The weekend of the 29th/30th November saw the Connacht Masters Open take place. There were 11 events from over 35’s to over 65’s, with 68 players entered in the tournament which took place at Galway LTC, Salthill, Galway. (Report below)
For the full draw and tournament details see here
Events
Men O55B, Men O50B, Men O45B, Men O35, Men O40, Ladies O40, Men O45A, Men O50A, Men O55A, Men O60, Men O65 |
Tournament days
Friday, November 29, 2013 to Saturday, November 30, 2013
Connacht Masters Open 2013
Report
The Connacht Masters Open took place at Galway Lawn Tennis Club on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November. Seventy players entered the various sections and a number of non-playing people accompanied them to watch the squash and enjoy the social side of the tournament.
The Tournament ran smoothly and thankfully, there were few retirements due to injury. This was in no small measure due to the warm courts. Considerable work has been done over the summer to improve the insulation and retain the heat.
There were a number of outstanding individual performances over the weekend. In the Men O35 section, Keith Moran who was seeded at #4 overcame Declan Devitt (3/1), Ciaran McCoy (3/1) and John Hurley (3/1) to take the title. Keith played great squash in all three matches. In the Men O40 section, Dara O’Flynn the #3 seed Ayerst proved invincible after a hard-fought second match with David Ayerst (#2 seed) and overcame Clive Morgan the #1 seed to take the title.
The Men O45 final was a very close-fought match and eventually the #6 seed Adrian Leeson overcame the #1 seed Brian Lalor to claim the title and the Michael Devaney perpetual trophy awarded to the winner of the Men O45 even. Another new name to join the previous illustrious winners.
David Borton overcame number one seed John Dineen to take the O50 title.
The Men O55 final between Coventry based Mo Sarwar and Corkman Martin McDonnell was an enthralling four-set match. A large gallery on the #1 court saw Mo give what can only be described as a squash master class to retain the title. One of the great matches of the weekend.
Kyran Hurley romped to a relatively untroubled path to take the Men O60 title.
As there were only three entries in the O70 division, it was combined with the O65 division to give a group of eight. However, the O70s made their presence felt when Noel Murphy overcame Tom Cantwell to take the title. Noel later claimed that it had taken him 25 years to overcome Tom Cantwell in a final.
While the ladies division had a disappointing entry of four, it produced some great matches. Dympna Reardon won all her matches to take the title from Clare Jones, Anne Costello and Helen Reapy. Dympna has been a great supporter of the Connacht Masters and was really delighted with her win as she had not previously won a title anywhere. She owed her success to playing in the men’s league.
A great weekend of squash and socialising and we look forward to a repeat in 2014. Thanks to Jim and Michael J Hynes and their team from Galway Lawn Tennis Club for organising the event.
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