-9 against Maureen Moran in the quarter-finals. Although the semi-finals brought a formidable opponent in Ulster’s Grace Looney, Shannon’s valiant effort was commendable. 

In the men’s Senior singles Dawid Sulkowski flew the flag for Dumfries with a strong run to the last 16, then made it to the semi-final of the men’s Senior doubles with his partner Chris Wheeler. Well done Dawid! Special mention also to our illustrious alumnus Danny Bajwa who made it to the semi-final of the men’s Senior singles and was runner-up in the men’s Senior doubles.

On to Junior Sunday and Dumfries had a bumper crop of youngsters competing. Shannon bossed her group in Sunday’s Girls Junior Singles, where she executed a smart game plan to progress into the semi-finals. Once again she ran into Grace Looney and – despite a bold fight – bowed out. But congratulations to Shannon for displaying great  physical and mental resilience,  and taking another encouraging step as she returns from injury.

Shannon and Cory teamed up for the Open Junior Doubles and did well in their group, notching a win and giving the top-rated Ulster pairing a good scare despite not reaching the knockouts. In the singles competitions, Olivia Maxwell continued her rapid progress with a battling display in both the U13 and U15 girls groups. Still going strong, Shannon was back on the table and made it to the quarter-finals of the girls U19 singles competition. Boyd Telfer brought his limitless energy and reached the knockout stages of the boy’s U13 competition and gained some priceless experience by playing up to U15. Cory Dawson fought through a tough group with an impressively determined and positive attitude to reach the U15 knockout stages. Evan Robertson did the club proud by toughing it out in a super challenging U19 group – an experience which will make him even stronger.

Finally, Finley Boyd reached the knockout stages of the U15 boys competition, then cruised to the semi-final of the Banded Cadet competition where he ran into Isaac Ishmael. No strangers to each other after hours training together, Fin and Isaac slugged out an epic 5 setter that came down to a handful of points. Isaac took the win and then played a great match in the final to win his first silverware! Congrats Isaac! Isaac also competed in the U15 singles and played some great table tennis over the day.

Well done to all of our players and it’s especially good to see such a hard-working, dedicated and talented bunch of juniors representing the club together. Thanks to North Ayrshire Table Tennis and Table Tennis Scotland for organising such a great event.