The Under 17’s finished 2nd and got a silver medal, having lost to England in the final 2-1. This place is the highest an Irish U17’s team have ever got, an absolutely great result.
England U17<img class="intext flag" title="ENG" src="https://stat
Killala Squash Club Rejuvenation
Killala is long recognised as having a vibrant community ethos and a template for other communities across Ireland to emulate. The significant developments at the local squash club in recent years provide concrete evidence of this, demonstrating a solid commitment to the health, fitness and welfare of a community. A court which had been run-down and in poor condition a few short years ago, has been converted into a state-of-the-art playing facility, thanks, in part, to some central funding, but primarily due to the determination, expertise and generosity of people in the local community. Though Killala Squash Club still operates with just one court, it is now one of the largest clubs in Connacht with a current membership of 135 – 90 seniors and 45 juniors, and numbers are growing. A club initiated by Joe Murray (outgoing chairman) and Deirdre Hannick back in 2001 had 20 players participating in its first league. Fast forward to 2016 and the number has mushroomed to 80 – with 10 teams of 8, all playing in the various grades from 1 to 10.
Two significant factors were responsible for the growth and development of the club in recent years and its impact on the health and well-being of the wider community. Thanks to the work of John Gorman (Secretary and development) and others, the club was allocated a grant of €12,000 from the Sports Capital Programme in 2015. This was boosted by local sponsorship, fund-raising and an interest free loan from Killala Community Council, all of which provided the club with the €23,000 needed to upgrade the court to meet World Squash Federation standards. The club now has a squash court with top-class heating, lighting, ventilation (all thermostatically controlled) and a nice viewing area. Indeed, the freshness of the playing facility is invigorating, without the stuffy, locker-room atmosphere so evident in some sports facilities. The second, and perhaps more significant catalyst in the club’s progress, was the decision to commence a Junior club over two years ago. As Junior Co-Ordinator Marcella Holmes outlined in an entry to an Irish Times, Killala Squash Club A community’ s own Operation Transformation Competition (a parent’s perspective of the club): “. . . we started training juniors with the hope of setting up a Junior club; we started with a small group of children and, like myself when I first started, they struggled to hit the ball. But as the weeks went by we could slowly see their skills develop…
“The club now has 45 junior players ranging from 7 – 18 years, and this is just a few months after running its first ever Junior League last year. Indeed, many of these juniors are putting pressure on the senior players and moving quickly up the grades. Last year fifteen junior players participated in the Connacht Junior Closed League in Galway and the club came away with six prizes.
The club has fully affiliated to IRISH SQUASH with all the benefits of affiliation available to the club. This includes all the players having personal accident insurance, the club being covered under public liability insurance. Access to coaching programmes run by IRISH SQUASH and participation programmes run in local primary schools. Referee training is also available to affiliated clubs. An exhibition match featuring Brian Byrne & Sean Conroy, the Irish numbers 2 & 3, also took place in early April organised by IRISH SQUASH.
The success of the Killala project also serves to emphasis the positive impact the Sports Capital funding can make in a community like Killala, coupled with the work of people who have the determination and expertise to make a difference in their community. As the club grows, a second court will be necessary to cater for the demand and one feels as Killala Squash Club moves onwards and upwards this objective will be attainable soon.
More clubs should try be as proactive as Killala and the many others who are working hard to rejuvenate their clubs, encourage junior participation and promoting change for the better within their clubs. Well done to Killala for all their efforts!
The 2nd leg of the 2017 Home Internationals takes place in Dublin this weekend. The age groups playing are Women’s Over 45, Men’s Over 45 & 65. Organised by The Masters’ Secretary Ciaran Roche and assisted by Brian McNally, Brian Williams and Patrick Murray it will be as always a super weekend.
All the matches from Court 1 in Fitzwilliams will be Live Streamed on IRISH SQUASH TV – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/
The 3rd leg is in Nottingham next weekend with the Womens O35/40 and the men’s O45 & 65
The last leg is in Scotland on May 12/13th with the Women’s O55 and the Men’s O35 & 55.
Good Luck to all the players involved.
The 2017 All Ireland Schools’ Finals take place in Cork today,. Organised by Gerry Connaughton and Munster Squash. The matches will be played in Highfield SC and Sunday’s Well.
There are 20 school teams taking part, managed by Helen Reapy, Gerry Galvin, Orla O’Doherty, David Rosenberg and Gerry Connaughton, as well as all the teachers from the various schools.
Good luck to all. See all the entrants below.
Age Group
Munster
Connacht
Leinster
Ulster
BU13
Leugh N.S.
St. Joseph’s N.S, Killala, Co. Mayo
St Fintans NS
n/a
BU15
Ardscoil Na Mara, Tramore, County Waterford or CBS Thurles
St. Patricks College, Lacken Cross, Killala, Co.Mayo
St Fintans HS
n/a
BU17
Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown, Cork
St. Colman’s College, Claremorris, County Mayo
St Fintans HS
Methodist College Belfast
BU19
n/a
n/a
St Fintans HS
Methodist College Belfast
GU13
St. John The Baptist Girls School Cashel
St. Joseph’s N.S, Killala, Co. Mayo
St. Helens, Portmarnock
n/a
GU15
n/a
St. Patricks College, Lacken Cross, Killala, Co.Mayo
Santa Sabina
Strathearn School, Belfast
GU17
Ardscoil Na Mara, Tramore, County Waterford
n/a
Santa Sabina
n/a
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European Senior Championships are being played from Wednesday 26th April to April 29th. Ireland’s Women and men’s teams are in Division 2.
Women’s Team – Hannah Craig, Sophie O’Rourke, Ciara Moloney & Niamh Maher
Men’s Team – Arthur Gaskin, Brian Byrne, Steve Richardson, Conor O’Hare & Michael Craig
Ireland’s Women are in a pool with Hungary, Switzerland and Scotland. The Men are in a pool with Norway & Hungary.
For pictures go to the IRISH SQUASH Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/IrishSquash/
Ireland after a super campaign finished in the bronze medal position in Division 2 having beaten The Netherlands in the 3/4th place play off. Promotion to Division 1 was close also only losing to Denmark by a very narrow margin on the Friday.
The matches on court 1 will be Live Streamed on from 12 noon, Wednesday & Thursday, 5pm on Friday and 3pm on Saturday for the 2 finals on IRISH SQUASH TV
[2] Declan James (ENG) v [3] Adrian Waller (ENG) 11/9, 6/11, 3/11, 11/5, 11/8 68m
Both matches at the Irish Open in Fitzwilliam LTC went the distance…..and what drama we had in both finals. The women’s final started with an edgy first set with Englishwoman, Millie Tomlinson, finding good length. Nele Gilis from Belgium, looked nervous taking time to settle. Millie – last year’s winner – was in the ascendency and had come through her previous matches without dropping a set. Millie won the first set 11-2. The second set saw a different player in Nele. She started to find good length and Millie was the one who looked a little out of sorts. Nele found herself with a 7-1 lead before Millie got back into the game. The pace of the game increased as Millie began to volley more and put her opponent under increasing pressure. At 8-9 a long rally ended with Millie hitting the tin. This gave Nele the confidence to go on and win the set. The third set took just 10 minutes with both women hitting outright winners and an equal amount of unforced errors. Millie won 11-7. The fourth set was the game of the match with both players playing to their potential. The lengths on the backhand were tight and exacting and the retrieving was superb. Millie led 8-6 and appeared to be on track for a second successive Irish title when Nele won the rally of the tournament. She followed this with two more excellently constructed points giving her a 9-8 lead. Nele came back to level at 9-9 and won the fourth 11-9. The final set saw Nele demonstrate her incredible court speed chasing down everything from the start of the set. At 1-2 she began to volley more winning six points in a row. Millie had lost her length that had given her two sets and was struggling in the rallies. With the score at 7-4 Nele produced three winners giving her match ball. She didn’t require a second…………and the Irish Open title of 2017 was secured.
The men’s game was contested between the number two seed, Declan James, and the number three seed, Adrian Waller. Both men are from England and both are over 6ft in height. . Adrian is a left-hander which resulted in a lot of cross-court shots from both players. After the first ten minutes the crowd knew that the referee was going to earn his money this afternoon. The opening set was very tense and peppered with a series of lets, strokes and no-lets. A nervous Waller went 6-2 down and appeared out of sorts. He recovered and got back to 7-8 before James finished out the set with some outstanding drops. The second set saw the referee called on continuously to make decisions. However, Adrian – who was calling for most of the decisions – began to find form and controlled the game winning the set 11-6. Maintaining the same form in the third Adrian won 11-3. The same pattern emerged at the beginning of the fourth set with Adrian increasing the pace with a string of volleys and drops on Declan’s backhand. At 5-2 down Declan looked as though he was going to be runner-up for a second year in a row. However, he began to find a better length and increased the duration of the rallies. Adrian appeared to tire a little and lost the edge to his winning game. With Adrian needing to change the game pattern, Declan won 9 points without reply and secured the fourth 111-5. The crowd at this stage were eager for the fifth set. Who would be the victor in this contest of giants. At 2-2 Adrian appeared to lose his focus after a discussion with the referee and went 8-2 down, Declan was playing some fantastic squash and the retrieving at the front of the court was brilliant given the height of both men. With Adrian losing focus and having several chats with the referee Declan began to urge the crowd to support him after winning an amazing rally. With a series of errors from Adrian – 5 tins in seven rallies – Declan was 10-3 up with seven match balls. Adrian decided to go for broke and played some outrageous winners saving 5 match balls. With the score at 10-8 Adrian went for an overhead crosscourt nick. It clipped the top of the tin and Declan was the Gillen Markets Irish Open Champion.
WOMEN’S SEMI FINALS
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) v [3] Milou van der Heijden (NED) 11/5,11/8, 11/8 36m
[7] Youssef Soliman (EGY) v [3] Adrian Waller (ENG) 7//11, 1/11, 8/11 40m
[6] Mazen Gamal (EGY) v [2] Declan James (ENG) 7/11, 7/11, 11/6, 5/11 64m
Semi final day at the GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN.
Current women’s champion Millie Tomlinson was up first, playing Dutch champion Milou van der Heijden. Millie started very well, hitting a super length from the start. She raced to a 8-2 lead. Milou got another 3 points but Millie won it 11/5. The 2nd was much closer with the 2 players trading point for point. They both were very tight and making few mistakes. Millie took a tight 2nd 11/8. The third was exactly the same but van der Heijden let a gap grow a little and Tomlinson finished it off well 11/8 to win 3-0 in 36min.
The other women’s semi final between Julianne Courtice and Nele Gilis was an incredible match. The balance swayed between both players and was a true display of how squash should be played. Gilis won the first 11/6 and looked in full control. Courtice came right back into it in the 2nd and 3rd winning both. All four corners of the court were being used and the players strength was truly tested. Courtice led the 4th 5-0 and it looked ominous for Gilis. Nele dug deep and Julianne made a few mistakes; Gilis takes the 4th 13/11. So onto the deciding game. It went to 5 all. Gilis shot making now started to stretch Courtice and Gilis won the 5th 11/5. A super semi final for the huge crowd.
In the men’s semi finals, Adrian Waller player Yoissef Soliman, the winner in the West of Ireland PSA Open last week. They had not played each other before. Waller game plan was to make it tough for him, as he had a tough week playing a lot of squash. Waller was very controlled and nearly looked in slow motion at times, such was his movement and length. Waller won the first 11/7. In the second he was even more dominate and reeled off 9 points without reply, to win the second 11/1. In the third Soliman came back at him a bit in the middle. Waller just settled himself and took it on again to win relatively easily 11/8 and 3-0 in 40min.
The last match of the night was another cracker. Last year’s beaten finalist Declan James of England played Egyptian, Mazen Gamal. Both players were very tight in the first game and there was nothing in it. James made a couple of lovely winners and forced some mistakes from Gamal to win it 11/7. Gamal settled into the 2nd game and started to find a better length. He led 5/2 before James then got 5 points in a row. James was forcing Gamal now and won the 2nd 11/7. The 3rd followed the same pattern except at the end of this game Gamal was getting the shots, with James now making some mistakes. So 2-1 to James with the crowd willing another 5 seter. Gamal started to look a little tired and James went into a 7/4 lead before Gamal reacted but not for long, as James turned it up once again to win 11/5 and 3-1 in 64min.
So a night of superb semi finals and we now look forward to 2 super finals tomorrow with the Women’s at 3pm and the Men’s at 4pm. All live on IRISH SQUASH TV – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/
[5]Todd Garrity (USA) v [2] Declan James (ENG) – 12/10, 8/11, 8/11, 4/11 54m
Quarter finals day at the GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN saw some super matches. First match of the day was between current champion, Millie Tomlinson of England and Chloe Mesic of France. Millie was in great form and was ruthless in her approach. She didn’t give Mesic a chance. The score was 3-0 and the champion looks to be determined to hold onto her title. In the 2nd of the Women’s quarters, Dutch No.1 Milou van der Heijden played Mexican and former top 20 player, Samantha Teran. This was a really sporting contest, played honestly between the 2 players and most enjoyable for the large crowd. Milou won a close 1st & 2nd game and Samantha the 3rd. The rallies were nip and tuck with nothing to choose between the 2 players. The 4th game was exactly the same with each point going to one player and then the other. In the end, Milou got it 11/9, but it could very easily have gone the other way. A super match!
The next women’s quarter was somewhat different with Hana Ramadan & Julianne Courtice really going at each other and the referee. A lot of decisions were argued over. There was some very competitive squash and Courtice won the 1st game 11/8. In the next game Ramadan had 3 game balls but lost it 14/12, a game which lasted 17 min alone. The 3rd was similar but Ramadan ran out of steam and it finished 11/8, so 3-0 to Courtice. The last quarter final was a classic match between No.2 seed Nele Gilis and Amanda Landers Murphy. Must be some Irish blood there somewhere! This match lasted 78 min and had the crowd enthralled. The first 3 games were very close with some super striking of the ball and movement by both players. Gilis went 2-1 up. The 4th game was really super with Landers Murphy requiring 3 game balls before she won it. She looked a bit tired when she came out in the 5th and Gilis went 7/1 up very quickly. Amanda then rallied and brought it back 4/7, but Nele went again and won it 11/4 to win the match. A really great match.
In the men’s quarters the No. 1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi played Youssef Soliman. Tamimi went 2-0 up but Soliman wasn’t finished and he worked really hard to win the 3rd 14-12. Tamimi lost interest in the 4th immediately and lost it in 3 min, 11/2. Tamimi won the 1st two points but then Soliman took over again and won it 11/6. The second men’s quarter was tough with Ben Coleman & Adrain Waller going at it from the start. Waller beat Irishman, Arthur Gaskin last night. The 1st game went to Waller 11/5. In the 2nd & 3rd there was very little between them, but Waller came out the victor, winning them 11/8, 11/9. Coleman wasn’t happy with some of the referee decisions and lost a bit of focus, certainly at the end when he lost the last 7 points without reply. The match between Egyptians Shehab Essam & Mazen Gamal started at a great pace with both players hitting the ball very hard and to a length, with very few shorts shots. It looked as if it was going to be a slugging match. Essam won the 1st game 11/9 in 18 min. Gamal then started to mix it up a bit and it paid dividends, as he won the 2nd and 3rd, 11/4, 11/1. in the fourth Gamal raced into a 6-0 lead. Then at 8/1, Essam lay down on the court and didn’t move. Thankfully 2 doctors in the crowd attended to him immediately and medics arrived to look after him. He came round and was medically checked and walked off the court, thankfully OK.
Englishman Declan James & Todd Harrity from the USA had a tough 1st game with both players playing to a high tempo. Harrity battled to win it 12/10. James settled into his game in the 2nd, playing some lovely drop shots to win it 11/8, the 3rd was more of the same, so 2-1 to James. In the 4th Harrity lost concentration and James raced into 7/2 lead. Harrity tried but couldn’t stop James winning it 11/4 and the match.
So a super day of quarter finals and we are looking forward to some super semis tomorrow. Starting at 17.00 with the last due on court at 20.00, all streamed live on IRISH SQUASH TV – https://www.irishsquash.com/live/
[Q] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) lost to [6] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 6/11, 6/11, 5/11 33m
Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) lost to [2] Declan James (ENG) 8/11, 7/11, 11/13 53m
Irish players Hannah Craig and Arthur Gaskin, both went out of the GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN today. Gaskin played Adrian Waller the WR No.38 and went 2-0 down. Arthur rallied and won the 3rd and had 2 game balls to win the 4th. However Waller dug in and got the win 3-1. The Junior, Hannah Craig from Belfast played Hana Ramadan from Egypy and lost in 3 games to the much more experienced player.
In all there were 16 matches in the Women’s and Men’s first round. The number 1 seed in the women’s draw, Millie Tomlinson, the reigning champion had a straightforward win over the young Belgian player Tinne Gilis 3/0. The No. 2 women’s seed Tinne’s sister Nele made sure the family were in the 2nd round, with a good win over Latvian qualifier Ineta Mackevica, 3-1. It was a good competitive match and Mackevica ranked 50 places behind Gilis played very well. Last year’s finalist Rachael Chadwick gave the crowd full value for money with her passion and running commentary during the match. It went to 5 games and was very close with Julianne Courtice winning the 5th, 12/10. Former top 20 player Mexico’s, Samantha Teran had a good win over Czech qualifier Eva Fertecova 3-0.
In the men’s round 1, Number 1 and 2 seeds, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamini and Declan James both had 3/0 wins. Neither had too much bother but it took James 53min to put India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar down 3/0. There were some super rallies in this match. The higher ranked Charles Sharpes from England had a tough match with a lot of debate with the referee. Playing Shehab Essam from Egypt, Sharpes won the first 11/ 9, but had a tough 3 games to follow and lost 3/1. The No. 7 seed Youssef Soliman from Egypt had a super match with Dane, Kristian Frost. Soliman won the first and it went back and forth to 2 all. Frost worked very hard to stay in it, versus the higher ranked Soliman and in the 5th it showed, where he lost it 11/3. This match lasted 80 minutes and the crowd got great entertainment.
Round 2 starts tomorrow at 12 noon again.
Men’s Qualifying Round 2
[1] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP) v Ondrej Uherka (CZE) 14/16, 11/3, 9/11, 8/11 71m – Uherka now plays Mohd Al Tamimi
[4] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (BEL) v [6] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 8/11, 8/11, 3/11 50m – Kempsell now plays Gamal
[8] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) v [3] Jens Schoor (GER) 5/11, 7/11, 6/11 28m Schoor now plays Harrity
Ben Grindrod (NZL) v [2] Evan Williams (NZL) 1/11, 8/11, 2/11 25m – Williams now plays Coleman
Women’s Qualifying Round 2
[1] Tinne Gilis (BEL) v Makgosi Peloakgosi (RSA) 11/7, 11/5, 11/7 21m – Gilis now plays Tomlinson
[6] Eva Fertekova (CZE) v [4] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 6/11, 11/4, 11/6, 4/11, 11/9 49m – Fertekova now plays Teran
[7] Elspeth Young (SCO) v [2] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 6/11, 7/11, 7/11 21m – Mackevica now plays Nele Gilis
(3] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) v [5] Farah Momen (EGY) Withdrew – Ter Sluis now plays Van der Heijden
In the first of the three women’s matches on today, we had number 1 seed in the qualifiers Tinne Gilis playing the South African Makgosi Peloakgosi. In a competitive match, Tinne came through in 3 games. She played some very tidy squash and now plays number 1 seed and defending champion Millie Tomlonson tomorrow. The next women’s match was between Czech Eva Fertekova and Swiss player Nadia Pfister. Both players started nervously and made several mistakes. Nadia started marginally quicker and won the 1st game 11/6. Eva settled into the match and won the next 2 games well to 4 and 6. Nadia playing better squash at this stage, leveled it to 2 all. The last game was marred by mistakes from Nadia which cost her the match; losing the 5th 11/9.
With Farah Momen withdrawing, it meant Tessa Ter Sluis had a bye into the main draw. The last match was between the Scot, Elspeth Young and Latvian Ineta Mackevica. Ineta used her height advantage to good effect over Elspeth winning the first game 11/6. The Scot started the 2nd & 3rd games well and was up in both but Ineta finished the stronger in both to win out 3-0.
In the Men’s event the first match was between number 1 seed Carlos Cornes Ribadas from Spain and Ondrej Uherka from Czech. The first game was a cracking one with it going over and back until it got to 14 all. Both players were playing very well and the rallies were super to watch. Uherka won it 16/14. The 2nd was all Ribadas and he won it 11/3. The referee had to work hard with many of his decisions being questioned by both players. Again the last 2 games were grueling with many long rallies but Uherka came through to win both 11/9 & 11/8. The 2nd match up between Jens Schoor from Germany and Mohd Syafig Kamal from Malaysia was a much more straightforward affair with Schoor winning well 3-0. Kamal never really got into it.
The match betwen Scot Douglas Kempsell and Belgian Jan Van Der Herrewegen, who beat Irishman Brian Byrne yesterday, was a super match. There were really long rallies and some really good short play at the front. Even though it ended up 3-0 to the Scot, the match was close and lasted 50 minutes. Kempsell retrieved beautifully on occasions and then played some lovely drops immediately after. The last match between the two New Zealanders Evan Williams and Ben Grindrod was a rather short affair, with Williams winning comprehensively in 25 minutes. Grindrod was never in the match really, despite rallying somewhat in the 2nd. But it finished with a 3-0 win for Williams.
One of the biggest squash junior team events “Five Nations” will take a place in Cardiff from 31st March – 2nd April.
The best junior girls and boys from France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England will battle it out, in each of the two age categories under 13’s and 15’s. Each team includes 3 (plus 1 sub) boys and 2 girls (plus 1 sub).
IRISH SQUASH can proudly announce the teams:
Under 13: Denis Gilevskiy (Leinster), Dylan Moran (Leinster), Jack O’Flynn (Leinster), Sean Murphy (Leinster), Aimee McConnell (Ulster), Georgia L’Estrange (Leinster), & Sophie Thomas (Ulster).
Under 15: Alex Smith (Leinster), Ansh Pahuja (Ulster), Mathew Li (Leinster), Sean White (Munster), Brenda Li (Leinster), Hannah McGugan (Ulster) & Caitlin McConnon (Leinster).
The National U13’s team includes 4 boys from the Leinster team who won junior ICC in England last January.
Both teams had their last combined team training in Fitzwilliam LTC last Sunday, before travelling to Five Nations with coaches Josh McVeigh and team manager Dara O’Flynn. Under 15’s national coach David Noone & manager Sarah McCracken will join them in Cardiff.
We wish them the best of luck in Cardiff.
Playing Schedule
Friday
2.00pm Under 13 Scotland v England Courts 3,4
Under 15 Wales v Scotland Courts 1,2
4.00pm Under 13 Ireland v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 France v Ireland Courts 3,4
6.00pm Under 13 Wales v Scotland Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Wales Courts 3,4
Saturday
9.30am Under 13 Ireland v England Courts 3,4
Under 15 France v Scotland Courts 1,2
11.30am Under 13 Wales v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Ireland Courts 3,4
1.30pm Under 13 Ireland v Scotland Courts 3,4
Under 15 France v Wales Courts 1,2
3.30pm Under 13 Wales v England Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Scotland Courts 3,4
5.30pm Under 13 Scotland v France Courts 3,4
Under 15 Wales v Ireland Courts 1,2
Sunday
9.30am Under 13 England v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 Ireland v Scotland Courts 3,4
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Ireland Courts,1,2
Under 15 England v France Courts 3,4
All matches are played on 2 courts: 3/1/2 & 5/4
One of the biggest squash junior team events “Five Nations” will take a place in Cardiff from 31st March – 2nd April.
The best junior girls and boys from France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England will battle it out, in each of the two age categories under 13’s and 15’s. Each team includes 3 (plus 1 sub) boys and 2 girls (plus 1 sub).
IRISH SQUASH can proudly announce the teams:
Under 13: Denis Gilevskiy (Leinster), Dylan Moran (Leinster), Jack O’Flynn (Leinster), Sean Murphy (Leinster), Aimee McConnell (Ulster), Georgia L’Estrange (Leinster), & Sophie Thomas (Ulster).
Under 15: Alex Smith (Leinster), Ansh Pahuja (Ulster), Mathew Li (Leinster), Sean White (Munster), Brenda Li (Leinster), Hannah McGugan (Ulster) & Caitlin McConnon (Leinster).
The National U13’s team includes 4 boys from the Leinster team who won junior ICC in England last January.
Both teams had their last combined team training in Fitzwilliam LTC last Sunday, before travelling to Five Nations with coaches Josh McVeigh and team manager Dara O’Flynn. Under 15’s national coach David Noone & manager Sarah McCracken will join them in Cardiff.
We wish them the best of luck in Cardiff.
Playing Schedule
Friday
2.00pm Under 13 Scotland v England Courts 3,4
Under 15 Wales v Scotland Courts 1,2
4.00pm Under 13 Ireland v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 France v Ireland Courts 3,4
6.00pm Under 13 Wales v Scotland Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Wales Courts 3,4
Saturday
9.30am Under 13 Ireland v England Courts 3,4
Under 15 France v Scotland Courts 1,2
11.30am Under 13 Wales v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Ireland Courts 3,4
1.30pm Under 13 Ireland v Scotland Courts 3,4
Under 15 France v Wales Courts 1,2
3.30pm Under 13 Wales v England Courts 1,2
Under 15 England v Scotland Courts 3,4
5.30pm Under 13 Scotland v France Courts 3,4
Under 15 Wales v Ireland Courts 1,2
Sunday
9.30am Under 13 England v France Courts 1,2
Under 15 Ireland v Scotland Courts 3,4
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Ireland Courts,1,2
Under 15 England v France Courts 3,4
All matches are played on 2 courts: 3/1/2 & 5/4
Sam Buckley rose to #8 position in the Boys U17, moving 7 places up since last month after his strong performance in German Junior Open. Well done Sam!
Ireland has nine junior players in the ESF top-10:
Luke Logan 10th (BU-19)
Hannah Craig 3nd (GU-19)
Stephanie Ryan 7th (GU-19)
Scott Gillanders 6th (BU-17)
Conor Moran 7th (BU-17)
Sam Buckley 8th (BU-17)
Sophie O’Rourke 9th (GU-17)
Denis Gilevskiy 1st (BU-13)
Dylan Moran 3rd (BU-13)
Several juniors made significant progress in rankings since last month after successful performance in European Junior tournaments :
Jack O’Flynn (BU13) moved up 16 places, David Smith (BU13) up 21 places, Brenda Li (GU15) up 13 places, Matthew Li (BU15) up 46 places and Michael Creaven (BU17) up 14 places.
Well done to all who participated in German JO and French JO (Super Series events) and best of luck to both Irish juniors National Teams competing in 5 Nations this weekend in Cardiff.
Galway Lawn Tennis played host to the Irish Squash Senior Interprovincials over the weekend, March 24th & 25th. Some great matches took place in both the ‘A’ event and ‘B’ event. Unfortunately the event was missing a ladies section and no Ulster representation at any level. Without any Ulster teams, it meant just one tie taking place per session. On Friday evening Connacht played Leinster in both ‘A’ and ‘B’ sections.
Results:
Connacht A vs Leinster A
1. Brian Byrne 3-0 Conor Moran
2. David Noone 3-0 Sam Buckley
3. Niall Rooney 1-3 Luke Logan
4. Patrick Quinn 0-3 Scott Gillanders
5. Donal O’Shea 0-3 Eoin Ryan
Leinster win the tie 3-2
Connacht B vs Leinster B
1. Andre Davies 1-3 Sean Dineen
2. Jack Davies 0-3 Pat Morrissey
3. Niall Brennan 0-3 David Ryan
4. Cormac MacMahon 2-3 Brian Collins
5. (player injured) w/o John Dillion
Leinster win the tie 5-0
Saturday morning Connacht played Munster in both ‘A’ and ’B’ sections.
Results:
Connacht A vs Munster A
1. David Noone 3-2 Kevin Knox
2. Niall Rooney 3-1 Ken O’Keeffe
3. Donal O’Shea 3-0 Mark Furlong
4. Ronan Tully 1-3 Donagh Crowley
5. Andre Davies 3-0 Clive Morgan
Connacht win the tie 4-1
Connacht B vs Munster B
1. Jack Davies 0-3 Mike Howard
2. Niall Brennan 1-3 Paul O’Mahony
3. Cormac MacMahon 1-3 Brian Dunbar
4. Eoghan Lynch 0-3 Barry Lynch
5. Neil Brennan 3-1 Cathal Lynch
Munster win the tie 4-1.
Saturday afternoon Leinster played Munster in both A and B sections
Leinster A vs Munster A
1. Conor Moran 3-2 Kevin Knox
2. Sam Buckley 3-1 Ken O’Keeffe
3. Luke Logan 3-0 Mark Furlong
4. Scott Gillanders 3-0 Donagh Crowley
5. Eoin Ryan 3-0 Clive Morgan
Leinster win the tie 5-0
Leinster B vs Munster B
1. Sean Dineen 3-2 Mike Howard
2. Pat Morrissey 3-? Ken O’Keeffe
3. David Ryan 3-2 Brian Dunbar
4. Brian Collins 3-0 Barry Lynch
5. John Dillion 3-0 Cathal Lynch
– 
Hungary U15: 1-2
France U15: 1-2
Wales U15
Slovakia U15
Norway U15
– 
Norway U15: 3-0
– 
Switzerland
Scotland
– 
– 
