Dundee Area Badminton Round Up: February

By Gordon Smith

Round up for 4 February 2024.

It was an exciting weekend in the T Duncan & Co Gents leagues as the top 2 went head to head in two of the Divisions.

In Division 1, both NCR and Nomads went into the top of the table clash with 100% records, therefore it promised to be a close affair and so it turned out. It was level pegging after the first set of games with Nomads edging 2-1 ahead going into the final 2 games.

A 21-11, 21-7 win by Luca Iannetta and Richard Steven clinched a 3-1 win for Nomads and moved the reigning champions 2 points clear at the top. The two wins by Richard Steven moved him to the top of the rankings, but it’s incredibly tight with 5 points separating the top 6.

It’s also very close at the bottom of the table with only a point separating three teams after bottom side Carnoustie triumphed 4-1 v David Lloyd. This one also went to the last round of games with a 21-15, 21-14 win by Darren Scorgie and Ross Wiseman clinching victory in Game 5. Darren was in cracking form for Carnoustie with 3 wins.

In Division 2, 2nd placed Kirriemuir 2 were made to work very hard for their 1-0 victory v bottom side Lunchtime, but the win moved them to within 3 points of leaders Forfar.

Monifieth Grove moved up to 3rd after another close fought match v NCR 2 saw them triumphing 3-1. This was very close early on with a win apiece and 2 draws but a couple of wins in the final 2 games sealed it for the Grove.

Division 3 had the same scenario as the top Division with the top two, Forfar 2 and the Firies going into the clash with 100% records and this one couldn’t have been any closer. The teams went into the final round of games with two wins each and a draw in Game 5 meant it all resided on the final game and what a thriller it was as Kyle Bailey and Bob Iannetta edged it 22-20, 22-20 for the Firies. Bob was the top player on the day with 3 wins, though Forfar’s A J Govier narrowly held on to his lead at the top of the rankings.

In the ladies league, reigning champions NCR moved top on games difference with a 6-0 win v Dundee University.
In the Mixed league, champions Dundee University eventually got their season underway, but it wasn’t a successful start.

First up they went down 3-1 to Roseangle. This was a fairly close affair with Rossie taking a 2-1 lead into the final round of games and a 21-15, 21-15 win by Davis Morrison and Lovisa Wihlborg in the penultimate game sealed the win.

The reigning champions were then unable to fulfil a fixture v Nomads and having pretty much lost all their title winning team from last season, it looks like it may be a tough season ahead.