A great day’s table tennis was hosted on Tuesday 27th April by Colaiste Choilm, Cork, as school teams from all 4 provinces travelled South to the home of last year’s 3 time National Champions to play off for the six 2010 National Secondary Schools titles on offer. Under 13 Events
In the Under 13 Girls, Guardian Angels from Dublin faced off against St.Angela’s, Cork for the National title. With top Under 12’s Elayna and Katie McGlone on the team, the Dubliners were always favourites and they duly delivered with a fantastic 8-1 victory. The St.Angela’s girls are to be credited for their battling qualities with Grace Boylan taking their sole singles victory with a five set win. In the Boy’s event, defending champions Ballyroan recorded a 5-4 victory over Monaghan in the semi-final, with Rob McGarry and Barry O’Toole taking the crucial Doubles decider. In the Final, St.Finbarr’s of Cork faced Ballyroan and produced a battling performance but were just not good enough for the experienced Dublin side who retained their title in style. Under 15 EventsSt Angela’s from Cork also made it to the Under 15 Final – they triumphed in this age category in 2009. Here they faced Royal School, Dungannon. The Ulster school raced into an early lead with wins by Ashley Givan and Kerry Jones, but the Cork girls did not want to give up their title easily, and fought back to level 3-3, with wins by Cliodhna Ni Grada, Clara Donnelan Daly and Ceire McCarthy. The match was to be decided on Doubles and Royal School were crowned champions with three victories here, with Ashley Givan and Jayne McClements particularly dominant. In the Boys, home side Colaiste Choilm looked favourites to retain the title. They were drawn against a very tough St Fintan’s Sutton team in the semi-final, containing Ireland’s top ranked Cadet Ryan Farrell and top 10 National Junior Conor Beades. Farrell, Beades and Daniel Murphy opened up a 3-0 lead for the Sutton side, before Irish Junior International Declan O’Brien led a spirited Cork fightback to level at 3-3. Once again, the importance of Doubles at this level was apparent – the defending champions held their nerve to record a 5-4 victory with two doubles wins. In the Final, Colaiste Choilm looked more in control against High School Ballinahinch. Shance O’Connor, Colm and Eoin Murphy and Declan O’Brien all recorded straight sets victories to establish an unassailable lead and the home school were once again National Under 15 Champions. Under 18 EventsAs the Colaiste Choilm Under 15 Boys defended their title, it fell to their school colleagues at Under 18 level to follow suit. In the Girl’s Final, a strong Colaiste Choilm, with wins by Edel O’Reilly, Emily O’Reilly, Dawn Gleeson and Aisling Healy were in command against Victoria College in Belfast, and ultimately recorded a 6-3 victory. In the Boys event, Blackrock College progressed to the Final with a 7-2 victory over Collegiate School, Monaghan. Colaiste Choil also looked in top form as they defeated St.Aloysius of Athlone 9-0 to set up an eagerly anticipated Final. In the Final, Will Gallagher recorded a victory for Blackrock, but that was not enough to stem the tide of Cork victories, with Scott Shellard, Andrew Reck, Ben Ahern, Ian Brown and Alex Cooney all recording wins. A remarkable feat once again by Colaiste Choilm under the guidance of coach Ivan Shorten as they take 3 National titles of the 6 on offer. Congratulations to all participants and thanks to Colaiste Choilm and tournament officials Claire and Michael Healy.