David Ayrton led Nelson Nomads to an impressive victory at Lothersdale 'A' in Division One. The Silsden based Nomads stalwart earned his first full house of the season with an excellent performance that saw wins against Bob Davis 12-10, 11-6, 11-2; David Adams 11-4, 12-10, 11-8 and Keith Wilkinson 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6. Peter Wood chipped in with a couple against Davis and Wilkinson 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9.

To top it all off Cath Lawson's defeat of Davis 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 ensured a 6-4 victory for the Nomads. Adams was the pick of the bunch for Lothersdale with a couple, 4-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-2 against Wood and 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 against Lawson, plus a doubles success with Wilkinson 7-11, 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 against Wood and man-of-the-match Ayrton.

Ukrainian 'A' maintained the pressure on the top two with an 8-2 away win at Lothersdale 'B'. Keith Lee breezed through the Lothersdale challenge with three straight wins against Frazer Krischke, Peter Midgley and Martin Connolly. Peter Holbrook followed suit with a treble that included the defeat of Krischke 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10 and Jerry Harkawy maintained his 50% average for the 'A' team with the defeat of Midgley 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7. Connolly and Krischke earned some consolation for the losers with wins against Harkawy before Lee and Holbrook inflicted further damage to the Lothersdale cause with a win in the doubles against Midgley and Connolly 11-2, 11-6, 11-8.

For their next outing, Holbrook and Harkawy linked up with Stef Szczur in the more familiar line-up of Ukrainian 'B' away at Lothersdale 'C' who, considering they were up against such experienced campaigners, performed admirably to force a draw. The Ukies enjoyed a 4-1 advantage after 5 with only an 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 win for Andrew Lambe against Harkawy breaking the home team's duck; Szczur's 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 defeat of Richard Crookes being the pick of the Ukrainian opening salvo. However, Lothersdale rallied with wins for Crookes 11-8, 11-7, 11-7; Mulligan 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 and Lambe 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 all against Harkawy to leave them requiring a victory in the doubles to earn a share of the spoils. This they duly did with a tremendous effort by the increasingly impressive Lambe and Mulligan 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 to give a final score of 5-5.

Embassy 'B' hold on to second spot thanks to a magnificent 9-1 away win at Nemesis. Neil Foley's 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-2 defeat of Peter Worger was just one of his treble which was matched by Mark Emmott whose 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 defeat of Tim Moran featured highly. Good support from the dependable Geoff Bartlett with a couple ensured an emphatic triumph for the Bingley team. Dave Manogue, with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 defeat of Bartlett, earned some consolation for the losers.

In Division Two, Ilkley Road 'A' had to work hard to register a 6-4 win at Crossflatts 'A'. Danny McHugh was outstanding for the home side taking his tally for the season to 14 from 17 with a max, the pick of which being a comprehensive defeat of Ilkley Road number one Roy Towler 11-9, 11-9, 11-7. Unfortunately, only one more point came the way of Crossflatts with a win for Mark Webster against Steve Barton as the Riddlesden team rallied to snatch a win at the death and with it the top spot in the Division.

Elsewhere, Skipton notched their third win of the season at home to Crossflatts 'B'. Following a first rubber reversal for Harry Davies against Ryan Foulds 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, the Skipton lads didn't look back until a final doubles defeat for Calum and Graeme Davies against Foulds and James Marshall. In between, the Davies family plundered at will with both Calum and Graeme earning full points for their team; none more impressive than Calum's 11-9, 14-16, 7-11, 11-6, 11-2 defeat of Crossflatt's own up and coming star James Marshall.

Match of the week in Division Three was the encounter at South Craven between the second placed home team and table toppers Lothersdale Juniors. A strangely subdued Eddy Jagger endured a calamitous evening against the self-styled fashion Gurus, stumbling to three defeats including 11-3, 9-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7 to Emma Lindle as the visitors just edged the contest 6-4 at the death with a win in the doubles for John and Emma Lindle 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 against Matthew Wiggan and Chris Farnworth. Special credit must be given, however, to South Craven's Farnworth who became the first player out of twenty one to have defeated John Lindle so far this season. He did so with a score of 2-11, 11-7, 12-14, 13-11, 11-7.

Elsewhere in Division Three, teenager Patrick McIntosh took his tally to 16 from 18 with a well taken treble for Ilkley Fastbats 'A' that helped put his side well on track for a 7-3 victory at Oakbank. The pick of his wins came with the defeat of Steve Flockton 11-6, 12-10, 11-6.

RESULTS

Division One: Lothersdale 'A' 4, Nelson Nomads 6; Lothersdale 'B' 2, Ukrainian 'A' 8; Lothersdale 'C' 5, Ukrainian 'B' 5; Nemesis 1, Embassy 'B' 9; Ukrainian 'B' 4, Nemesis 6.

Division Two: Crossflatts 'A' 4, Ilkley Road 'A' 6; Ilkley Road 'B' 3, Wilsden 6; Skipton 8, Crossflatts 'B' 2.

Division Three: Haworth Hawks 'A' 10, Ilkley Fastbats 'B' 0; Oakbank 3, Ilkley Fastbats 'A' 7; South Craven 4, Lothersdale Juniors 6.