Cardiff ……………………………. 16
Exeter ………………………………. 1
A comprehensive victory over Exeter ensured CardiffÔÇÖs first table tennis match of the BUCS campaign got off to a flying start.
While Exeter brought four players of decent quality, Cardiff were far too strong as the encounter finished with a resounding score line of 16-1.
The experienced pair of Ben Avery, Lefteris Williams and Xiaotian Wang returned to the University side in the same great form that saw the team narrowly miss out on the league title last year. The addition of Jack Anthony this year has only increased the quality of team and competition for places in the first team.
Anthony, the new player this season, demonstrated his quality and comfort at this level by winning all four of his matches in straight sets. Avery matched his performance as he, too, comfortably won all his matches.
Williams, the club president, made a great start to his season as he also won all his matches narrowly, winning one game in the deciding set as Cardiff took a deserved and unassailable lead in the match.
Wang also made a solid start, winning three out of four, as he looks for return to form that made him a crucial player for Cardiff last year.
At a score of 15-1, the final game of the afternoon was the doubles match in which a new partnership was formed as Avery partnered Anthony.
The doubles match was a competitive contest in which each side showed passages of real quality. However, it was Cardiff that were victorious with a score of 3 sets to 1. Avery and Anthony never looked overly troubled and they will look to better understand each otherÔÇÖs games and improve for sterner tests later in the year.
CARDIFF: B Avery, J Anthony, X Wang, E Williams
Ben Avery
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