Bundesliga
Mengel leads Muehlhausen to big points at Grunwettersbach
In a relegation six-pointer in the Tischtennis-Bundesliga (TTBL), veteran Steffen Mengel delivered two wins to power Post SV Muehlhausen to a 3–1 away victory at ASC Grunwettersbach. It was the opener of Matchday 12 — and the first TTBL match of the year. For the hosts, only Tiago Apolonia scored, while new signing Tom Jarvis still showed plenty of promise on his Bundesliga debut.
For Tom Jarvis, the home debut ended without a win, but the 26-year-old certainly made an impression. “It was incredible to play in front of the fans,” the Englishman told Dyn. “I’d heard stories and seen it on livestreams, but it was even better than I expected. I’m looking forward to many more matches here.” Jarvis joined over the winter from 1. FC Koeln in the second division.
Grunwettersbach supporters can indeed be excited about Jarvis. He lost 1–3 to Mengel, but forced the experienced Post player to the limit. “Good match against a very experienced Bundesliga player,” Jarvis summed up. “I’ll keep working hard and put everything into the next one.”
Mengel the match-winner, Apolonia on the board
After Apolonia’s five-setter for 1–0 over Ovidiu Ionescu, Muehlhausen hit back: Mengel levelled against Jarvis and later put the lid on the win in the fourth rubber. In between, Hiroto Shinozuka mounted two spirited comebacks but narrowly missed the equaliser in four sets against Marcos Freitas. Sub Tobias Hippler finished boldly but took only one set from Mengel.
In the table it’s a small release valve for Post SV: up to ten points now, Muehlhausen pulls away from the four-team pack on eight and from bottom side Bad Koenigshofen. “A very important win,” said Freitas. “We started well, then had a few tight losses — it feels good to start the year with a victory.” Grunwettersbach slips to second-from-bottom for now.
Matchday 12 fixtures
SC Grunwettersbach – Post SV Muehlhausen 1–3
Tiago Apolonia – Ovidiu Ionescu 3–2 (12:10, 8:11, 13:11, 6:11, 11:7)
Tom Jarvis – Steffen Mengel 1–3 (11:13, 11:6, 10:12, 8:11)
Hiroto Shinozuka – Marcos Freitas 1–3 (9:11, 11:9, 10:12, 8:11)
Tobias Hippler – Steffen Mengel 1–3 (8:11, 11:9, 3:11, 6:11)
Sunday, 11 January
14:00: TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – Borussia Duesseldorf
17:00: TTC Rhoensprudel Fulda-Maberzell – TTC OE Clarity-Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
Monday, 12 January
19:00: Borussia Dortmund – 1. FC Saarbruecken TT
Tuesday, 13 January
19:00: SV Werder Bremen – TSV Bad Koenigshofen
Wednesday, 14 January
19:00: TTC Zugbruecke Grenzau – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
All matches live on Dyn.
Picture: Steffen Mengel of Post SV Mühlhausen (Photo: Christian Habel)
