Woodstock became the only team with a 100 per cent record in Mixed Division 1 of the OLTA Wilson Inter-Club 3-Pair League with a thrilling 5.5-3.5 win at North Oxford A.

Manoj Gujral

The match could have gone either way after a fiercely competitive tussle.

In the final rubbers, North Oxford's Joe Levey and Kate Calnan won the battle of the second pairs, while Woodstock's third pair Pramod Gujral and Jenny Corfield triumphed against their respective opponents.

It was all left to the clash of the Titans between the two top pairs and North's Christian Petersen drew first blood by taking the first set 6-3.

But Manoj Gujral and Liz Gilkes battled back to take the next 6-3, and in the deciding third set, the Woodstock pair edged home 6-4 to confirm their team's victory.

A similarly dramatic recovery in the battle of the first pairs came from Oxford City A's Ester Symonds and Chris Gibbins against Bicester's Ashley Prior and Nicky Bracewell, which helped to secure a 4.5-4.5 draw, the first point City have dropped.

Prior and Bracewell took the first set 6-3, but Symonds and Gibbins dug in to level their match on a tie-break and then reeled off six straight games to storm home in the deciding set.

Goring chalked up their first win with a 5.5-3.5 victory over struggling Abingdon. Mark and Sue Taylor were unbeaten all day, though they needed to show their resilience to see off Abingdon's first pair Jeremy Wood and Cath Schutterlin 4-6, 7-6, 7-5.

Like Abingdon, Oxford City B are still looking to pick up their first point after they were beaten 5.5-3.5 at North Oxford B, for whom second pair, Sue Duff and Sam Abbotts, reeled off six straight sets.

RESULTS

Mixed

Div 1: Goring 5.5, Abingdon 3.5; N Oxford B 5.5, Oxford City B 3.5; N Oxford 3.5, Woodstock 5.5.; Oxford City 4.5, Bicester 4.5.

Div 2: Woodstock B 5.5, Bicester B 3.5.

Div 3: Abingdon B 6, Kings Sutton 3; Banbury B 4.5, Oxford City C 4.5; Bicester C 5, Norham Gardens 3.