Madeline Perry and Ali Farag showing off their trophies with the Egyptian ambassador and main sponsor Rory Gillen of GillenMarkets

In her winning speech, Ireland’s most successful female Squash player was not only awarded a special lifetime award, but also thanked her support from over the years extensively.

Ali Farag, a happy Egyptian winner!

Madeline Perry, happy after a solid 3:1 win

Perry, playing her last professional Squash tournament, had a tricky challenge playing young American Olivia Blatchford – the same player who had beaten her unexpectedly in last year’s edition. This tie around Perry imposed herself and was up to the challenge, winning by three games to one. “I would have preferred a 3:0 but I’ll take a 3:1 as well. I had a slight drop in concentration in game three – my length dropped which allowed her to play her shots – but then I started in the fourth game really well and closed it out.”

Aisling Blake, through to the quarters

All Ireland Schools Squash Final April 17th 2015

Some left home at 4 am. They loaded on to buses bleary eyed in the dark. They hadn’t slept anyway. They were excited, they were their Provincial Champions, and they were going to Dublin to try to bring back an All Ireland title for their school. The venue , ALSAA, a sports complex beside Dublin Airport convenient to all major routes to Ireland with four squash courts and great facilities.
A squash club is a very quiet place when not being used. Up in the balcony the organisers were busy preparing the schedules and game plans for the day. We heard them before we saw them. At almost 10 am they arrived. They must have jumped out of the buses with their rackets in their hands but we heard bags being dropped excited shouts and soon the familiar sounds of  squash balls hitting walls and white soled runners on wood.
22 teams arrived from all 4 Provinces representing Boys and Girls at u13, u15,u17 and u 19.
Each team consisted of 3 players, each one a Provincial title holder and each ready to play squash all day.
The matches started at 10 am and played right through to 5.30 pm running to a well organised schedule.
Teams were accompanied by mentors, some parents and teachers.
There were some surprises at the end of the long day but generally it was agreed that participating was just as important as winning.
22 teams competed. The schools involved were St Fintans NS, Sutton, Dublin St Fintans High School , Sutton, Dublin, Leugh NS, Thurles, Co Tipperary, CBS Secondary School, Thurles, Co Tipperary, Scoil Phadraig, Westport, Co Mayo, St Colmans Claremorris, Co Mayo, Rice College ,Westport Co Mayo, Methodist College Belfast, Regent House Newtownards, Santa Sabina Girls Secondary School, Sutton, Dublin, Ardscoil na Mara, Tramore, Co Waterford, Muire gan  Smal, Claremorris, Co Mayo, Ballyhaunis Community School, Ballinrobe Community School,and Strathearn College, Belfast.
At 6 pm the courts were quiet again but the following teams had taken the spoils.

Girls u 13 winner St Fintans NS, Grace Lavin,Katie Loughney, Ali Carton.
Runner up Muire gan Smal, Claremorris,Sarah Gannon, Leah Hunt, Ali Whelan.
Girls U15 winner Santa Sabina Sutton, Katherine Bolger, Kelly Byrne,Holly Lavin.
Runner up Are Scoil na Mara, Tramore.?Roisin Kirwan,Jordan Scholtz,Bronagh Coleman.
Girls u 17 winner Strathearn College, Victoria White, Emma McGugan,Alex Gillan.
Runner up Santa Sabina Sutton.Stephanie Ryan,Lauren Smith,Lara Jameson.
No Girls u 19 competition.
Boys u 13 winner St Fintans NS Alex Smith,Dylan Moran,Jake Creaven.
Runner up Scoil Phadraig, Westport.?Connor Calvin,Ray Walsh,Conor Bermingham.
Boys u 15 winner St Fintans High School,Conor Moran,Sam Buckley, Michael Creaven.
Runner up Methodist College Belfast.?Ronan Dravid,James Hunter, Ansh Pajuja.
Boys u 17 winner St Fintans High School, Oisin Dunne, Brian Collins,Frankie O Dea.
Runner up Regent House Newtownards.?Stephen Hearst,Scott McIlhane,Jon McCreedy
Boys u 19 winner Methodist College Belfast Thomas Abrahams,Ellie McVeigh,David Mitchell.
Runner up CBS Thurles Co Tipperary.Declan Rooney,Adam Webb,Conor O Gorman.-

Special thanks to Tommy Maher and his committee for all their hard work in organising this super tournament.

Ireland’s most successful squash player seeks 6^th Irish Open title before retiring

Ireland’s most highly ranked squash player of all time, Madeline Perry, is seeking her final title at this year’s GillenMarkets Irish

Open Squash tournament where she is the number 1 seed in the women’s draw.  Madeline has announced her retirement from the world tour after this event. Ranked 18 in the world at 38 years of age, Madeline will have to see off the challenge of the number 2 seed, Nicolette Fernandes of Guyana (world ranked 20), and a field of players ranked just behind her such as the rising star, Emily Whitlock (ranked 25) of England and Olivia Blatchford of the USA (ranked 37) who beat Madeline in last year’s event. Ireland’s Aisling Blake (world ranked 40) is seeded 6.

Madeline reached number 3 in the world rankings in 2011, with 11 tour titles and more than 120 caps. She won her 15^th Irish National title in February last. Madeline was the leading player on the Irish team when they came second in Europe in 2012, and helped Ireland win a another silver medal in 2013. In the World team championships, she helped Ireland win a 5^th place in Cairo in 2008 and since then has helped to ensure that the Irish team finished somewhere in the top 8 teams in the world for the last number of years.

The GillenMarkets Irish Open, will take place in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Appian Way, Dublin 6 from 22^nd – 25^th April.

Again the event will be streamed live on IRISH SQUASH TV HERE

The men’s event sees rising Egyptian star, Mazen Hesham, the number 1 seed, challenge for his first Irish Open title. The 21 year old World University Champion will have to overcome last year’s finalist, the Scottish number 1, Alan Clyne, alongside a field that sees world ranked players in the top 30.  The Irish number 1, Arthur Gaskin (world 85), will be in action in a bid to match his excellent efforts in reaching the semi-final last year.

5 Irish men (B.Byrne, M.Craig, R.Byrne, K.Moran & S.Conroy) and Ciara Moloney  will also be taking their place in the qualifying draws on Monday and Tuesday.

DRAWS (all times included)

Qualifying Draw – Women

Main Draw – Women

Qualifying Draw – Men

Main Draw – Men

Day 2 – Tuesday 21/4/15

Day 1 – Monday 20/4/15

The first day of the GillenMarkets Irish Open was for the 1st round of the qualifying which will provide 4 players for the main draw after Tuesday’s matches.

Galway Lawn Tennis Club will again be playing host to this year’s ‘Paddy Whack Walsh’ West of Ireland Open Squash Championships.  The club is preparing for what promises to be a really exciting tournament with some of the best professional squash players coming to Galway to compete for the coveted West of Ireland trophy.

Again the event will be streamed live on IRISH SQUASH TV HERE

The event is again sponsored by Garavan’s Bar. Our sole sponsor has supported the event for many years and is the only reason why the event can go ahead. It is one of only two events that sees professional squash players compete on these shores. GLTC is extremely grateful to Paul Garavan of Garavan’s Bar for his incredible support.

Round 1

Paddy Whack Walsh West of Ireland Squash Championships 2015

Main Draw First Round Results

Ali Farag bt Rui Soares 3-0 11-5 11-9 11-7 in 21 minutes

 James Earles bt Sanjay Singh Chal 3-1 11-13 15-13 11-8 11-6 in 46 minutes

Jan Van Den Herrewegen bt Jens Schoor 3-2 12-10 2-11 11-7 8-11 11-9 in 68 minutes

Carlos Cornes Rabadas bt Miachael Craig 3-1 11-8 5-11 11-9 19-17 in 70 minutes

Douglas Kempsell bt Ivan Yuen 3-1 11-7 7-11 11-9 11-9 in 69 minutes.

Shehab  Essam bt James Huang 3-1 11-7 4-11 16-14 11-7 in 34 minutes

Rex Hendrick bt Brian Byrne 3-1 9-11 11-3 11-7 11-2 51 minutes

Mohamed Elgawarthy bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 3-0 11-8 11-6 11-9 in 39 minutes

Qualfying

In the final qualifying 2 out of 3 irish players got through to the main draw – Michael Craig and Brian Byrne. Unfortunatly Sean Conroy lost out. Craig beat the no. 1 seed Robert Downer from England 3-2 and Byrne beat another Englishman Ashley Davies 3-2. Two great wins. Conroy lost 3-2 to Portugal’s Rui Soares.

[1] Robert Downer (ENG)

[7] Rui Soares (POR) WON

 MAIN DRAW – Thursday 16/4/15

The qualifiers started on Tuesday 14th with great success for the Irish players with Michael Craig, Brian Byrne and Sean Conroy all winning their matches.  Sean actually beat local Galway player David Noone. The final round is on Wed 15th April.

This year is going to be particularly exciting. As the event continues to grow we are seeing players with higher and higher rankings come to play the event which is a huge compliment to us at GLTC. This year’s number 1 seed is Mahesh Mangaonkar  from India who has a world ranking of 45! He is scheduled to meet Rex Hedrick in the final if all goes to plan. Hedrick, the number 2 seed from Australia is world ranked no. 52. All in all it should be a really exciting event.

The first round of qualification kicks off on Tuesday 14th April.  Please try and get down to the event to give John your support.

As far as other Irish contenders are concerned we have  Sean Conroy from Dublin who is training and playing full time as a PSA player now, has made the qualification draw so hopefully he can do well and qualify for the main draw too. We also have Keith Moran from Sligo, Michael Craig from Belfast and Brian Byrne from Claremorris competing in the ‘local spot’ positions so good luck to them too!

The schedule for the event is as follows:   Tuesday 14th April: first round qualification, Wednesday 15th April: final round qualification, Thursday 16th April: main draw first round, Friday 17th April: PSA quarter finals and first round for the graded events Saturday 18th April: PSA semi finals with second day for the graded events Sunday 19th April: PSA and graded finals day.

For tournament entry and information see HERE 

LINKS

Www.gltc.ie

Www.garavansbar.ie

Www.psaworldtour.com

Andre Davies West of Ireland Tournament Director.

Report on the Squash Masters Interpros – held in Fitzwilliam LTC on 1oth and 11^th April 2015

All provinces had teams in the Men’s Over 55 and 65 categories whilst Leinster Munster and Ulster had teams in the Men’s Over 45, Ladies Over 35 and Ladies Over 50 categories.

Results were as follows –

 [nggallery id=47]

Men’s Over 45 (5 Player Teams)
Ulster were definitely the strongest team with a 4/1 victory over Leinster (well done Stephen Fasenfeld for winning for Leinster at number 5 in his first Masters Interpros match) and a 5/0 victory over Munster. Players winning both their matches in this section were

• Jonathon Simpson (Ulster)
• Adrian Leeson (Ulster)
• Martin O’Neill (Ulster)
• George Hewitt (Ulster) and
• Stephen Fasenfeld (Leinster)

Men’s Over 55 (5 Player Teams)
Munster were the winners of this section, beating Connacht 3/2, Leinster 3/2, and Ulster 5/0. Players winning all three matches in this section were

• Mick Morrissey (Leinster)
• Martin Mc Donnell (Munster) and
• Michael Conlon (Munster)

Men’s Over 65 (3 Player Teams)
Again Munster came out on top in this section, beating Connacht 2/1, Leinster 3/0, and Ulster 2/1. In general matches were closer in the Over 65 section Tim Murphy from Cork  managing to win all three matches.

Ladies Over 35 (3 Player Teams)
Leinster ladies came out on top here, beating Ulster 2/1 and Munster 3/0. Players winning both their matches were Caroline Coyle (Ulster), Sarah Butler (Leinster) and Joan Gorham (Leinster)

Ladies Over 50 (3 Player Teams)
Ulster were the best team in this section, beating Leinster and Munster 3/0 – so all the Ulster Ladies (Michele Jackson, Ruth Coates, and Jenny Mc Conachie) won both their games.

In all it was a very successful tournament and I hope all the players enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed organising it. Thanks to Fitzwilliam LTC for allowing us to use their splendid facilities and as usual for the lovely dinner on the Saturday night. Thanks also to Rosie Barry – Tournament Director, Brian Williams – Tournament Referee, Tom Keenan – Treasurer and Results Coordinator, Ciaran Roche – Irish Squash Masters Secretary for their help in running the tournament. Lastly thanks to all the competitors who helped out with refereeing and for their friendly and sporting attitudes both on and off the courts (and not forgetting Martin Maher who took the photos of the Prize giving)

Brian Mc Nally
Tournament Organiser

 Panel of Players from each Province shown below (Not in Ranking Order)

Leinster                          Manager : Brian Mc Nally

Connacht    Manager : Alf Kavanagh (and Captain MO55)

Munster                         Manager : Martin Mc Donnell

Ulster                           Manager : Frank Marks

Madeline Perry, the most successful female Irish squash player of all-time, will make her farewell WSA World Tour appearance at the Gillen Markets Irish Open later this month in Dublin.

A full-time professional since 1999, 38-year-old Perry has enjoyed a distinguished career in the sport, winning 11 WSA Tour titles from 27 final appearances and celebrating a career-high world No.3 ranking in 2011. The Australian Open champion in 2010 in Canberra – where she upset both the second and third seeds en-route to the WSA World Series title – the Banbridge-born star has won the prestigious Irish Open trophy five times, twice finishing as runner-up.

With more than 120 caps for Ireland, Perry has competed for her country in eight successive biennial World Team Championships and in February won a record 15th Irish National title.

“I have decided to retire from the World Tour and have decided that the Irish Open (from 21-25 April) will be my last World Tour event,” said Perry, the event’s top seed for the ninth time. “It is been an incredibly difficult decision to make but I had to be honest with myself and unfortunately I have noticed that I do not have the same extreme focus that I once had, or indeed, desire to compete.

“Having had such a successful career, I felt that I was no longer doing myself justice and felt the time was right to move on and find a new career.

“I am so proud to have come from a small country like Northern Ireland and to have competed at such a high level on the world stage,” Perry (pictured above in action in the 2014 Tournament of Champions) continued. “Highlights for me have been reaching world number three; reaching the final of the British Open after beating world No.1 Nicol David in the quarter finals; reaching the semi-finals of the World Open; and winning the Australian Open.

“I still play and train to a very high level so I have every intention of continuing to compete for Ireland, at national level and leagues as I still love training and playing the game. I also hope to coach more and give back to the sport that has given me so much.

“A new challenge awaits and after retiring in June, I will travel to Malaysian Borneo to volunteer for the charity Raleigh International, a youth and sustainable development charity. I will work there for three months as a Project Manager for a diverse group of younger volunteers on various sustainable development projects within communities living in poverty.

“I look forward to travelling to Borneo but this time instead of playing squash in a foreign country, I will contribute to the country and hopefully enhance people’s lives!

“I have so many people to thank for their support during my career but I will save those for after the Irish Open so for the next two weeks all my focus will be on that event and I will hope to finish my World Tour career on a high at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin where I have had so much success over the years including my 15 Irish National titles.”

Irish Squash president, Ed Dunne says “Madeline has been a great role model for squash players in Ireland and around the world playing a such a high level for so many years. We in Irish Squash are so proud of her and thank her for all that she has contributed to squash in Ireland. I want to wish her all the best in the next chapter of her life and we are delighted that she will continue to play squash at national level.”

WSA CEO Tommy Berden paid tribute to Perry: “It is fitting that Madeline plays her farewell professional event at the Fitzwilliam Club, a place where she has had many great results. She has been a great role model for all of her peers and we would like to congratulate her on an outstanding career. We wish her all the best in the future and hope that she will continue to give back to the sport of squash in another capacity.”

Despite retiring from the WSA Tour this month, Perry will have a busy month in May: In addition to fundraising for Raleigh International for her trip to Borneo, she will also play the European Team Championships (in Denmark, from 29 April to 2 May), the English Premier League semi-finals for Coolhurst London, the Italian League Finals, and the BSPA Finals at Roehampton.