BRIXHAM Sharks, in action twice, picked up a win and a draw to climb up the first division table of the South Devon & Torbay Table Tennis League, reports Tony Halse.

The points were shared as the Sharks battled back from 2-5 down against NA Eagles whose Mark Burridge was unbeaten in his singles. The Sharks then defeated Halwell A 6-4 despite a fine maximum from Halwell’s Mick Mercer. In another tight affair at Brixham, the Trawlers avoided defeat for the first time this season as they drew with NA Owls, the Trawlers’ Alan Maynard picking up the man of the match award.

NA Buzzards, NA Eagles and NA Batmen are the trio ahead of the Sharks, boasting 44, 41 and 32 points respectively although the Eagles have played more games than the rest of the teams around them.

Grove Guerrillas have opened up a five-point gap at the top of the second division following their impressive 7-3 victory over second placed NA Raptors.

NA Ravens are then a further 10 points behind the Raptors, sitting themselves on 32 and with Halwell B (32pts), Brixham Pirates (29pts) and Dawlish Aces (28pts) all hot on their heels.

NA Ravens made it five wins in five as they defeated Brixham Pirates 7-3 helped by an Ollie Malin maximum. Mark Smith was undefeated as Halwell B shared the points with Dawlish Aces.

A Martin Dilkes maximum for the Taverners halted a run of defeats for the Taverners as they shared the points with NA Falcons.

It's all change at the top of the third division with Torbay Academy 4 moving to the top following their 7-3 victory over NA Kites, Ionel Ichim and Kevin Payne with maximums for the Academy.

Previous leaders Brixham Gulls suffered a set-back when they were beaten 3-7 by a Bill Keywood inspired Torre Vikings. A Jackie Whitehorn maximum led the way for NA Kestrels as they stay in the hunt at the top following a 7-3 victory over Dawlish Renegades.

Only 7-3 results in the third division this week as Torbay Academy 3 beat NA Harriers 7-3 thanks to maximums from Peter Moretta and Andy Harris. This leaves the former in fourth on 26 points whilst the Harriers are in eighth, having won just two of their seven league games to date.

There are new leaders at the top of the fourth division as NA Ospreys, with an excellent maximum from Mark Dulling, had a 6-4 win over NA Merlins, which puts them a point ahead of Torre Spartans in second.

An Aleksandra Treder maximum for her Torbay Academy 6 team was not enough to halt Grove Tigers progress as the Totnes side squeezed home 6-4. The Tigers with six wins out of six and with games in hand are in third spot and are in a strong position to attack the top two.

Dawlish Delinquents put in a great performance against NA Vultures winning 9-1, David Sanders and Hayden Boatman with maximums for the Delinquents.

The Delinquents are in seventh as a result of this first win of the season, a single point ahead of Brixham Seals who enjoyed a 6-4 victory over Torbay Academy 7 courtesy of a Sacha Edwards maximum.