Round seven of nine on Wednesday night saw three of the four matches at the Moama Sporting Complex decided in the final game.
Second placed Racketeers took on third placed The Golden Trio in the highlight match of the round.
With three singles to play, the score was tied 4-4 after each side pulled out a 3-2 victory in the two doubles.
Victory went the way of Racketeers in the first of the remaining singles before The Golden Trio won the next to set up a thrilling final fixture between each side’s top players.
In the end, The Golden Trio’s Kevin Mao had a slight edge over Racketeers’ Raymond Kissell in all three games, taking the match 11-9, 11-8, 11-7, and earning a six matches to five win for The Golden Trio.
It was a similar situation in the match between The Dangers and Hawaii 5.0 after the teams split the doubles games.
Hawaii 5.0 was looking for its first win of the season and remained in with a chance as Pete Retallick tied the match up in the penultimate game with a win over Brendan Shingles by the barest of margins, 11-9 in all three games.
Number one players Jen Fang and Dan Mackrell battled to decide the match with Fang taking three straight games to earn a win for the Dangers and strengthen their finals hopes.
Regal Rippers took on The Riv and looked to be in trouble after The Riv took both doubles 3-1, setting itself up with a 5-3 advantage with three singles to play.
The Rippers’ Tom Cunningham and Chris Hawking then stepped up to the plate, winning their respective singles and forcing a deciding match.
In a back-and-forth contest going the full five games, it was eventually The Riv which prevailed in the final fixture, taking the match 6-5 and remaining alive in the competition.
The final match of the round saw The Odd-Jobs challenge the leagues top side Spin Wizards.
Spin Wizards proved its credentials in both doubles, taking both 3-1 to put Odd-Jobs in a must win situation for the final three singles.
Jesse Edwards answered the call, earning a straight sets win for Odd-Jobs and keeping them alive.
However, Phil Higgins secured the fixture for the Spin Wizards with a 3-0 win before Hank Doller added to the margin by winning the final singles 3-1.
The result was a 7-4 victory for Spin Wizards which remains on top of the table with just two rounds to go.
Next week’s matches will see Spin Wizards battle Racketeers in a game with heavy finals implications, while Regal Rippers could lose fourth spot with a loss to The Dangers.
Hawaii 5.0 will search for a maiden victory against Odd-Jobs, while Newbies will take on The Riv and The Golden Trio has the bye.
Echuca Table Tennis Association Ladder
1. Spin Wizards 5-1
2. The Golden Trio 5-2
3. Racketeers 4-2
4. Regal Rippers 4-3
5. The Dangers 3-3
6. The Odd-Jobs 3-3
7. The Riv 3-3
8. Newbies 1-5
9. Hawaii 5.0 0-6
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