It was a Saturday that brought smiles all around for the Saint-Jacques club. While a single, razor-thin loss prevented a perfect record for the men’s N3 team, with Mathieu Clotault falling 19-21, the overall sentiment is overwhelmingly positive.”Despite that one close match, everything is going well at the start of the season. Our squad depth allows us to easily cover for minor injuries,” shared François Menuge, the club’s vice-president.
“Our Objectives Are Being Met”
The N3 match kicked off the day’s action on Saturday, October 18th. Facing Saint-Barthélémy d’Anjou, Saint-Jacques wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. “Thay’re a unique team we’ve played a few years back. Their individual rankings don’t always reflect the true strength of their players,” Menuge noted. “They have a lot of experience up front, with many veteran players, though Romain Flepp, formerly of Guichen, wasn’t with them this time. Aside from Mathieu’s tough loss, the two mixed doubles matches were incredibly close, with us winning each one. We’ve managed to hold onto our first-place position in the group, just one point ahead of Tours (B). However, we did face Lucé, who are currently struggling.”
While the N3 team narrowly missed a flawless start, the N2 squad seized the possibility, dominating a Blois team that was far from full strength. “Their foreign players were absent – two Ukrainians and a German,” Menuge pointed out,admitting he wasn’t upset to see such key players missing from the opposing side. “We initially thought Blois was aiming for promotion,but it seems they’ll be focused on staying in the league due to budget constraints. There was a notable difference in skill across most matches, except for the men’s doubles, which we won in three sets. that’s not a major concern.”
After just two rounds of play, Saint-Jacques proudly sits atop the standings with both its N2 and N3 teams. The N2 squad has already built a ample lead, sitting four points clear of second-place Guichen-Bourg-des-Comptes. “Our objectives are being met. if the N2 team doesn’t finish in first place,it will be considered a failure. For the N3, it’s going to be a tighter race, even though they have less room for error,” Menuge concluded.
