The Irish leg of the Masters Internationals take place in Fitzwilliam LTC on April 29th & 30th.
For playing schedule and details on teams etc see HERE
LIVE STREAMING will be broadcast from Friday 6pm – 9pm and on Saturday from 10am – 7pm.
Click HERE
New ESF junior rankings for April just published. Well done to Sam Buckley who moved up to a shared second place in the BU15 and Hannah Craig who entered top-10 in the GU19 group.
Denis Gilevskiy kept his position on the top of the Boys Under 13 European rankings. Conor Moran who moved up in the age group to BU17 in April is still in the top-10 ranked #5, straight after Luke Logan (#4).
Other Irish juniors in the European top-10: Scott Gillanders is ranked 8th in BU17, Dylan Moran 6th and Jake Creaven 10th in the BU13.
Congratulations to all IRISH players competing in European Open. Many of them are just a few places away from entering the European top-10 in their respective age groups.
For all rankings see here –
http://esf.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/ranking.aspx?rid=90
The U13 & U15 teams played in the 5 Nations tournament in Lilleshall Sports Centre, England from Friday April 22nd – 24th. Coaches: Josh McVeigh/U13’s & David Noone U15’s.
Managers: Niamh Maher, Garret Buckley & Dara O’Flynn
Teams
U13’s – Ali Carton (Leinster), Jake Creaven (Leinster), Denis Gilevskiy (Leinster), Brenda Li (Leinster), Hannah McGugan (Ulster), Dylan Moran (Leinster), Jack O’Flynn (Leinster)
U15’s – Sam Buckley (Leinster), Michael Creaven (Leinster), Roisin Kirwan (Munster), Gavin l’Estrange (Leinster), Emma Lundy (Ulster), Emma McGugan (Ulster), Hugh Tobin(Leinster).
On the way to Birmingham
For Results go to our TWITTER & FACEBOOK Pages
PLAYING SCHEDULE
The Five Nations 2016
Lilleshall National Sports Centre
22-24 April
Friday
2.00pm Under 13 France v England
Under 15 Wales v Scotland
4.00pm Under 13 Ireland v Scotland
Under 15 France v Ireland
6.00pm Under 13 Wales v France
Under 15 England v Wales
Saturday
9.30am Under 13 Ireland v England
Under 15 France v Scotland
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Scotland
Under 15 England v Ireland
1.30pm Under 13 Ireland v France
Under 15 France v Wales
3.30pm Under 13 Wales v England
Under 15 England v Scotland
5.30pm Under 13 France v Scotland
Under 15 Wales v Ireland
Sunday
9.30am Under 13 England v Scotland
Under 15 Ireland v Scotland
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Ireland
Under 15 England v France
All matches are played on 2 courts: 3/1/2 & 5/4
The U13 & U15 teams played in the 5 Nations tournament in Lilleshall Sports Centre, England from Friday April 22nd – 24th. Coaches: Josh McVeigh/U13’s & David Noone U15’s.
Managers: Niamh Maher, Garret Buckley & Dara O’Flynn
Teams
U13’s – Ali Carton (Leinster), Jake Creaven (Leinster), Denis Gilevskiy (Leinster), Brenda Li (Leinster), Hannah McGugan (Ulster), Dylan Moran (Leinster), Jack O’Flynn (Leinster)
U15’s – Sam Buckley (Leinster), Michael Creaven (Leinster), Roisin Kirwan (Munster), Gavin l’Estrange (Leinster), Emma Lundy (Ulster), Emma McGugan (Ulster), Hugh Tobin(Leinster).
On the way to Birmingham
For Results go to our TWITTER & FACEBOOK Pages
PLAYING SCHEDULE
The Five Nations 2016
Lilleshall National Sports Centre
22-24 April
Friday
2.00pm Under 13 France v England
Under 15 Wales v Scotland
4.00pm Under 13 Ireland v Scotland
Under 15 France v Ireland
6.00pm Under 13 Wales v France
Under 15 England v Wales
Saturday
9.30am Under 13 Ireland v England
Under 15 France v Scotland
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Scotland
Under 15 England v Ireland
1.30pm Under 13 Ireland v France
Under 15 France v Wales
3.30pm Under 13 Wales v England
Under 15 England v Scotland
5.30pm Under 13 France v Scotland
Under 15 Wales v Ireland
Sunday
9.30am Under 13 England v Scotland
Under 15 Ireland v Scotland
11.30am Under 13 Wales v Ireland
Under 15 England v France
All matches are played on 2 courts: 3/1/2 & 5/4
GILLENMARKETS IRISH OPEN
FITZWILLIAM LTC, DUBLIN
Draw – MEN
Draw – WOMEN
Women’s & Men’s Finals – Saturday 23rd April 2016
[1] Millie Tomlinson beat 9Q) Rachael Chadwick 11/ 4, 11/4, 11/3 28min
[1] Lucas Setrme (FRA) beat [4] Declan James (ENG) 11/9, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6 61 min
Finals Day at the 2016 GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN. The women’s final featured Millie Tomlinson and Rachael Chadwick. A close match initially but in the 2nd half of the first game, the more experienced Tomlinson pulled away, exerting her control to win the first 11/4. You could see that Millie was very determined to not let Rachael get any opportunities. She kept her back and dominated the T to win the
2nd 11/4. Millie kept a great length and was really tight. The third game was more of the same and Millie closed it out 11/3. Millie said “ I just wanted to keep her behind me and not give her any opportunities” Rachael was understandably disappointed afterwards, but she has had a super week all the way from last Monday in the qualifiers to today’s final.
The men’s final had 2 players with only 2 places between them in PSA rankings. Lucas Serme, last year’s finalist was up against the 23yrs Englishman Declan James. The crowd anticipated a titanic match.
In the first Serme took an early lead before James found his range to level it. It then went nip ‘n’ tuck to 9 all. In between @ 7-5 there was a rally of 84 shots which ended with a super nick by Serme. First game to Serme 11/9. In the 2nd James started taking the ball earlier and was dropping beautifully. He just stayed in front and took it 11/8. Serme knew he had to do something. “ After the 2nd I had to change things. I pushed to stay in front more, gave him less space and mixed it up more” James started to make more mistakes resulting in the 4th going to Serme 11/6. The 4th was more of the same and Serme won it 11/6. There was a really super rally to give Serme match ball.
So congratulations to Millie Tomlinson and Lucas Serme, IRISH OPEN CHAMPIONS FOR 2016.
Semi Finals – Friday 22nd April 2016
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11/3, 11/4, 11/5 22min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat [4] Alison Thomson (ENG) 11/6, 11/2, 6/11, 11/9 46min
MEN
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11/5, 8/11,9/11, 11/3, 12/10 94min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 8/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 54 min
Semi final day at the 2016 GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN. The first match on was between Millie Tomlinson and young Georgina Kennedy. The pace was furious from the start. Kennedy was forcing it a bit and put 3 balls out of court in that first game. Tomlinson never relented “We both have similar games, she has a good volley so I knew I had to stay in front of her” That is exactly what Millie did in all 3 games to close it out 11/3, 11/4, 11/5.
In the first men’s semi, we had the No.1 & No.3 seeds play each other. Lucas Serme of France, who lost to Ali Farag (now World ranked 11) in last year’s final played New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson. It was a grueling 5 setter lasting 94min. After going behind in the first, Lucas pulled it back to win the first 11/5. Grayson was very patient in the 2nd & 3rd which worked for him, taking them both. In the 4th, Grayson got a no let decision at 2-1 up which really got to him because within minutes he was 8-3 down. He was a tough decision against him by the referee but he ref thought Grayson could and should have played the ball so…
Two all and the decider.It was very tight and went to 8-7 and Grayson got another no let which this time didn’t upset him because he then had a match ball but Serme remained cool and saved it before winning the game 12/10. Super squash.
The qualifier Rachael Chadwick who had played some great squash all week was up against No. 4 seed Alison Thomson in the 2nd Semi. Alison was up early in the first, 6-3 then Rachael started to find her range and pulled it back to win 11-6. She won the 2nd easily. Thomson worked very hard to win the 3rd 11/6 but Chadwick upped it again, driving beautifully and covering the court really well. Her height and range helps her a lot. It was a tight game which Chadwick just pipped 11/9. So a qualifier in the final, the first time that has happened at the IRISH OPEN in a few years.
The last match of the day was the semi between Declan James and Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema. LJ used all his experience and snuck the first 11-8. James said ” I had a really tough match yesterday and was looking after my body” His game plan was then really put into action in the 2nd. “I wanted to move him around a lot, not make mistakes and wait for my opportunities” It worked, James won the 2nd game 11-4. In the 3rd LJ worked really hard and it was nip and tuck all the way to 9 all before James won it 11/9.
In the 5th James had a beautiful drop at 1-0 to start him off. Using his super forehand drive which won him several points he got to 9/2 very quickly. He then had a super nick to give him match ball which he duly converted to win the match and into the final vs Lucas Serme. They have not played each other before, so it will be interesting to see their respective game plans. Also there is only 2 places between them in World rankings so it should be very close.
Women’s Final at 3pm and the Men’s at 4pm, both Live on IRISH SQUASH TV.
Quarter Finals – Thursday 21st April 2016
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [7] Elin Harlow (WAL) 11/7, 11/4, 11/2 22min
[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) beat [5] Enora Villard (FRA) 11/5, 11/4, 11/6 23min
[4] Alison Thomson (ENG) beat [8] Tessa Ter Sluis 11/5, 10/12, 11/6, 11/5 38min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat [6] Anna Klimundova (CZE) 11/7, 9/11, 12/10, 8/11, 11/4 53min
MEN
(1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [6] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 12/14, 11/7, 11/4, 12/10 64min
[3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) beat [5] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) 11/4, 11/5, 14/12 44min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat [7] Joe Lee (ENG) 7/11, 10/12, 12/10, 11/9, 11/9 86min
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) beat [8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/3 55min
The first match saw Number 1 seed Millie Tomlinson play Junior, Elin Harlow of Wales. Elin started well and was up in the first game by a few points before Millie settled into the pace of the game and started to impose her power into the rallies. The 1st game was 11/7. In the 2nd & 3rd games Millie had too much for Elin, who was not getting a good length. Millie won it in 3, 11/7, 11/4, 11/2.
The first men’s match, saw Number 1 seed Lucas Serme have a tough match vs Charles Sharpes of England. Serme, last year a finalist in this event, lost the first game 14/12 after some huge rallies. Sharpes was playing very well before Serme took it up a notch, as he had to. He reeled off the 2nd & 3rd games to 7 & 4. Sharpes wasn’t finished though and really fought in the 4th game. It went to 10 all and then Sharpes had a game ball before Serme finished it out 12/10.
England’s Georgina Kennedy played Enora Villard from France in their quarter final. After a very tough match in Round 1 yesterday. Georgina said she wanted to ” Hit the ball low and hard to keep volleys away from Enora, while also volleying myself as much as I could” The score was reflective of that strategy. Kennedy said afterwards ” I was very happy to finish it in three” Final score was 11/5, 11/4, 11/6.
No, 3 seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand played Shaun Le Roux from Sth Africa. After a very slow start, Le Roux lost the first 2 games. He then started to get into the match in the 3rd, getting in front of Grayson. The New Zealander said ” I had a very tough match yesterday, so was happy the way I played, but then he started to get in front of me in the 3rd” Le Roux was 6-3 up, then 8-5 in the 3rd. However he got a conduct stroke against him to make it 9 all. Le Roux still fought hard and had 2 game balls but Grayson pushed, got in front again and finished it to 14/12.
MATCHES FROM 4PM
Alison Thomson played Dutch player Tessa Ter Sluis and made a fast start winning the 1st game easily enough, 11/5. Ter Sluis really picked it up in the 2nd, driving beautifully. Then she lost concentration and went 7-5 down. Then got it back again with a couple of lovely nicks to win it 12/10 – 1 all. Alison said “I’ve played her before and wanted to get her twisting & turning to stop her driving it low & hard” In the 3rd Ter Sluis started making mistakes and Thomson upped the pace to win it 11/6. Thomson had too much in the end and won it 3-1.
Joe Lee, playing very well this week, made another good start in his match with Declan James. He won the 1st 11/7 but the 2nd was a much closed affair with some super rallies and unbelievable retrieving from both players. Lee took it 12/10. James took the 3rd 12/10 & the 4th 11/9, playing a much better length than in the 1st 2 games. The 5th was real ‘cat & mouse’ with James playing very patiently, which worked for him, winning it 11-9 to win the match.
In the last women’s match, after winning the first game, Rachael Chadwick, the qualifier from England, stuttered in the 2nd and Anna Klimundova, the Czech player won it. The 3rd & 4th went towards one player and then the other, before they were both shared. In the 5th Chadwick raced ahead using her powerful drive but let Klimundova back in again before closing it finally 11/4.
Laurens Jan Anjema the Dutch player was up against Indian Mahesh Mangaonkar, who put Irishman Arthur Gaskin out last night. The first 2 games were shared 11/8. Anjema took a very close 3rd 11/9 which had some super rallies with a magnificent short game from both players. In the 5th Anjema raced away utilising his tight game at the front, keeping the ball so low to win it 11/3 and the match.
Round 1, Wednesday 20th April 2016
The first match of the day saw the 2 French teammates Lucas Serme and Geoffrey Demont play each other. These 2 players have played on French teams going back to juniors so know each other games very well. Lucas over 40 places higher in World rankings had too much for Geoffrey and won without to much trouble 3-0 in 28min. The young Welsh player Elin Harlow also won convincingly over Moana Gray of Australia 3-0. This is Elin’s 2nd tournament in Ireland this season. She won the IRISH Junior Open Under 19 title last November.
We had a super match between Englishwoman Georgina Kennedy the former European U19 champion and Xisela Aranda of Spain. Xisela belied her ranking of 145to push Georgina and had 2 match balls herself before Georgina just got over the line 16-14 in the 5th in a match that lasted 4min short of an hour.
Shaun Le Roux and Joshua Larkin had a tence match with plenty of questioning of referee decisions. Shaun was always in control but Joshua made him work hard and Joshua certainly worked really hard himself, with the amount of sweat showing from his shirt. Shaun won 3-0 but it was closer than the score suggests.
In the match of the day for the Irish crowd, Arthur Gaskin ranked 85 was up against India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar who is ranked 27 places higher than him. Arthur started slowly but Mahesh was playing well and went 2-0 in games. Arthur knew he had to extend the rallies and get in the game “In the last point of the 2nd game I played the point more deliberately looking to extend the rally and not force it” At the start of the 3rd game Arthur continued with this gameplan. It worked – he leveled the match 2 all to the delight of his home crowd.
In the 5th both his calves tightened when he went to the front wall and before he knew it he was 6-0 down. He got 3 points but Mahesh closed out that 5th game fairly quickly 11-3 to win the match.
In the last match of the evening, Rachael Chadwich from England had a super win over much higher ranked Alexandra Fuller (68) from South Africa. Rachael used her power and height to great effect to beat Fuller 3-0 in 24min. Alexandra was never really in the match as Rachael took full control of affairs.
Thursday’s quarter finals start on Court 1 @ 12 noon, with all matches being streamed Live on Irish Squash TV.
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [LL] Nia Davies (WAL) 11/1, 11/1, 11/3 20min
[7] Elin Harlow (WAL) beat Moana Gray (AUS) 11/4, 11/8, 11/9 22min
[5] Enora Villard (FRA) beat Marija Shpakova (SUI) 11/6, 11/5,11/5 22 min[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) beat Xisela Aranda (ESP) 7/11, 11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 16/14 56 min
[4] Alison Thomson (ENG) beat [Q] Harshit Jawanda (IND) 11/13, 11/7,11/6, 11/6 35 min[8] Tessa Ter Sluis beat Eva Fertekova (CZE) 11/8, 11/8, 11/4 17min
[6] Anna Klimundova (CZE) beat Eleanor Epke (NZL) 11/8. 11/6, 11/7 25 min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG beat [2] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 11/9, 11/7, 11/4 24min
MEN
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 11/5, 11/1, 11/4 28 min
[6] Charles Sharpes (ENG) beat Christopher Binnie (JAM) 7/11, 11/9, 11/9, 8/11, 12/10 86 min
[5] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) beat [Q] Joshua Larkin (AUS) 11/6, 11/8, 11/5 41min
[3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) beat Richie Fallows (ENG) 7/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/4, 11/7 87 min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat Jens Schoor (GER) 11/6, 11/9, 12/10 30min
[7] Joe Lee (ENG) beat [Q] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) 11/4, 11/4, 9/11, 11/3 47min
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) beat [WC] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11/5, 11/5, 6/11, 3/11, 11/3 67 min [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) beat [Q] Christophe Andre (FRA) 11/7, 11/5, 11/2 30min
Qualifying Round 2, Tuesday 19th April 2016
Day 2 of the GILLENMARKETS IRISH OPEN saw some super matches with 2 IRISH players, Sean Conroy and Brian Byrne pushing their much higher ranked opponents hard. In the 1st match of the day,
Byrne was playing Joshua Larkin of Australia. Brian raced into a 2-0 lead, playing super squash. Joshua said “The fast pace of those first 2 games didn’t work for me, so I decided to lengthen the rallies and make it a longer match” Byrne started to force it and made mistakes. Brian said “I just switched off at some big points and lost concentration” Consequently Larkin came back into the match and won the next 3 games to win 3-2. So close and yet so far for Byrne.
The other IRISH player Sean Conroy played Frenchman Geoffrey Demont nearly 100 places higher than him in World rankings. Again Sean started well and won the first game 11/7. Demont had to increase the pressure on Sean. ” I had to put pressure on him in the 2nd game, take volleys early and dominate the T” It worked as Demont took the 2nd game 11/4. The 3rd game went to the wire and crucially Demont just pipped it 11/9, which proved decisive. He closed out the match 11/3 to win 3-1 in 41 min. In the other 2 men’s matches Matthew Hopkin from Australia beat Ashley Davies of England 3-0 and Frenchman Christophe Andre of France beat Scotland’s Douglas Kempsell 3-1 in a close match that went on for 46 min.
In the women’s event the no.1 seed Nadia Pfister from Switzerland lost to Harshit Jawanda of India 3-0. It was a convincing victory for Harshit. Eva Fertekova had too much for Welsh player Nia Davies beating her 3-0. In the last 2 matches there was 3 Spanish players playing in them. In the first Xisela Aranda beat her compatriot Marta Latorre Ramirez and in the last match Rachael Chadwick had a convincing victory over no. 2 seed Marina De Juan Gallach 3-0. Rachael’s high reach proved too difficult for Marina to cope with. Rachael dominated the T and drove superbly.
So on with the Main Draw commencing tomorrow @ 12 noon.
DAY 2 RESULTS – Qualifying Round 2, Tuesday 19th April 2016
WOMEN
[7] Harshit Jawanda (IND) beat [1] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 11/5, 11/8, 11/7 21 min (Plays Thomson next)
[6] Eva Fertekova (CZE) beat [4] Nia Davies (WAL) 11/5, 11/2, 11/2 18 min (Plays Ter Sluis next)
[3] Xisela Aranda (ESP) beat [5] Marta Latorre Ramírez (ESP) 11/6, 11/4, 11/0 33 min (Plays Kennedy next)
[8] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat (2) Marina De Juan Gallach (ESP) 11/8, 11/3, 11/4 22 min (Plays Fuller next)
Lucky loser is Nia Davies who now plays M.Tomlinson – (Cyrielle Peltier withdrew)
MEN
[1] Joshua Larkin (AUS) beat Brian Byrne (IRL) 8/11, 6/11, 11/7, 11/9, 11/7 78 min (Plays Le Roux next)
[4] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) beat [6] Ashley Davies (ENG) 11/9, 11/4, 11/9 31 min (Plays Lee next)
[3] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) beat [8] Sean Conroy (IRL) 7/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 41 min (Plays Serme next)
[5] Christophe Andre (FRA) beat [2] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 12/10, 8/11, 11/6, 11/9 46 min (Plays Anjema next)
GILLENMARKETS IRISH OPEN
FITZWILLIAM LTC, DUBLIN
Draw – MEN
Draw – WOMEN
Women’s & Men’s Finals – Saturday 23rd April 2016
[1] Millie Tomlinson beat 9Q) Rachael Chadwick 11/ 4, 11/4, 11/3 28min
[1] Lucas Setrme (FRA) beat [4] Declan James (ENG) 11/9, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6 61 min
Finals Day at the 2016 GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN. The women’s final featured Millie Tomlinson and Rachael Chadwick. A close match initially but in the 2nd half of the first game, the more experienced Tomlinson pulled away, exerting her control to win the first 11/4. You could see that Millie was very determined to not let Rachael get any opportunities. She kept her back and dominated the T to win the 2nd 11/4. Millie kept a great length and was really tight. The third game was more of the same and Millie closed it out 11/3. Millie said “ I just wanted to keep her behind me and not give her any opportunities” Rachael was understandably disappointed afterwards, but she has had a super week all the way from last Monday in the qualifiers to today’s final.
The men’s final had 2 players with only 2 places between them in PSA rankings. Lucas Serme, last year’s finalist was up against the 23yrs Englishman Declan James. The crowd anticipated a titanic match.
In the first Serme took an early lead before James found his range to level it. It then went nip ‘n’ tuck to 9 all. In between @ 7-5 there was a rally of 84 shots which ended with a super nick by Serme. First game to Serme 11/9. In the 2nd James started taking the ball earlier and was dropping beautifully. He just stayed in front and took it 11/8. Serme knew he had to do something. “ After the 2nd I had to change things. I pushed to stay in front more, gave him less space and mixed it up more” James started to make more mistakes resulting in the 4th going to Serme 11/6. The 4th was more of the same and Serme won it 11/6. There was a really super rally to give Serme match ball.
So congratulations to Millie Tomlinson and Lucas Serme, IRISH OPEN CHAMPIONS FOR 2016.
Semi Finals – Friday 22nd April 2016
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11/3, 11/4, 11/5 22min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat [4] Alison Thomson (ENG) 11/6, 11/2, 6/11, 11/9 46min
MEN
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11/5, 8/11,9/11, 11/3, 12/10 94min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 8/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 54 min
Semi final day at the 2016 GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN. The first match on was between Millie Tomlinson and young Georgina Kennedy. The pace was furious from the start. Kennedy was forcing it a bit and put 3 balls out of court in that first game. Tomlinson never relented “We both have similar games, she has a good volley so I knew I had to stay in front of her” That is exactly what Millie did in all 3 games to close it out 11/3, 11/4, 11/5.
In the first men’s semi, we had the No.1 & No.3 seeds play each other. Lucas Serme of France, who lost to Ali Farag (now World ranked 11) in last year’s final played New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson. It was a grueling 5 setter lasting 94min. After going behind in the first, Lucas pulled it back to win the first 11/5. Grayson was very patient in the 2nd & 3rd which worked for him, taking them both. In the 4th, Grayson got a no let decision at 2-1 up which really got to him because within minutes he was 8-3 down. He was a tough decision against him by the referee but he ref thought Grayson could and should have played the ball so…
Two all and the decider.It was very tight and went to 8-7 and Grayson got another no let which this time didn’t upset him because he then had a match ball but Serme remained cool and saved it before winning the game 12/10. Super squash.
The qualifier Rachael Chadwick who had played some great squash all week was up against No. 4 seed Alison Thomson in the 2nd Semi. Alison was up early in the first, 6-3 then Rachael started to find her range and pulled it back to win 11-6. She won the 2nd easily. Thomson worked very hard to win the 3rd 11/6 but Chadwick upped it again, driving beautifully and covering the court really well. Her height and range helps her a lot. It was a tight game which Chadwick just pipped 11/9. So a qualifier in the final, the first time that has happened at the IRISH OPEN in a few years.
The last match of the day was the semi between Declan James and Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema. LJ used all his experience and snuck the first 11-8. James said ” I had a really tough match yesterday and was looking after my body” His game plan was then really put into action in the 2nd. “I wanted to move him around a lot, not make mistakes and wait for my opportunities” It worked, James won the 2nd game 11-4. In the 3rd LJ worked really hard and it was nip and tuck all the way to 9 all before James won it 11/9.
In the 5th James had a beautiful drop at 1-0 to start him off. Using his super forehand drive which won him several points he got to 9/2 very quickly. He then had a super nick to give him match ball which he duly converted to win the match and into the final vs Lucas Serme. They have not played each other before, so it will be interesting to see their respective game plans. Also there is only 2 places between them in World rankings so it should be very close.
Women’s Final at 3pm and the Men’s at 4pm, both Live on IRISH SQUASH TV.
Quarter Finals – Thursday 21st April 2016
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [7] Elin Harlow (WAL) 11/7, 11/4, 11/2 22min
[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) beat [5] Enora Villard (FRA) 11/5, 11/4, 11/6 23min
[4] Alison Thomson (ENG) beat [8] Tessa Ter Sluis 11/5, 10/12, 11/6, 11/5 38min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat [6] Anna Klimundova (CZE) 11/7, 9/11, 12/10, 8/11, 11/4 53min
MEN
(1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [6] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 12/14, 11/7, 11/4, 12/10 64min
[3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) beat [5] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) 11/4, 11/5, 14/12 44min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat [7] Joe Lee (ENG) 7/11, 10/12, 12/10, 11/9, 11/9 86min
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) beat [8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/3 55min
The first match saw Number 1 seed Millie Tomlinson play Junior, Elin Harlow of Wales. Elin started well and was up in the first game by a few points before Millie settled into the pace of the game and started to impose her power into the rallies. The 1st game was 11/7. In the 2nd & 3rd games Millie had too much for Elin, who was not getting a good length. Millie won it in 3, 11/7, 11/4, 11/2.
The first men’s match, saw Number 1 seed Lucas Serme have a tough match vs Charles Sharpes of England. Serme, last year a finalist in this event, lost the first game 14/12 after some huge rallies. Sharpes was playing very well before Serme took it up a notch, as he had to. He reeled off the 2nd & 3rd games to 7 & 4. Sharpes wasn’t finished though and really fought in the 4th game. It went to 10 all and then Sharpes had a game ball before Serme finished it out 12/10.
England’s Georgina Kennedy played Enora Villard from France in their quarter final. After a very tough match in Round 1 yesterday. Georgina said she wanted to ” Hit the ball low and hard to keep volleys away from Enora, while also volleying myself as much as I could” The score was reflective of that strategy. Kennedy said afterwards ” I was very happy to finish it in three” Final score was 11/5, 11/4, 11/6.
No, 3 seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand played Shaun Le Roux from Sth Africa. After a very slow start, Le Roux lost the first 2 games. He then started to get into the match in the 3rd, getting in front of Grayson. The New Zealander said ” I had a very tough match yesterday, so was happy the way I played, but then he started to get in front of me in the 3rd” Le Roux was 6-3 up, then 8-5 in the 3rd. However he got a conduct stroke against him to make it 9 all. Le Roux still fought hard and had 2 game balls but Grayson pushed, got in front again and finished it to 14/12.
MATCHES FROM 4PM
Alison Thomson played Dutch player Tessa Ter Sluis and made a fast start winning the 1st game easily enough, 11/5. Ter Sluis really picked it up in the 2nd, driving beautifully. Then she lost concentration and went 7-5 down. Then got it back again with a couple of lovely nicks to win it 12/10 – 1 all. Alison said “I’ve played her before and wanted to get her twisting & turning to stop her driving it low & hard” In the 3rd Ter Sluis started making mistakes and Thomson upped the pace to win it 11/6. Thomson had too much in the end and won it 3-1.
Joe Lee, playing very well this week, made another good start in his match with Declan James. He won the 1st 11/7 but the 2nd was a much closed affair with some super rallies and unbelievable retrieving from both players. Lee took it 12/10. James took the 3rd 12/10 & the 4th 11/9, playing a much better length than in the 1st 2 games. The 5th was real ‘cat & mouse’ with James playing very patiently, which worked for him, winning it 11-9 to win the match.
In the last women’s match, after winning the first game, Rachael Chadwick, the qualifier from England, stuttered in the 2nd and Anna Klimundova, the Czech player won it. The 3rd & 4th went towards one player and then the other, before they were both shared. In the 5th Chadwick raced ahead using her powerful drive but let Klimundova back in again before closing it finally 11/4.
Laurens Jan Anjema the Dutch player was up against Indian Mahesh Mangaonkar, who put Irishman Arthur Gaskin out last night. The first 2 games were shared 11/8. Anjema took a very close 3rd 11/9 which had some super rallies with a magnificent short game from both players. In the 5th Anjema raced away utilising his tight game at the front, keeping the ball so low to win it 11/3 and the match.
Round 1, Wednesday 20th April 2016
The first match of the day saw the 2 French teammates Lucas Serme and Geoffrey Demont play each other. These 2 players have played on French teams going back to juniors so know each other games very well. Lucas over 40 places higher in World rankings had too much for Geoffrey and won without to much trouble 3-0 in 28min. The young Welsh player Elin Harlow also won convincingly over Moana Gray of Australia 3-0. This is Elin’s 2nd tournament in Ireland this season. She won the IRISH Junior Open Under 19 title last November.
We had a super match between Englishwoman Georgina Kennedy the former European U19 champion and Xisela Aranda of Spain. Xisela belied her ranking of 145to push Georgina and had 2 match balls herself before Georgina just got over the line 16-14 in the 5th in a match that lasted 4min short of an hour.
Shaun Le Roux and Joshua Larkin had a tence match with plenty of questioning of referee decisions. Shaun was always in control but Joshua made him work hard and Joshua certainly worked really hard himself, with the amount of sweat showing from his shirt. Shaun won 3-0 but it was closer than the score suggests.
In the match of the day for the Irish crowd, Arthur Gaskin ranked 85 was up against India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar who is ranked 27 places higher than him. Arthur started slowly but Mahesh was playing well and went 2-0 in games. Arthur knew he had to extend the rallies and get in the game “In the last point of the 2nd game I played the point more deliberately looking to extend the rally and not force it” At the start of the 3rd game Arthur continued with this gameplan. It worked – he leveled the match 2 all to the delight of his home crowd.
In the 5th both his calves tightened when he went to the front wall and before he knew it he was 6-0 down. He got 3 points but Mahesh closed out that 5th game fairly quickly 11-3 to win the match.
In the last match of the evening, Rachael Chadwich from England had a super win over much higher ranked Alexandra Fuller (68) from South Africa. Rachael used her power and height to great effect to beat Fuller 3-0 in 24min. Alexandra was never really in the match as Rachael took full control of affairs.
Thursday’s quarter finals start on Court 1 @ 12 noon, with all matches being streamed Live on Irish Squash TV.
WOMEN
[1] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) beat [LL] Nia Davies (WAL) 11/1, 11/1, 11/3 20min
[7] Elin Harlow (WAL) beat Moana Gray (AUS) 11/4, 11/8, 11/9 22min
[5] Enora Villard (FRA) beat Marija Shpakova (SUI) 11/6, 11/5,11/5 22 min[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) beat Xisela Aranda (ESP) 7/11, 11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 16/14 56 min
[4] Alison Thomson (ENG) beat [Q] Harshit Jawanda (IND) 11/13, 11/7,11/6, 11/6 35 min[8] Tessa Ter Sluis beat Eva Fertekova (CZE) 11/8, 11/8, 11/4 17min
[6] Anna Klimundova (CZE) beat Eleanor Epke (NZL) 11/8. 11/6, 11/7 25 min
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (ENG beat [2] Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 11/9, 11/7, 11/4 24min
MEN
[1] Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 11/5, 11/1, 11/4 28 min
[6] Charles Sharpes (ENG) beat Christopher Binnie (JAM) 7/11, 11/9, 11/9, 8/11, 12/10 86 min
[5] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) beat [Q] Joshua Larkin (AUS) 11/6, 11/8, 11/5 41min
[3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) beat Richie Fallows (ENG) 7/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/4, 11/7 87 min
[4] Declan James (ENG) beat Jens Schoor (GER) 11/6, 11/9, 12/10 30min
[7] Joe Lee (ENG) beat [Q] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) 11/4, 11/4, 9/11, 11/3 47min
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) beat [WC] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11/5, 11/5, 6/11, 3/11, 11/3 67 min [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) beat [Q] Christophe Andre (FRA) 11/7, 11/5, 11/2 30min
Qualifying Round 2, Tuesday 19th April 2016
Day 2 of the GILLENMARKETS IRISH OPEN saw some super matches with 2 IRISH players, Sean Conroy and Brian Byrne pushing their much higher ranked opponents hard. In the 1st match of the day,
Byrne was playing Joshua Larkin of Australia. Brian raced into a 2-0 lead, playing super squash. Joshua said “The fast pace of those first 2 games didn’t work for me, so I decided to lengthen the rallies and make it a longer match” Byrne started to force it and made mistakes. Brian said “I just switched off at some big points and lost concentration” Consequently Larkin came back into the match and won the next 3 games to win 3-2. So close and yet so far for Byrne.
The other IRISH player Sean Conroy played Frenchman Geoffrey Demont nearly 100 places higher than him in World rankings. Again Sean started well and won the first game 11/7. Demont had to increase the pressure on Sean. ” I had to put pressure on him in the 2nd game, take volleys early and dominate the T” It worked as Demont took the 2nd game 11/4. The 3rd game went to the wire and crucially Demont just pipped it 11/9, which proved decisive. He closed out the match 11/3 to win 3-1 in 41 min. In the other 2 men’s matches Matthew Hopkin from Australia beat Ashley Davies of England 3-0 and Frenchman Christophe Andre of France beat Scotland’s Douglas Kempsell 3-1 in a close match that went on for 46 min.
In the women’s event the no.1 seed Nadia Pfister from Switzerland lost to Harshit Jawanda of India 3-0. It was a convincing victory for Harshit. Eva Fertekova had too much for Welsh player Nia Davies beating her 3-0. In the last 2 matches there was 3 Spanish players playing in them. In the first Xisela Aranda beat her compatriot Marta Latorre Ramirez and in the last match Rachael Chadwick had a convincing victory over no. 2 seed Marina De Juan Gallach 3-0. Rachael’s high reach proved too difficult for Marina to cope with. Rachael dominated the T and drove superbly.
So on with the Main Draw commencing tomorrow @ 12 noon.
DAY 2 RESULTS – Qualifying Round 2, Tuesday 19th April 2016
WOMEN
[7] Harshit Jawanda (IND) beat [1] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 11/5, 11/8, 11/7 21 min (Plays Thomson next)
[6] Eva Fertekova (CZE) beat [4] Nia Davies (WAL) 11/5, 11/2, 11/2 18 min (Plays Ter Sluis next)
[3] Xisela Aranda (ESP) beat [5] Marta Latorre Ramírez (ESP) 11/6, 11/4, 11/0 33 min (Plays Kennedy next)
[8] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) beat (2) Marina De Juan Gallach (ESP) 11/8, 11/3, 11/4 22 min (Plays Fuller next)
Lucky loser is Nia Davies who now plays M.Tomlinson – (Cyrielle Peltier withdrew)
MEN
[1] Joshua Larkin (AUS) beat Brian Byrne (IRL) 8/11, 6/11, 11/7, 11/9, 11/7 78 min (Plays Le Roux next)
[4] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) beat [6] Ashley Davies (ENG) 11/9, 11/4, 11/9 31 min (Plays Lee next)
[3] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) beat [8] Sean Conroy (IRL) 7/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 41 min (Plays Serme next)
[5] Christophe Andre (FRA) beat [2] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 12/10, 8/11, 11/6, 11/9 46 min (Plays Anjema next)
The All Ireland Schools Cup Finals took place on Friday April 15th in Belfast Boat Club. The event was run by David Rosenberg with help from Dorothy Wilson, Dorothy Armstrong & Josh McVeigh . Thanks to them all.
Irish Schools Squash Championships 2016 Belfast Boat Club, Friday 15th April – Results
Winning Teams pictured on the Right
Girls
Under 13 Section
1st – St Fintans, Dublin
2nd – Methodist College, Belfast
Under 15 Section
1st – Strathearn School, Belfast
2nd – Santa Sabina, Dublin
3rd – Ballyhanus Community School, Mayo
Boys
Under 15 Section
1st – St Fintans, Dublin
2nd – St Colmans, Claremorris, Mayo
3rd – Down High School, Downpatrick
Under 17 Section
1st – St Fintans, Dublin 
2nd– Belvedere College, Dublin
3rd – Methodist College, Belfast
MCB received RU trophy as only one team per province can be counted for trophies.
Under 19 Section
1st – St Fintans, Dublin
2nd – Methodist College, Belfast
3rd – St Colmans, Claremorris, Mayo
I’d like to thank the members and staff of Limerick LTC for all their support in hosting this event, the venue was superb, exceeding our expectations, and I look forward to more tournaments in Limerick next season hopefully. A Limerick Open could be on the cards for next season’s calendar perhaps!
Special mention for Barry Hession, and Christy Costelloe for making the event possible, and for giving of their time freely all weekend. The lads helped out in numerous ways over the weekend, including organising accommodation for the teams, had the courts in pristine condition on our arrival, helped organise all the food for the event and were generally a great help to me throughout the weekend with a lot of odd jobs.
IT was a very generous gesture of LLTC to give freely of their facilities for the duration of the tournament, and I sincerely hope it is only the beginning of a resurgence of squash at the club.
I’d also like to thank Irish Squash for supporting this event, and Paul Nugent in particular for making the trip to Limerick to set up the web camera for the event. Despite our best efforts we were unable to get the matches to stream live online, but we did record the matches on the show-court so I’m informed that some clips should be up on youtube in the coming days for anyone to catch up on the matches.
Friday afternoon circa 4pm the men’s B teams from Munster and Ulster arrived at the Limerick club to do battle to start proceedings for the tournament.
Munster took an early lead, winning the first two matches at numbers 5 and 4, before Ulster came back to win the 3rd match between the number 1s. Munster held on to win what proved to be the deciding match of the tie between the number 2s to go up 3-1, and also took the final dead rubber match. claiming a 4-1 win for the host province.
Leinster B had a BYE as Connacht B unfortunately had to pull out.The A matches commenced straight after the B matches finished, around 6pm,
Munster and Ulster had a great battle in the A also. The number 5s went to a 5th set in a closely contested match. Munster managed to win, and followed up with a win at number 4 also. After that good start it set up an important pressure-cooker of a match between the number 1s. A titanic match resulted in Munster nicking the win in a tie-break in the 5th set, to give the home province the tie.
The other matches went 1 a piece, so the final result was 4-1 to Munster.
Leinster and Connacht was to be the closest fought contest of the weekend, and on the centre court the crowd grew as the matches progressed.
Leinster took the first two matches, at 5 and 4, before Connacht got going, and then Connacht staged their come-back.
After Connacht winning at 1 and 3, the sides were then level, and the deciding match was incredibly tense. A bit of a see-saw match ensued, with Leinster taking a 2-love lead before Connacht came back stronger, winning the following 2 games and taking a big lead in the 5th. Again a fantastic show of courage saw the Leinster player pull it back to get into contention, with possibly the best of squash on display from both players from the entire weekend. However it was to be Connacht’s day as they edged the match and hence took the tie 3-2.
On Saturday morning play began around 10 o’clock, with the B teams back in action once again.
This time it was Leinster and Ulster doing battle.
The matches went each way for the first 4 matches to see it tied at 2-all, before the number 2 players took to the court for the decider.
The excitement grew around the centre court as the final match of the tie wore on.
They traded a game each before the match really got very tense. The 3rd and 4th games both went to tie-breakers, taking a game each to set up the final game as the decider for the tie.
All eyes were on centre court as Leinster proceeded to build up an early lead. The ulster player managed to make some inroads and cut into the lead somewhat, before the Leinster player pushed on again to set up 5 match-balls. Ulster contained one match-ball before succumbing, the lead proving to have been too great, and Leinster took the tie 3-2.
Munster B had a BYE in the morning over Connacht B.
The A players took to the court around 11am and the two winning teams from the previous round were to meet, as Munster faced Connacht.
Alas, it was not to be the classic encounter that the crowd may have hoped for.
The Connacht team were strengthened with reinforcements from the previous night while Munster had an injury to their number 1 and thereby the other players had to move up the ranks. After narrowly losing out in the first match, Munster were to add to their misfortune as the Munster number 4 had to concede his match mid-way due to injury.
That set up a decider between the number 1 players.
After the first two games were won convincingly by Connacht, the Munster player showed great determination to fight back and take the 3rd game to a tie-break, before agonisingly losing out and thereby handing the tie to Connacht.
To add further insult to injury Connacht went on to win the last two matches to make it 5-0, showing no trace of complacency, and a good sign of a champion side, and a vision of what was to come in the afternoon.
Leinster beat Ulster 4-1 in the other tie of the morning, effectively handing the tournament to Connacht, who couldn’t be caught at that stage, due to having already beaten both Munster and Leinster, and therefore even had they lost to Ulster in the afternoon they would still have the deciding head-to-head result over the other two provinces, while Ulster had lost both ties up to that point.
The highlight of that tie was the match between the No.4s while the tie was still in the balance, which went to the wire before Leinster took the spoils in the 5th, to go up 2-0 in matches after already winning at No.5. Ulster struck back by winning the No.1 encounter, but Leinster were not to be beaten and snuffed out Ulster hopes by winning the remaining 2 matches 3-0.The Leinster Ladies A Team travelled to take on the hosts Munster Ladies A. It was great to see the ladies teams back in action after a long hiatus at the interpros. Connacht Ladies and Ulster Ladies were unfortunately unable to form teams to take part.
Leinster managed to defeat the hosts, a convincing 5-0 scoreline doesn’t to justice to the closeness of some of the games, but the better team deservedly won on the day.
A credit to the Munster Ladies’ Captain, Mandy Collins, for her tireless efforts in organising the ladies event this season.
Hopefully this is a beginning of things to come, and next season we hope to see teams from 3 if not 4 provinces in Connacht for the 2017 Interpros.
The afternoon matches yet served up some more entertaining squash, as Munster and Leinster were to fight it out for a runners-up place in the A, and for the winners place in the B, while Ulster A played Connacht A to try to restore some pride to the province. Ulster B had a walkover and were able to relax and enjoy the other matches as mentioned already that Connacht B didn’t field a team.
The B matches were first, and there was great support for the home team. A win for either team would see them champions as both had already beaten the Ulster B team and Connacht B had no team.
Leinster won at number 5, both young players showing their promise, but the Leinster player was on better form to win it on the day.
Munster not to be outdone came back and won the No.4’s contest. The Munster player had to dig deep and work hard to find a way back after going 2-love down due to a very creditable display from his Leinster counter-part. The Munster player managed to turn the tide in his favour and won his match to level the sides on 1 match each.
I had the privilege of refereeing the No.1 match between two very creative players, which despite being on the quieter court served up some fascinating shots and some really tight rallies.
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that there should be plenty more to see from both players in years to come, as the potential is definitely there for improvement which is very encouraging.
The Munster player was unlucky in the first 2 games, after 2 game balls in the first and 3 game balls in the second, found himself 2-love down. Credit to the young Leinster player for fighting back as the games were not given up easily.
Munster had not given up either by that point, and bravely made a dramatic come-back to level the scores 2-all to take us into a 5th set.
Some of the squash on display was the equivalent of the A standard, with trickery and guile on show to match anything seen that weekend.
The Munster player took an early lead, and astonishingly overruled the referee to call his own ball down in what was deserving of an award for fair play.
However, that call allowed the Leinster player back in to serve and proved to be a turning point as the points were subsequently racked up and took up a commanding lead at 10-5.
With 5 match-balls, it only took the one attempt to seal it, and it was to be the Leinster player’s day as he took the match 3-2.
The No. 3 and No.2 players took to the court at roughly the same time, as the score stood 2-1 in Leinster’s favour.
The Munster No.2 managed to win his match 3-1 before the No.3 match finished. So the tie and the tournament was therefore in the balance.
All attention turned to the show-court then as there was a rush to get over to view the last couple of games and the seats filled up for the grand finale.
The Leinster player took an early lead, serving some exquisite high lobs taking full advantage of the high ceiling, and dominated the T in the early exchanges.
The Muster player managed to bring it back to 2-all and set us up for an enthralling finish.
Alas for Munster, it was to be Leinster’s day, as they held on to win the match 3-2 and the tie overall, 3-2.
It was truly a great finish to the B event, considering there were three 3-2 scorelines, and it went right down to the final point to win it.
Congratulations to Leinster B team, some of the players will no doubt be very involved in the A section in years to come.
In the A matches in the afternoon, commencing directly after the B matches finished, Munster lost the first two matches to Leinster again agonisingly on scorelines of 3-2, 3-2.
The Munster number 1 came up trumps and won the 3rd match 3-0 to keep them in it.
The penultimate match was an absolute cracker, perhaps the most supported match of the weekend, with a large home crowd cheering and applauding each rally on the show-court.
The referee had to make some tough calls but fair play to him for maintaining an impartial view on every decision.
The players fought hard and traded games up to 2-all, before Munster went into an almost unassailable lead, with no less than 6 match balls. The Leinster player showed great determination and belief to fight back to a tie-break, which is to be expected from a currently ranked No.1 in Europe in his age grade. With the tie in the balance the Leinster player managed to seal the win for Leinster and take the match.
Leinster also won the dead rubber to finish on a final scoreline of 4-1 to ensure their runners-up position.Connacht again did the business to cap it off with the maximum of 3 wins over the other provinces, with a scoreline of 4-1 over Ulster.
The scoreline doesn’t do justice to the tightness of the encounter however, and Ulster could well have won the tie but for a bit of luck, and a bit of experience perhaps showing to good effect for the Connacht players in the end. We were left debating which of the Connacht team were the MVP (Most Valuable Player) having won the tournament but I think the 1,2, and 3 combination were equally important in a true team effort, each winning all 3 of their matches. Congratulations to Connacht on winning for the second time in recent years. Perhaps Munster is somewhat of a lucky venue for Connacht as I believe last time they won was in Cork 4 years ago if I remember correctly!
Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable feast of squash, which was followed by a delicious feast in the LLTC clubhouse by caterers Hook & Ladder. We were spoiled with the quality of the food all weekend, so many thanks for that to Christy Costelloe and to Hook & Ladder for looking after us so well.We hope to see a bigger tournament next season in Connacht, with more teams and bigger participation from as many of our top players as possible.
Lastly, a big thanks to all who came to Limerick support the event, and to the players for exhibiting their talents on the court, and especially to those that stayed for the presentation and enjoyed a night on the town with us afterwards.
TEAMS
MEN
| Munster |
Connacht |
Leinster |
Ulster |
| John Hurley |
Brian Byrne |
Sam Olwill |
David Ayerst |
| Philip McSweeney |
David Noone |
Luke Logan |
Peter McNeice |
| Brian Healy |
Keith Moran |
Conor Moran |
Stephen Hearst |
| Kevin Knox |
Rory Gilligan |
Ronan Peyton |
Mark Gilliland |
| Clive Morgan |
Kevin Davey |
Colm Travers |
Andrew Browne |
| Phil Cullinane |
Niall Brennan |
Sam Buckley |
Todd Gowdy |
| Mark Furlong |
|
Ed Dunne |
Adrian Leeson |
| Donnagh Crowley |
|
John Dillon |
Stuart Gaffikin |
| Ken O’Keeffe |
|
John Nolan |
Gavin Bigger |
| Graham Higgins |
|
David Ryan |
Aongus O’Keeffe |
| Mike Howard |
|
Sean Dineen |
Seb Leeson |
| Darragh Butler |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Munster Ladies |
|
Leinster Ladies |
|
| Sandra Gleeson Walshe |
|
Ciara Moloney |
|
| Aisling Hickey |
|
Claire O’Neil |
|
| Dympna Reardon |
|
Niamh Maher |
|
| Siobhán O’Malley |
|
Niamh Brennan |
|
| Suzie Connors |
|
Lily Lloyd |
|
| Mandy Collins |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Martin J. McDonnell
Men’s Captain
Munster Squash
Irish Squash Federation Ltd
Results
| Venue: |
Galway LTC |
| Address: |
|
| Phone: |
091.522353 |
| Website: |
gltc.ie |
Friday, April 15, 2016 to Saturday, April 16, 2016Tournament days
New ESF junior rankings for March just published. Congratulations to Jake Creaven who entered top-10 for the first time, taking #10 position in the BU13 group!
Denis Gilevskiy and Conor Moran kept #1 positions in their respective age groups (BU13 and BU15) for the second month in a row. Boys rankings look particularly strong for Ireland with three Irish boys in the top-10 in Under 13 and two in Under 15 and Under 17 each.
Other players in the top 10 – Luke Logan is ranked 4th and Scott Gillanders 7th in the Under 17 age group. Sam Buckley is 6th in the Under 15’s. Dylan Moran is 8th in the Under 13’s.
Congratulations to all our IRISH players competing in European Opens.
For all the rankings see here –
http://esf.tournamentsoftware.com/ranking/ranking.aspx?rid=90
Women’s & Men’s Finals – Saturday 23rd April 2016
2nd 11/4. Millie kept a great length and was really tight. The third game was more of the same and Millie closed it out 11/3. Millie said “ I just wanted to keep her behind me and not give her any opportunities” Rachael was understandably disappointed afterwards, but she has had a super week all the way from last Monday in the qualifiers to today’s final.
Byrne was playing Joshua Larkin of Australia. Brian raced into a 2-0 lead, playing super squash. Joshua said “The fast pace of those first 2 games didn’t work for me, so I decided to lengthen the rallies and make it a longer match” Byrne started to force it and made mistakes. Brian said “I just switched off at some big points and lost concentration” Consequently Larkin came back into the match and won the next 3 games to win 3-2. So close and yet so far for Byrne.
