Sunday 26th February was Day 3 of National Junior League at Milton Keynes.

With Westfield players Adam Koszyk and Tor West-Ley away in Cardiff respresenting Northamptonshire, Lucas Turnbull-Stubbs kindly stepped in.

Our first match of the day was against Banbury, who had been promoted from Division 3. This turned out to be a very close match and Banbury's number one player - Toby Dow - proved to be the difference between the two teams, as he won all three of his matches. Lucas played well for his two wins and Ben and Gabi both beat the Banbury number 3.
Final score: Banbury 5, Westfield 4.

Our second match was against CGS, whom we had played in the previous round. Good performances from Ben and Lucas saw them both record maximums. Gabriela was unlucky not to add to the total, going down 3-2 against the CGS number one.
Final score: Westfield 6, CGS 3.

Our third and last round of the day was against Highfield A, who had been relegated from division one. This was going to be an interesting match, as all the players know eachother well, and have played eachother many times before. On this occasion it was Ben and Lucas who excelled and both recored fine hat-tricks. Ben only dropped one end, whereas Lucas had a tough 3-2 (11-9 fifth-end) win against Hubert Malenda. Gabi didn't add to the scoresheet, but her game against Hubert was very encouraging, and if she continues to play the same way, results will come.

The fourth (and final) day is on Sunday 19th March. Ben, Gabi and Lucas are not available as they are on duty representing Northamptonshire Juniors, so Tor, Prithvi and Liam will represent Westfield.

Left to Right: Gabriela Koszyk, Lucas Turnbull-Stubbs, Ben Aldridge

Westfield vs Highfield A

Westfield vs Banbury

Westfield vs CGS

Day 2 - Division 2: 22nd January 2023

The Westfield team of Ben Aldridge, Adam Koszyk, Gabriela Koszyk and Coach Kevin Bird, travelled to Milton Keynes Table Tennis Club, to play Day 2 of National Junior League.

The team had gained promotion from Division 3, so I was looking forward to some competitive table tennis.

The division consisted of four teams, each with three players. Each match consisted of 9 singles, so everyone played eachother. The matches were played on one table, so a long day was in store.

Round 1: Luton Table Tennis Club

Luton had been relegated from Division 1, so we were expecting a good match. Disappointingly, we lost 8-1, which I don't feel is a reflection of our ability. It felt like we were caught cold (which shoudn't have been the case as we arrived in good time!). We made far too many unforced errors, and at times, didn't seem to have the self belief needed to win matches. Adam did show glimmers of his ability by picking up our only point.

Round 2:  CGS Table Tennis Club

This round saw us play against three payers who all sported some kind of combination bat (reverse and pimples, reverse and anti-spin?) - which is unusual at this standard. Adam showed maturity beyond his years and posted a fine hat-trick. Ben followed up with a brace, as it took him a bit longer to get used to the pimples. Gabriela didn't add to the scoreline, but did gain valuable experience playing against this type of style. We ran out 5-4 winners, which I think was the right scoreline.

Round 3: Milton Keynes B

Our last round was against Milton Keynes B. Ben and Adam were now fully warmed up and playing to the standard I would expect, with both players only dropping a single end on their way to comfortable hat-tricks. Gabriela came very close to adding to the Westfield scoreline when losing 11-7 in the fifth end to the Milton Keynes number 2. A 6-3 win was a good finish to a long day.

The divisions will now be fixed for days 3 and 4, so we'll compete in Division 2, and look forward to the challenge.