by TYRONE EVELYN

TOP LOCAL WOMEN'S PLAYER Sherrice Felix won the only game for the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) who went under to Raiders 1-4 in a Division 1 encounter at the Table Tennis Centre, John Beckles Drive, Constitution Road, St Michael, on Thursday night.

Southpaw Felix, playing some heart-stopping tennis, came back from two games down to beat Paco Moss 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 17-15, 11-9 in the opening set to give BDF an early 1-0 lead.

The fourth game of this set was one of the best of the season, as both players asked no quarter and gave none. Felix, after losing the first two games, bounced back to take the third game at 7 and if she had lost the fourth she would have lost the set as well.

Won game

But she fought tenaciously in that fourth game as if her life depended on it. She exchanged point for point with Moss before getting the upper hand to win that game at 15 which levelled the score 2-2 in games.

The fifth and final game followed a similar pattern with point for point exchanges until she broke Moss and went on to take the game 11-9 and the set 3-2.

Despite Felix's heroics in the first set, Raiders did not give the army team a look-in in the other four sets which they wrapped up quickly and easily.

Abbie "Playboy" Clarke overpowered former national female champion Anne Reid in straight games, 11-2, 12-10, 11-9; Courtney Springer cruised past the hard-hitting Krystle Harvey 11-6, 11-3, 11-5; Moss then teamed up with Clarke in the doubles and they defeated Reid and Harvey 11-9, 11-9, 11-7; and Clarke returned to defeat Felix 11-3, 12-10, 16-14 in the final set to wrap up the match.

The Farley brothers, Trevor and Kevin, came up against each other in the showdown between Sports & Games Lodge Road and Fast Loopers, which the former team won 4-1.

This match was highlighted by two exciting sets, the opening singles between Shawn Bellamy and Rodney Wood, and the doubles in which Wood teamed up with Kevin Farley to oppose Bellamy and Kevin's older sibling Trevor.

Fighting spirit

The Wood/Bellamy clash unveiled a fighting spirit not usually associated with the Lodge Road captain. After winning the first game at 9, Wood fell behind by losing the next two 11-4, 11-9 as Bellamy took a 2-1 lead in the set. However, Wood buckled down to the task at hand and with a proper mix of attack and defence, he edged out Bellamy in the final two games which he won at 9 and 11 to take the set 3-2.

The doubles set was equally competitive, with Bellamy and Trevor drawing first blood by taking the opening game 11-3. However, Wood and Kevin levelled the score 1-1 by taking the second game also at 9, but Bellamy and Trevor moved ahead again with an 11-7 advantage in the third game.

Wood and Farley again tied up the set at 2-2 by taking the fourth game at 8, and they then went on to win the set by squeezing out a 12-10 win in the fifth game which gave them a 3-2 advantage.

Raiders' other two sets came from Kevin Farley, who first defeated the extremely promising young cricketer and tennis player Jade Padmore in four games, -11, 9-11, 13-11, 6-11; and then Bellamy in straight games,11-9, 11-5, 11-7.

Trevor Farley won the only set for Fast Loopers, as he defeated Andre Felix in straight games, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7.

In the night's other ccntest, Scouters registered a 4-2 win over Barbados Union of Teachers.

Scouters' success were piloted by Clifton Mark and Mark Dowell, both of whom won their two singles' sets. Dowell defeated David Harris 3-2 and Robin Anthony 3-0, while Mark beat Dennis France and Harris 3-0 .

In the night's other match, Mark Dowell and Clifton Mark piloted Scouters to a 4-2 win over Barbados Union of Teachers.