Seven of the 10 age-grade events at the Connacht Junior Open went according to seeding, with all five No.1 boys and two No.1 girls winning titles in Galway at a tournament that attracted 103 entries.
Sutton’s Conal Jackson (BU19), Celtic’s Adam Power (BU17), Mount Pleasant’s Michael Lai (BU15), Celtic’s Harry Knox (BU13) and Galway’s Conor Mullery (BU11) all lived up to their top-ranked boys’ status – and four of these five favourites even enjoyed 3-0 wins in their finals.
The events were by no means straightforward, however, with a special shoutout for Leonid Ivlenkov, the 10th seed who made the final in the BU15.
The Mount Pleasant player picked off the No.7, the No.2 and the No.3 seeds in a terrific run to his final where he came up against his No. 1-ranked clubmate Lai.
In the girls’ section, Sutton’s Zoe Yeomans, Galway’s Lucy Walsh and Limerick’s Ruby Carroll upset the rankings with their title wins.
Yeomans was seeded No.2 in the GU19, Walsh No.3 in the GU17 and Carroll was also No.3 in the GU13 but they all picked off No.1s in their respective finals.
Walsh and Carroll were both 3-0 winners, but Yeomans had a thrilling 3-2 battle with fellow Sutton player Ella Walsh.
The two girls’ events that went to seeding were the GU15 and GU11 where the respective No.1s, Mount Pleasant’s Zoe Nyhan and Windsor’s Georgie Ryan, held sway.
While Ryan was a 3-0 winner in her final, Nyhan’s was a close-run 3-2 joust with Belfast’s Gabby Curran.
Connacht Junior Open finals
BU19: Conal Jackson (1) WON 3-0 (11-4, 12-10, 11-1) v Aaron Knox (2)
GU19: Zoe Yeomans (2) WON 3-2 (11-1, 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-4) v Ella Walsh (1)
BU17: Adam Power (1) WON 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8) v Nathan Walsh (6)
GU17: Lucy Walsh (3) WON 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-9) v Zoe Sheridan (1)
BU15: Michael Lai (1) WON 3-0 (11-2, 11-7, 11-4) v Leonid Ivlenkov (10)
GU15: Zoe Nyhan (1) WON 3-2 (6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8) v Gabby Curran (2)
BU13: Harry Knox (1) WON 3-1 (15-13, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4) v Eoin O’Brien (3)
GU13: Ruby Carroll (3) WON 3-0 (11-1, 11-8, 11-5) v Aurora McDonnell (1)
BU11: Conor Mullery (1) WON 3-0 (11-1, 15-13, 11-9) v Dylan Dunphy (2)
GU11: Georgie Ryan (1) WON 3-0 (12-10, 11-6, 11-6) v Anna Maria Deak (6)
