GUERNSEY’S second team managed to turn a 7-5 deficit into victory in their latest Inter-County Championship Division Four clash against Devon II. The day had started well for the Sarnians when Sarah Garbutt, playing at number one, beat Lynne Hunt of Devon convincingly in two sets and Miranda Knight beat Ann White 21-16, 21-13 after a shaky start.
However, Guernsey’s 2-0 lead was short-lived as Karl Abbotts went down in two straight sets against Ian Kirby and Richard Wood lost 12-21, 21-17, 12-21 to Devon’s Tom Rowley.
In the next four men’s and women’s doubles it got worse for Guernsey as only the pairing of Kathy Stuart and Garbutt could register a victory with a powerful display against their Devon opponents, White and Jackie Soffie, 21-11, 21-10.
The second round of doubles saw things improve slightly for Guernsey as they claimed two victories with Stuart and Garbutt winning again, and the men’s pair of Glenn Macfarlane and Abbotts defeating Rowley and Vernon Smeed 21-19, 21-15.
Although the side recorded only three victories in the eight doubles rubbers, it was so nearly five wins and three defeats and not the other way around as the pairing of Andrew Orme and Chris Dragun on two occasions lost in three tight sets.
It meant that going into the final three mixed rubbers, Guernsey would have to win them all to claim victory and they duly did.
Abbots and Lyna Guilbert won in three sets, while Dragun and Stuart won in two.
That left Macfarlane and Garbutt, who were still on court, needing to take the third set to claim the two league points.
The pair lost the first set, but Macfarlane stepped up his game to help clinch the second and continued his form into the third.
The Devon pair rallied hard and clawed themselves back into it, but just as they had got themselves into contention, they produced three bad errors meaning the set and the match were Guernsey’s.
Article posted on 2nd April, 2007 - 12.00am
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