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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 17, No. 18. September 3, 1953
Table Tennis
Table Tennis
The biggest surprise for the V.U.C. table tennis team was the condition of the tables. Compared with those they play on at Victoria, which are very fast and well salted for a hard, attacking game, the tables at Auckland Tournament were dead, with very little life in them at all. This fact was probably the main reason why Vic did not do as well as was predicted, because all our team, with the possible exception, at times, of Miss E. Lesser, are strong attacking players. Especially does this apply to Allan Robinson and Bernie Galvin, who score most of their points, not by wearing their opponents down in defensive play, but by strong, accurate smashes.
In defeating: Loretz and Wright, Otago's two top men. Allan Robinson showed himself to be probably the beat player in the Table Tennis Tournament, and a certainty for a N.Z.U. blue. His singles match against O. Tate, No. 1 player for A.C.U., was an epic of endurance on both sides, and a remarkable demonstration of how well Allen had adapted himself to a new style of play. The game involved about 250 rallies in all, with both players smashing rarely. Tate excelled in this style of play, but Allen beat him at his own game and won in three straight sets. However, in the Men's Finals, he was matched against Wright, an N.Z.U. blue, whom he had defeated earlier, and after winning the first two games, had the bad luck to lose 21-18. 21-19. 19-21. 18-21. 16-21. Wright's greater experience and endurance assisted him in this match as both men had played over 60 nets in the three preceding days.
Of the remainder of the men's team Grubi and Cullingford performed up to expectations, but again they too were put off by their un-familiarity with the tables. Grubi did especially well in narrowly defeating both Loretz and Wright of Otago. Galvin played an erratic game, with periods of brilliance, but because of the strangeness of the tables and his commitments an Tournament delegate, did not hit best form, in the men's doubles, Robinson, partnered by Galvin, reached the semi-finals, but Grubin and Culling-ford met with only moderate success.
Mary Willament played good table tennis at times but did not reach the semi-finals. Elizabeth Lesser was prophesied as a possible winner of the women's singles. Last year, both she and Miss Fleming, also from Victoria, were finalists in this event, with Miss Fleming defeating Miss Lesser. However, this year, the two met in the semi-finals as opponents, for Miss Fleming now attends Auckland University, and again she wan the victor, defeating Miss Lessor 21-8. 21-17.
Results: A.U.C.. 1; O.U., 2; V.U.C, 3; C.U.C., 4.
Vic's placings were: Women's singles—A.U.C., 1; V.U.C-, 2. Men's singles—O.U., 1: V.U.C, 2.