HAMPSHIRE'S junior table tennis are heading for the first division of the national county championships.

They retained their unbeaten record with 8-2 and 6-4 victories over teams from Cornwall and then a 9-1 beating of Gloucester to extend their lead at the top of Division Two.

The squad of county champion Ashley Willetts, Matt Ware, David McBeath, Garth Kinlocke, Jenny Dobson and Annabelle Morle are the most promising crop of young juniors for many years.

McBeath has enjoyed England under-13 recognition this year, a first for a Southampton player.

Redbridge Community School in Southampton, meanwhile, staged the south and east regional finals of the schools table tennis championships which included some of the country's best young players.

Teams from the Peniel Academy dominated the event, organised by county secretary Harold Albery, winning four out of the eight events.

For Hampshire, Romsey's Mountbatten School finished runner-up in the under-13 girls event, while Basingstoke's Queen Mary College reached the final of the under-19 boys.

In the county cadet inter-town league, teams from Southampton are first and third in the table following the second round of matches.

Southampton's first team enjoyed comfortable victories over Gosport/Fareham and Portsmouth.

Gosport/Fareham's Annabelle Morle, however, remains the only unbeaten individual player as she defeated some of the county's best boys to retain her impressive 100 per cent record.

The Isle of Wight currently top Division Two after cruising to victory over Basingstoke. They are closely followed by Winchester, spearheaded by Garth Kinlocke, who remains unbeaten alongside the Isle of Wight's Robert Love and Jamie Lawson.