10th – 11th January 2015

              10th – 11th January 2015

Michael Craig finishes in 6th place in the British Junior Open. 

 Michael gave a walkover in the 5/6th place play off due to injury. vs Youssef Abo Elmakarem, another Egyptian, to finish in 6th place. This is a super finishing position for Michael after some superb squash in the tournament.

Earlier in the event in the play off for 5-8th place Michael beat another Egyptian, Amr Arafa 11-0,11-2 Rtd. There were 5 boys from Egypt in the draw and Michael played 3 of them. 4 of them reached the quarters showing their very high standard, so a real test for Michael which he has stood up to superbly.

In the quarters, Michael played the number 2 seed Omar El Atmas but lost out 3-1, (13-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6} to this very tough opponent, who is in the final. Michael played really well taking a tight first game but unfortunatly it was one Egyptian too many having beaten Abdel Rahman Zaher in round 3.

Round 1-3

After two straightforward first and second round matches Michael met Egypt’s  Abdel Rahman Zaher, ( who earlier beat the European number 1), with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

Michael cruised to a 10-1 lead in the first, winning 11-4. It looked so simple, however it all changed in the second with the Egyptian taking control of proceedings going ahead 2-1 in games. Michael played some amazing squash to go through 3-2 comfortably in the last game. The match was not without controversy with the Egyptian using a persistent blocking strategy. Michael, between constant appealing to the referee to do something about it and doing a bit of, (less than graceful),  blocking himself – to make his point, gave as good as he got and won out!

Other Irish Players

Other Irish players who played in the tournament were Sophie O’Rourke from Highfield, Cork who had 2 wins from 4 matches. Ellie McVeigh from Belfast had 3 wins from 6 matches, winning her last match to finish strongly. In th girls U17 Hannah Craig had 2 wins from 4 matches.

In the Boys U15’s Scott Gillanders from Dublin had a very tight 1st round mach vs 9/16th seed Yannick Wilhelmi (Sui) which went 3-2 against him, very close. Scott then had 4 wins from 5 matches beating 4 English boys along the way to finish very strongly.

In the boys U 17s Stephan Hearst from Belfast had a very tough match to start vs a 3/4th seed, Mohammad Alsarraj (Jor) which he lost 3-1, 11/3, 11/6, 8/11, 11/3. In the remaining matches he had close matches and then winning his last match.

GOODBODY OLD BELVEDERE OPEN HANDICAP

Tournament Report

It happens every year without fail, an email encouraging you to get off the couch, and back onto the squash court. The time has come to get rid of those mince pie induced kilos and do battle.

It all started fifty years ago and the chaps down atAnglesea Roadnever give up. Even if you have no intention of entering the Handicap Tournament they’ll put you down anyway. There is no better start to the New Year than a heady dose of adrenalin and as you give away point after point to some young whippersnapper, it’s only that adrenalin and the fear for your reputation that keeps you battling on.

A Handicap Tournament is fantastic. It gives lower ranked players the opportunity to play against people they never play and when they get a few points and even win a few games it’s a great boost to the confidence. But what happens when you find yourself in a tournament where your fifteen year old son is also competing? Could you bear it if you had to play him? And what if you lost?

Well it didn’t quite come to that, but darned close in the case of Donal Kelly and his son Ryan. Luckily for Donal he was narrowly beaten in the semi-final thus avoiding a face off against his son in the final.

But what if he had been in the final? With his wife and other son present, who would they have been cheering for? Talk about excitement. In the event the fifteen year old Ryan beat everyone, winning the Perpetual Cup and had so much energy left he stayed on the court to play his little brother. That’s youth for you.

As always Sandycove Squash Club turned out in force, this time bringing along a squad of new players. In the final of the Vet’s Handicap Brian Hickey wearing his signature headband put on his usual performance, flying around the court entertaining the crowd and beating David Dumigan 3 -1.

There is nothing like a bit of new blood to give life to a competition and this year two new young women players – Gillian Ryan and Catriona Fitzgerald took on the old hands. Congratulations must go to Catriona who only started playing two years ago, yet managed to carry off The Plate. Watch this space!

Bernie Geoghegan a regular entrant to The Handicap Tournament beat off an old rival Gay Grant to win 3 -1 in the final of the Women’s Competition taking home the Perpetual Cup beautifully polished by the last winner, no other than the mother of the aforementioned Ryan.

As might have been expected in the Men’s Championship the final battle was fought between the Number 1 and Number 2 seeds – Rory Byrne and Dara O’Flynn respectively. In a closely fought five setter Rory emerged as the winner and was presented with the huge silver cup.

Meanwhile over on the other court The Plate match between the fifth and sixth seeds – Tom Crowe and Stephen Fasenfeld kept the spectators on their toes, trying to watch two matches at the same time. Again it was a five setter and only a matter of two points 14 -12 separated Stephen from the prize.

Sixty-six players turned out this year and all are very appreciative of the generous sponsorship of Goodbody Stockbrokers which makes it possible. 

Details of all matches in the tournament can be HERE:  

A Handicap Tournament every year for fifty years. What an achievement.

Deirdre Davys

IRISH TIMES SPORTSWOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The awards ceremony took place Friday 19th December in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin. Madeline Perry got the December 2013 award having won her 14th National title. This was Madeline’s 9th award in this event, which has only been running for 10 years. This is a record in the event and a testament to her superb achievements and consistency over the last decade.

As Madeline was in Egypt playing in the Women’s World Championships, she could not collect her award, so Irish Squash President Ed Dunne received it on her behalf.

Katie Taylor won the overall Sportswoman of the Year for her amazing record of a 5th World title a couple of months ago. She is unbeaten in 10 years across the world and has twice been voted, best athlete in the world across all weight divisions.

It was a great event, heralding the best Sportswomen in Ireland and giving them deserved recognition for their achievements.

For a short video of the event see HERE

Stephanie Ryan travelled to Zurich to take part in the Swiss Junior Squash Open Super Series. Playing in the Girls U/17 section Stephanie had a bye in the first round and beat Dutch girl Daphne Timmer 3/0. The next match was against Amber Peacey of England. This match got away from her and left her in the 3 / 4 Playoff against Fanny Seger of France. Stephanie beat No: 1 seed 11/8 in the fifth game and took to the podium for the first time in a Super Series Event.

From December 2014 – ALL entry form links will be posted on this page for convenience.

European Junior Event Calendar

Liechtenstein Junior Open

Slovenian Junior Open 2015

Czech Junior Open

Luxembourg Junior Open 2015

Spanish Junior Open 2015

Austrian Junior Open 2015

Polish Junior Open 2014

Friday, December 5, 2014 to Sunday, December 7, 2014Tournament days

Munster Junior Open 2014

The Munster Junior Open took place in Cork on 6/7th December 2014.

FUNDRAISING FOR THE WOMEN’S TEAM FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, CANADA, 2014

Last Thursday night, 27th November was the fundraising quiz for the Irish Women’s Squash team travelling to the Women’s World Team Championship in Canada, which started on Monday 1^st December. Niamh Maher from Classic 4fm was quizmaster. There were 20 tables battling it out till the last round. The winners were Ray McDonnell’s team from Fitzwilliam and only 2 points behind were Jo Hussey’s team from Old Belvedere.  There were also spot prizes given out between rounds.

The winner of “Spot the Ball” was Jim Coyne (see attached for correct sheet). HERE

At the auction Brenda Flynn beat off the opposition and bought the Neil Diamond concert tickets.

The raffle winners were

There are many people we would like to thank for all the help we received in the fundraising.

Those who donated prizes – Eoin Ryan, Martyn Evans Shop, Neil Murphy, Jennifer Dillon, Aisling Blake, Gina Menzies, Teresa Dunne, Rosie Barry, Brenda Flynn, Deirdre Baker, Dara O’Flynn.

Those who helped on the quiz night – Kate and Rory Barry and Rory’s mates, Paul & Ross who checked the answers; Niamh Maher the quizmaster; Madeline, Aisling, Laura, Breanne, Gina Menzies, Niamh Maher and Gavin Doherty, all of whom set questions and Barbara and her team from Fitzwilliam.

Those who sold lots of tickets, Brian McNally, Anita Mylotte, Brenda Flynn, Niamh Maher, Joe Ruddy, Brian Mahon, Lee Healy, Derek Ryan, Laura Mylotte and Kevin Moore.

And lastly, we would like to thank all of you who came along and gave your much appreciated support.  Best of luck to the girls at the Womens World team championships.

Thanks from Rosie Barry and Anne Costello.