Farley leads Fast Loopers to 3-0 win

National players Trevor Farley and Mark Dowell have produced several compelling duels over the last couple of seasons and Thursday night at the Table Tennis Centre was no exception as Farley beat Dowell to lead Fast Loopers to a 3-0 win over Scouters.
The victory left Fast Loopers as firm favourites to win the Robert Earle Division One table tennis title with just a couple of matches to be played. Both matches involve the Loopers who will play Mount Gay Bayswaters and the Barbados Union of Teachers to wrap up the 2011 club season.  
Fast Loopers currently hold third position in the standings but the two teams above them have both completed their full quota of 14 matches. Scouters are ahead with 26 points while Barbados Light and Power (BL&P) have 24 points.
With two points awarded for a win, one for a loss and zero if a team defaults, victory in either one of the remaining matches would secure the title for Fast Loopers. The 1-1 record would push them to 26 and level with the Scouters, but with a superior record after Thursday night’s shut out.
When the two teams met in the first round several weeks ago Scouters won 3-2 but the convincing win by Fast Loopers left them with the advantage of the tie breaker if Scouters and the Loopers both end on 26 points.
Farley’s triumph over Dowell put Loopers on course but it took a remarkable recovery after the former Caribbean Champion dropped the first two games 9-11, 5-11.
With the championship at stake, Farley responded admirably to the crisis and came storming back to beat Dowell, a former national champion. He took the next three games 11-8, 15-13, 12-10.
Aaron Barker beat Bryan Matthews 7-11, 16-14, 11-8, 11-7 to put Fast Loopers up 2-0 and then Dale Rudder ensured there would be no reply from Scouters when he defeated André Felix 11-9, 10-12, 11-1, 11-8.
In the other match BL&P beat Spinners 3-1. Shane Norville lost to Chris Banfield 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 5-11 but it proved to be the only hiccup for BL&P. Abbie Clarke took out Steve Skinner 11-7, 11-9, 11-6; Ann Reid downed Charles Lovell 11-9, 11-9,11-9 while Clarke toppled Banfield 11-1, 7-11, 11-4, 11-4.