The Golden Trio — Andrea Barry, Daniel Barry and Kevin Mao — claimed the Geoff Nesbitt Trophy in Wednesday’s Echuca table tennis grand final. Photos: Matthew Kappos
Photo by
Matthew Kappos
Echuca table tennis has crowned its first champion for 2024.
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The Golden Trio claimed the title in a back-and-forth grand final encounter with Spin Wizards, the match coming down to the final rubber at the Moama Sporting Complex on Wednesday.
The Spin Wizards trio of Hank Doller, Phil Higgins and Ryan Simmons got off to a promising start against The Golden Trio’s Kevin Mao, Daniel Barry, and Andrea Barry when number three player Simmons grabbed the first game against number two Daniel.
However, Daniel responded and took the next three games to secure the match for his side.
A vital first doubles saw Doller and Higgins battle Daniel and Mao. The Spin Wizards pairing looked to have the edge over their opponents, taking a two-games-to-nil lead, 11-5, 11-7.
The Golden Trio regrouped to take the next two games, both 11-7, setting up a deciding fifth game, which came down to a tiebreak.
Doller and Higgins eventually prevailed 12-10, giving their side an important edge in the match.
After a strong season, Spin Wizards — Hank Doller, Ryan Simmons and Phil Higgins — fell at the final hurdle, finishing as runners-up.
Photo by
Matthew Kappos
The second round of singles was highlighted by an upset. Daniel, his side’s number two, put in a stellar performance to overthrow the Wizards’ number one, Doller, in four games, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8.
This rare ‘break of serve’ in a match that would have been expected to go Spin Wizards’ way changed the dynamic of the match.
Even though the second doubles saw Mao and Andrea go down to Doller and Simmons in three games, Daniel’s win effectively cancelled out one of Wizard’s doubles wins, leaving scores tied 4-4 with a final round of singles remaining.
The number three face-off between Andrea and Simmons was a hard-fought tussle. Simmons claimed the first game 11-9, but Andrea edged in front courtesy of two tiebreakers, winning 12-10 in the second and taking a marathon third game 18-16.
She closed out the match in the fourth, 11-8, putting the Golden Trio within a match of the title.
On the adjacent table, Higgins kept his side in the contest with a four-game win over Daniel. Daniel grabbed the second game 11-5, but Higgins, who has proved the strongest of the number two players this season, took the remaining three to tie the overall fixture and send it to a deciding singles.
With the championship on the line, Mao prevailed over Doller in three games to claim victory for The Golden Trio, 6-5.
Echuca Table Tennis Association is now looking ahead to the next competition, set to begin on July 24. Interested players can attend a hit-up night at the Moama Sporting Complex on July 17, where numbers will be finalised. Doors open at 6.30pm.
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