Table Tennis

The A grade team so far this year has not performed up to expectations. Nevertheless it is the best table tennis team Victoria has ever had. The six matches already played this season have all been lost, but three were so close that they might have gone the other way.

The team's strength has been considerably reduced by the absence of Dave Marple who has been unavailable for four games. Last year Dave. Alan Robinson and Tony Darrock played A grade for Te Tapu. It was thought that they would all improve their play this season, though perhaps not as much as they did last season. However they haven't. They seem to have lost much of their enthusiasm for the game. This is mainly because they have reached provincial standing and to go further needs hours of hard practice which students, alas, cannot afford to have.

The most improved player in the team in Orm Collins who has played B grade for the last three years. He is improving with every game and is becoming a very useful player for third and fourth positions. He has already notched wins against quite well-known players.

Rod Crubi took Dave's place while he was away. Rod was very unlucky not to have won several games. If he had time to practice he would become a good A grade player.

Dave Marple was last year one of the bent Juniors in New Zealand. He reached the last 14 in the N.Z. Men's Singles beating three provincial representatives on the way. Playing with Alan Robinson he won the N.Z. Junior Doubles and was runner-up on the Wellington Men's Doubles.

Alan was also in the last 16 in the N.Z. Men's Singles, and beat three, one of whom was ranked seventh in New Zealand. At the same time he readied the final of the New Zealand Singles.

With several tournaments looming up in the near future we may expect our players to become much keener and improve. It is likely, too, that most of the remaining matches of the season will go our way. At least we hope so!

—A.R.