The ESDC Senior National Championships 2017 – Fitzwilliam LTC February 10th – 12th
A super day of finals at the ESDC National Championships with Arthur Gaskin of Carlow winning his 5th national title, having beaten fellow Carlow man Brian Byrne. An absorbing final which had some magnificent rallies, Both players played to a high intensity but played in a sport fashion all the time.
The women’s final saw 2 of Ireland’s great prospects for the future, play each other, Sophie O’Rourke from Cork and the eventual winner, Belfast’s Hannah Craig. This is Hannah’s first title and surely there will be many more. A very competitive match, but Hannah just had too much in the end. A super weekend of squash to celebrate Ireland’s National Champions.
In the Over 40’s final there was a super match between Dara O’Flynn and the ever young World Over 55urs Champion, Willie Hosey. There was a huge crowd in to watch this fascinating match. Willie showing all his experience went 2-0 up, before Dara brought it back to 2-1 through a high work rate. But with Willie’s ability to play the right shot just at the right moment he closed it out to win 3-1. The crowd loved this very entertaining match.
In the Over 35’s Final Nigel Peyton was too strong for Rory Gilligan and won 3-0. A very enjoyable match also where Nigel just had too much for Rory to cope with. So it’s a 2nd Over 35’s title in a row for Nigel. The Women’s Over 35’s event had a round robin of 5 players in it. Great to see a couple of England based Irish players come over to play in the Nationals. Julie McMurray won the title with Saoirse O’Sullivan, originally from Bayside, now living in Nottingham, finishing 2nd.
Finals Results
Men’s
Arthur Gaskin bt Brian Byrne 3-0
Women’s
Hannah Craig bt Sophie O’Rourke 3-0
Women’s Over 35
Julie McMurray bt Saoirse O’Sullivan 3-1
Men’s Over 40’s
Willie Hosey bt Dara O’Flynn 3-1
Men’s Over 35’s
Nigel Peyton bt Rory Gilligan 3-0
THE FULL DRAW IS AVAILABLE HERE
IRISH SQUASH TV – LIVE STREAMING FROM COURT 1 ALL WEEKEND HERE
Our Sponsor is the European Safer Driver’s Course (http://www.esdc.eu/)