FOLIGNO – The last national concentration of the women’s Serie B group G decisively relaunches the Umbrian team of Table Tennis Artte who complete the comeback started after a very difficult first concentration and take second place in the group with authority, behind the undefeated leaders of the Bishop of Romagna. In gym n°2 of the “Aldo De Santis” Palatennistavolo in Terni which hosted the competitions, the calendar immediately proposed the big match, i.e. the derby between the two second forces of the championship.
Facing them were the Altotiberians of TT Amicis Elite and the team of TT Valle Umbra, who had the success in the direct clash of the first leg on their side. This return match saw an excellent start for the Alto Tiber girls, who immediately won the first point with Ilaria Pullé Melucci who clearly prevailed over Giulia Anulli, who was in great difficulty against the difficult game of the player from the Marche region.
Christinella Niculae immediately puts the match back on a level playing field, whose contribution remains crucial for the team, especially in the most important matches. For her, two precious points were on the scoresheet, with an initial 3-0 to Sara Meozzi and one, with the first and third sets narrowly won, over Pullè Melucci. Elisa Bartoli started very well against Slavomira Jurkechova, going ahead 2-0 without any particular worries and making good use of some of her opponent’s difficulties, who however reacted and took the lead in the third set (13-11) before giving in with honor to a returning Bartoli more careful and precise.
Giulia Anulli completes the work by signing the final 4-1 at the end of a hard-fought match against Jurkechova and closed with a clear 11-5 in the fifth and decisive set. It’s a celebration for the whole team, which thus mathematically gains access to the play-offs to win one of the 4 places for direct admission to the national A2 series for the 2024-25 season. Afterwards, the Artte team plays the final match against the Marche team of Clementina FabbrikaKreativa of Jesi. Coach John Ippoliti decides to immediately deploy an aggressive lineup, with ChristinellaNiculae opening the match with a clear victory over Rachele De Luca.
Margherita Pierella overturns the predictions and wins the equalizing point, winning a truly balanced and hard-fought match with Bartoli, who is forced to concede 15-13 to the beauty. But Giulia Anulli restarts very strong and dominates Eleonora Leopardi in three quick sets (11-5, 11-2, 11-4). Niculae continues on the wave of her partner’s beautiful victory and imposes on Pierella her greater class and experience, closing the match with an easy 3-0. It is Anulli again who scores the second 4-1 of the day, and she must bring out her best to tame De Luca who wins 2 sets to 1 before clearly giving in to a very determined opponent who manages to control the game well .
Coach Ippoliti comments on the team’s performance as follows: “We are very satisfied, the girls demonstrated their value on the field and we knew that they can make an excellent impression at this level of the championship. This team has heart and soul and it has clearly shown. For me it is an honor and a pleasure to be with them. And it can have a future, which is beginning to be seen with Desireè Niculae, who supported today but is gradually growing in this group. Now there is the opportunity to play Serie A in the national concentration on 11 and 12 May. If they continue on this path and with this spirit, the girls will be able to obtain further satisfaction. I am confident that they will give their best, like today. Finally, I thank the Management of the Company who was present and close today with the President Luca Corsaletti, the Vice-President Alessandro Marzi and the Director Mario Rossi”.
So an appointment in four weeks to see if the dream will become reality or if it will remain a more or less close goal.
Tags: Valle Umbra Artte flies play offs Niculae Bartoli Anulli win convince Umbrian derby
