The Ireland Women’s team of Hannah Craig, Hannah McGugan, Aimee McConnell, and Lydia McQuillan claimed the bronze medal at the European Team Championships Division 2 in Wrocław, Poland.
The team emerged from Pool B with wins over Portugal and Slovenia, which saw them progress to the medal matches. A narrow loss to the Netherlands teed up a match against Italy in the battle for bronze.
Hannah Craig was up first against Cristina Tartarone of Italy. Tartarone took the first game 12-10, Craig fought back in the second winning 11-9. The back and forth continued but in a nail biting finish Craig took the fifth game 11-9 to get Ireland off to a winning start. Aimee McConnell sealed the win with a convincing 3-0 win over Beatrice Filippi in just 23 minutes.
The result was a major positive for the squad, with Aimee McConnell and Lydia McQuillan both earning their first senior caps for Ireland showing the strength in depth of the squad.
Ireland Men Relegated Despite Win Over World #7
The Ireland Men’s team finished 11th in Division 1, resulting in relegation to Division 2 next year. The team of Sam Buckley, Conor Moran, Michael Creavan, Oisin Logan, and Sean Conroy got off to a promising start as Conroy opened the scoring with a win over Rory Richmond of Scotland.
Sam Buckley, with a world ranking of 116, was next on court, playing exceptional squash against world number 18, Greg Lobban. A five-game thriller unfolded over the next hour, with Lobban eventually edging out Buckley. Narrow losses by Michael Creavan (against Alan Clyne) and Conor Moran, ranked 217, (against Rory Stewart, ranked 55) meant that Ireland lost the tie.
Motivated by a chance to reach the top 8, and buoyed by their performance the previous day, Ireland faced 44-time champions England with grit and determination. Oisin Logan suffered an early loss to world number 66 Tom Walsh.
Next up, Sam Buckley took on world number 7, Marwan Elshorbagy. Buckley had the Englishman under pressure from the outset, with the pair trading blows in a tight first game. Elshorbagy edged it 20–18, then took the second quickly. However, Buckley staged a remarkable comeback, taking the next three games 11–4, 11–9, 11–7. The win will go down as one of the greatest upsets in European Team Championship history and serves as a huge confidence boost for Buckley and the entire Ireland squad.
Michael Creavan followed, facing world number 33 Curtis Malik. Creavan took an early lead, winning the first two games 11–8, 11–7. England looked shaken, staring down the barrel of an early exit. But to his credit, Malik fought back and claimed the next three games 11–5, 11–8, 11–3. Creavan can be proud of a performance that raised his game to new heights.
Conor Moran was the final Irish player to take the court, facing rising star and world number 35, Jonah Bryant. Moran lost the first game 11–2 but had Bryant under pressure in the second and third, holding the lead at times with opportunities to win. However, it wasn’t to be, as Bryant sealed the win for England.
After the emotional high of pushing two of the top teams so close, Ireland struggled in the 9th–12th place playoffs, as fatigue began to take its toll. They tied with Belgium and lost to Hungary on Friday. A win over Israel wasn’t enough to retain a place in Division 1.
It was a rollercoaster campaign for the Ireland men’s team. However, they gained valuable experience and showed they are capable of competing with some of the world’s best players.
Full results here
Squash Ireland has selected both men’s and women’s teams for the 2024 WSF World Team Squash Championships in Hong Kong, taking place from December 9 to 15.
This is the first time the tournament will feature concurrent men’s and women’s events, as previous editions alternated between the two annually. The men’s team includes Sam Buckley, Conor Moran, Oisin Logan, and Michael Creaven, while the women’s team comprises Hannah Craig, Breanne Flynn, Hannah McGugan, and Ciara Moloney Doheny.
To support the players’ fundraising efforts, donations can be made here. Follow Squash Ireland on social media for updates.
Fitzwilliam LTC is set to play host to a stellar line-up for the 2024 national championships from the 9th-11th of Feb. With the profile of Irish Squash and our young stars on the rise, this year’s tournament is set to be a titanic battle for the coveted crown of national champion.
This year’s event will be headlined by the Men’s A and Women’s A titles, while the Men’s B will also be up for grabs.
The women’s draw will feature reigning champion Breanne Flynn, who has hit top form at the perfect time as she looks to retain her title, having added a Leinster Senior Open title and a Mount Pleasant Senior Open victory to her accolades last month.
Despite Breanne’s recent success and pedigree, it’s Lisburn’s Hannah Craig who enters the Women’s draw as the no.1 seed after a terrific start to her pro-circuit career. Hannah is based in the US and has recently cracked the top 100 world rankings with some impressive performances on a global stage including a silver medal at the Costa Rican Open.
There are plenty of other players across the Women’s draw who will hope to have a say after fine seasons including Emma Lundy (3 seed), Ciara Moloney Doheny (4 seed) and Hannah McGugan (5 seed).
On the men’s side, Sam Buckley, our men’s reigning champion and national number 1 is also starting to peak at the perfect time, as he looks to become the men’s national champion for the third straight year. Off the back of an impressive WSF Men’s Team World Championship in New Zealand, where Sam beat Malaysian Addeen Idrakie, the world no.64 in straight sets and a recent Mount Pleasant Senior Open title, Sam will be hoping to have things his own way this weekend.
However, if recent form is anything to go by, Sam will have his work cut out by his fellow WSF Men’s Team World Championship teammates, Conor Moran (2 seed), Oisin Logan (3 seed) and Michael Crevean (4 seed). Oisin is coming off the back of Leinster Senior Open title, while Conor already has a Curragh Squash Open and Munster Squash Open to his name this year. Michael was also crowned a provincial champion this season, winning the Ulster Senior Open.
With all 4 top seeds having titles in their seasons arsenal, it will be tough for anyone else to compete, however Sean Conroy (9 seed) may have something to say having reached the final in 2023 and 2022.
Finally, the Men’s B division will feature Fawwad Siddiqui (1 seed), Anuroop Balakrishnan Sobha (2 seed) and Nabil Merchant (3 seed) as they battle a field of 13 to become the Men’s B national champion after Dara O’Flynn was crowned champion in 2023.
Action will be live-streamed over the course of the weekend on Irish Squash TV
Full Draw & Schedule can be found here
