Posts in category: National Events

Monday 9 May was a busy day in UCD Belfield, with National Referee Con O’Ceadaigh presiding over 10 separate Schools Cup semi-finals, with 6 titles on offer and a total of 15 schools competing across all categories.

The Leinster Schools Cup started last November, with over 40 schools taking part across the 6 age groups and vying for the right to be called Leinster Cup Champions.  The Cup runs alongside the League competition, and, perhaps this year even more than normal, gave an opportunity for teams across all the divisions to have their day on a bigger stage.

Leading 3-1 after the singles matches in their Leinster Minor Cup Semi Final, Castleknock College could have been forgiven for assuming that finishing off their younger primary school opposition would be a formality.  Unfortunately for them the opposite was the case, as Scoil Bhride NS from Ranelagh dug deep, first to win the regulation doubles matches, drawing level at 3-3, and then to come through the deciding doubles to reach the Minor Boys Final for the first time, on a 4-3 scoreline.

The other side of the draw was not as tight, as Griffeen Valley ETNS, chasing a Cup/League double, came through to the final against Terenure College. 

It was a close affair in the final, as both teams had chances to take matches, but it was Scoil Bhride who were a little more settled and, despite the presence of Irish international Art McLaughlin in the Griffeen line up, it was the Ranelagh team who came through to take their first Leinster Cup title 4-2.

Scoil Bhride were also having a good day in the Minor Girls, as they reached the final for the 2nd year in a row, however it was the more experienced St. Ronans who took that Cup title, after the two teams had earlier come past Loreto Foxrock and Griffeen Valley.  This was the second leg of a 2016 Cup/League double for the Clondalkin side.

Junior Girls saw the almost traditional line up of Deansrath CC against St. Tiernans CS.  The two schools had already finished in the top two league positions, however St. Tiernans were unable to overturn  their league form, with Deansrath coming through again to take the Cup, completing their Leinster double; Loreto Abbey and Loreto Stephens Green the teams to lose out at semi-final stage.

Senior girls saw an all Loreto line up, as Foxrock retained their Senior title from last year, and completed the Cup/League double, at the expense of Loreto Abbey Dalkey.

Junior Boys has in recent times been dominated by Blackrock College, and the All Ireland Champions were in no mood to let this record slip, sweeping past their own Blackrock 3rd team 4-0, and then in the Junior final accounting for a solid Presentation Carlow side, also by a 4-0 scoreline, in a tight match that belied the scoreline.  Carlow had earlier come past Colaiste Eanna in their semi final.  This was a 6th consecutive Junior Cup title for Blackrock, in their 9th Junior final in a row, and was the final leg of their ‘Double-Treble’ – taking back to back League, Cup and All Ireland titles, 2015 and 2016.

Senior Boys has also been a happy hunting ground for Blackrock, perhaps the hottest favourites across all the categories on the day, who were seeking an 8th consecutive Senior title, and a 7th consecutive Leinster Cup/League double.  This they duly attained after 4-0 wins against Castleknock in the semi-final and Woodbrook College in the final, who had earlier in their semi-final knocked out their north Wicklow neighbours, Glenart College.

Leinster Schools Cup Champions

Minor Girls          St. Ronans NS

Junior Girls          Deansrath CC

Senior Girls         Loreto College, Foxrock

Minor Boys         Scoil Bhride NS

Junior Boys         Blackrock College

Senior Boys        Blackrock College

Scroll down for photos of all the teams (click link below each to download a higher resolution image).

Lots of photos from the day here.

(Click here to download PDF file of results)

Primary Schools

Boys Primary Schools – Winners (Hi-Res)

Boys Primary Schools – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Boys Primary Schools – Third (Hi-Res)

Boys Primary Schools – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Girls Primary Schools – Winners (Hi-Res)

Girls Primary Schools – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Girls Primary Schools – Third (Hi-Res)

Girls Primary Schools – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Secondary Schools – Boys

Boys U-13 – Winners (Hi-Res) 

Boys U-13 – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Boys U-13 – Third (Hi-Res)

Boys U-13 – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Boys U-15 – Winners (Hi-Res)

Boys U-15 – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Boys U-15 – Third (Hi-Res)

Boys U-15 – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Boys U-19 – Winners (Hi-Res)

Boys U-19 – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Boys U-19 – Third (Hi-Res)

Boys U-19 – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Secondary Schools – Girls

Girls U-13 – Winners (Hi-Res)

Girls U-13 – Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Girls U-15 – Winners (Hi-Res)

Girls U-15 Runners-Up (Hi-Res)

Girls U-15 – Third (Hi-Res)

Girls U-14 – Fourth (Hi-Res)

Girls U-19 – Winners (Hi-Res)

Girls U-19 Runners Up (Hi-Res)

Girls U-19 – Third

The 2016 Junior Interprovincial Championships took place over the weekend as the four provinces came together for one of Table Tennis Irelands most prestigious events. 

DCU Sports Complex was the venue and the stage was set on Saturday morning for a thrilling days play as the top juniors did battle in the colours of their home province. 

Following Ulsters Clean Sweep at the Senior Interprovincials the week previous, Leinster were out for revenge as the juniors lined out, with the famous Victor Barna Shield on the line for top province. The province didn’t disappoint as their home advantage proved the difference in the end as they narrowly won back the shield for the 5th consecutive year, beating Ulster into second place. 

However, they certainly didn’t have it all their own way. Firstly, Ulster emerged Under 13 Girls events, with player of the tournament (and recipient of the Colum Slevin Award) Sophie Earley starring for the young Ulster team here, while her older brothers, Zak and Thomas, played a key role in securing gold in the U18 Boys event. With Munster’s Girls team sweeping all before them to claim gold in the U15 event and Ulster claiming second, this meant Leinster needed to take gold in the remaining 3 categories in order to retain the shield. 

They duly obliged, as Leinster U15 & U13 Boys, as well as their U18 Girls, all came to the fore and secured top spot as play came to a close. Katie McGlone and Mia O’Rahilly Egan were Leinsters star performers on the Girls side, while Art McLaughlin was in impressive form for the boys, going away as the player of the U13 event following 9 straight set victories, an excellent performance by the Griffeen Valley boy. 

Congratulations to Leinster for hosting what was an extremely successful event, and indeed for their achievement in once again retaining the Victor Barna Shield. 

Full results

Junior Boys: 1. Ulster; 2. Connaught; 3. Leinster.
Cadet Boys: 1. Leinster; 2. Ulster; 3. Munster. 
U-13 Boys: 1. Leinster; 2. Connaught; 3. Munster.

Junior Girls: 1. Leinster; 2. Ulster; 3. Munster.
Cadet Girls: 1. Munster; 2. Ulster; 3. Leinster. 
U-13 Girls: 1. Ulster; 2. Munster; 3. Connaught.

Overall Winners of the Victor Barna Shield ; Leinster

Colum Slevin Award for Best Player; Sophie Early (Ulster).

Rushbrooke School, Cobh, Co. Cork hosted the 2016 Senior Interprovincial Championships this weekend.

Ulster, after their clean sweep in 2015, staved off a brave fight from Leinster to retain their title!

                                                       (Click to download Hi-Res image)

Summary of Results

Session One Results

Session Two Results

Session Three Results

There are lots of photos from the two days on the Munster web-site.

Joe, Tony (referee), Vivienne and Con who officiated at the Senior Inter-Provincials.

Representatives of the four Provinces addressed the diners in the Commodore Hotel.

Following the thills and spills of the Junior Championships just a few weeks previous, it was time for the Seniors to take centre stage on Friday and Saturday 18/19 March, as the National Basketball Arena played host to the 2016 edition of the Butterfly Irish Senior National Championships.

 As ever, all eyes were fixed on the Men’s and Ladies Singles events where the big guns were out in force, all bidding to take home the prestigious National titles. 

Mens Singles

Leading the pack in the mens event was top seed and 2009 champion Gavin Maguire. However, he was always going to be closely pursued by International teammates Ashley Robinson and 3 time Champion Paul McCreery.

 As the event reached the latter stages, the seeds remained unscathed. In the top half of the draw, Maguire was in fine form throughout, seeing off the challenges of Artur Lewanczuk and Dylan Grace to set up a semi final showdown with McCreery.  The Nottingham University student made his way to the penultimate round by overcoming France based Alexander Gillen before accounting for Tom Davis.
 
The semi final promised to be a thriller, as two heavy weights Irish Table Tennis squared off for a place in the final. McCreery, who hadn’t lost a match in the Nationals since 2012, provided the sternest possible test of the top seeds credentials.

As it turned out, it was an examination that Maguire relished as the Dubliner battled out a topsy turvy contest by the tightest of margins, as he eventually crossed the line after 7 gruelling sets. 

On the bottom half, second seed Robinson was sailing through the draw, beating Daryl Strong and Alan Walsh to book his place in the semis. Facing him would be the winner of perhaps the pick of the quarter finals, as Sweden based Ryan Farrell and Junior National Champion Zak Wilson faced off. It was to be Wilson who would progress in the end, as a typical tough display saw the Belfast youngster through. 

That was as far as Wilson would go. He had no answers for his more Senior opponent in the semi final as a dominant Robinson didn’t give an inch as he booked his place in the final with a 4-0 win. 

The stage was set for a cracking encounter in the final as the two on form players, Maguire and Robinson, faced off for the right to be crowned National Champion. 

Both men didn’t disappoint. Maguire got off to a fast start, racing to a 2-0 lead. Robinson wouldn’t let go there though as he came racing back. The Leinster man then went 3-2 ahead and had his chances to close the match out in the 6th, but Robinson put up a stubborn resistance – this one was going the distance! 

More breathless play ensued at the start of the 7th, as Ashley raced to a 7-1 lead, but Gavin who recovered from similar deficits when he won his sole National title in 2009, wasn’t fazed as he battled back. With the score at 9-9 it was very much anyones game. Ashley had his chances at 10-9 and 11-10, but Gavin stood strong before eventually taking his own match point at the first time of asking. What a match! 

Gavin Maguire is now a 2 time National Champion and in his own words, this time he really earned it!!

Womens Singles

If the mens was anything to go by, the womens singles had something serious to live up to. However, with the likes of top seed Katie McGlone, past winners Ashley Givan and Emma Ludlow and the in form youngsters Rebecca Finn, Mia O’Rahilly Egan and Chloe O’Halloran, it was always an event that promised an awful lot. 

Despite being seeded in a lowly position, defending champion Ashley Givan was one to watch as soon as the draw was published. The Queens student, still only 20 years old, is something of a past master at this event having claimed the prestigious title on 4 previous occasions.

Right from the off, the Ormeau TTC player showed she meant business. She sailed to the quarter finals before overcoming the challenge of fellow Ulster player Rebecca Finn. This set up a semi final with possibly the most in form player in the draw, as double Junior National Champion Mia O’Rahilly Egan stood in her way. Despite putting up stern resistance for the first 4 sets, Mia couldn’t quite stay with the defending champion in the end, as Ashley booked her place in the final following a 4-2 success. 

On the top half of the draw, Marta Zareba was the one to cause the biggest stir. The Dundrum TTC lady, a double National champion in both the Ladies and Mixed Doubles in 2015, overcame Munsters top player Chloe O’Halloran in an epic battle, 4-2. 

This meant that she would face top seed Katie McGlone in the penultimate round. Katie had come through with relative ease until this point, brushing past the tricky Zofia Wawrzyniak in the quarter final.

In the semis McGlone asserted herself once more, not allowing Marta to build up the confidence which she showed in her quarter final. In the end Katie ran out a 4-1 winner, setting up a final date with Givan. 

The final was a repeat of 2015, where Ashley came through by a 4-1 scoreline. However this year the match was set up promising big things. Top seed versus defending champion, it doesn’t get much better! 

It was Ashley that started brighter though, showing poise and experience at key stages to open up a 3-0 set lead. Katie then pulled one back, threatening a potential comeback. Ashley wasn’t having it though, as she put her foot down firmly on the gas to ensure that she wouldn’t let her chance go. She went on to take the 5th set, sealing the match by a 4-1 scoreline and with it, claiming her fifth National title! 

What an achievement by the Ulster player!

Under 21 events

In the Under 21 mens singles, there was no stopping the in form Zak Wilson as he raced to victory. He overcame Alex Gillen in the semi final before getting the better of Tom Davis in the final by 3 games to 1. Davis put Alan Walsh’s run to a stop in the semis, after the Ballincollig man produced a major ipset by beating top seed Ryan Farrell in the quarters.

In the Under 21 Ladies singles, Mia O’Rahilly Egan capped off her astonishing season in style by beating number 1 ranked senior Katie McGlone in an epic 5 set final. 

Para events

In the Men’s Wheelchair singles, defending champin Colin Jundge reclaimed his crown, overcoming old rival Greg Keogh on his way to victory. 

On the ladies side, Rio bound Rena McCarron Rooney was unstoppable, as she got the better of International teammate Christine Doyle in the final. 

In the wheelchair doubles event, Judge and Keogh paired up to overcome their female counterparts, and with it, Jundge became a double national champion for 2016!

Doubles Events

The finalist in the singles, Gavin Maguire and Ashley Robinson, were unstoppable as they retained their National mens doubles title. In the final they beat 2nd seeds, Paul McCreery and Ryan Farrell in straight sets.

On the Ladies side, the young duo of Mia O’Rahilly Egan and Zofia Wawrzyniak picked up their first senior national title as they got the better of Marta Zareba and Natalia Rajska in the final. 

The mixed doubles went very much to the script. Top seeds Paul McCreery and Katie McGlone were imperious as they stormed to the title. In the final they beat Conor Mullally and Mia O’Rahilly Egan in convincing fashion 3-0.

Veterans

The veterans singles was won by UK based Rory Scott, who picked up his first title as a veterean player. He was flawless thoughout, before getting the better of the ever tough competitor, Brian Devereux in a tight final 3-2. 

Here is a full listing of the results from the Irish Senior National Championships 2016

Click here to view.

Full report to follow

It was home advantage for UCD as the ‘Collidge’ took all 4 titles on offer at the Irish Universities Table Tennis Championships in Belfield.

As expected, UCD Ladies were unopposed in their title bid, taking the Cup again that they held from 2009-2013.  UCD were spearheaded by Ladies Captain Sarah Timlin, currently based in the UK, and fresh from the British Universities Championships. 

UCD Men were the red hot favourites to take a 17th consecutive team title, but this would have been an underestimation of a strong challenge from UCC, beaten finalists in 2013 and 2014.  As expected, it was a UCD and UCC face off in the final, following Semi Final wins against, respectively, Trinity and RCSI.  There was quality in depth in both finalists, with UCC enjoying the services of 4 former Internationals and Interprovincials, and with defending Singles Champion Declan O’Brien at #1 for the Cork outfit, backed up by Colm Murphy at #2, and with quality down the playing order, this was a strong UCC team.  UCD meanwhile had a young team, with half of the lineup in 1st Year, including #1 Tom Davis, but with a team lineup that included 7 former Internationals and Interprovincials, drawn from 3 provinces, UCD had real strength in depth.  A close run match resulted in an 8-3 result in favour of UCD, a scoreline which belies the many tight matches that were battled out over the course of a long final.

Finishing out the day, NUIG battled to a team plate win, with a comfortable victory over IT Tallaght in the final.

On Singles day, Sarah Timlin was the top seed and strong favourite for a Universities singles title, and so it proved, taking home the Ladies Individual title, with her 4th win in this event.  Timlin beat UCD #2 Meadhbh Slattery 3-0 in the Final, after the two finalists came past, respectively, Lynne O’Shea (UCD) and Renuka Sitram (RCSI) at the Semi Final stage.

RCSI also took the Ladies Singles Plate, Colleen Wong seeing off Ciara Doran of UCD, while the Mens Singles Plate Final saw one of the most exciting matches of the day, as Guillaume Berton of NUIG squeezed past Ashley Chiu of RCSI in a long 5 setter.

In the Mens Individual Championships, two time Champion Declan O’Brien, unbeaten in the team event, was the favourite to add a 3rd title to the collection, but in truth there was danger throughout the singles draw, with many players, including Murphy, Buckley & Kelleher of UCC, and Davis, Foster, Dempsey, Finlay and Reilly of UCD, all well used to operating at the business end of tournaments.  As expected, it was a UCD and UCC shutout from quarter finals onwards, and, despite a close encounter between Dempsey & Murphy, it was the top 4 seeds that came through to the semi-finals; O’Brien then seeing off Foster in a tight match, while Davis came through the all UCD semi-final in the bottom half of the draw.  O’Brien had already beaten Davis in the team event, however the UCD 1st Year had other plans this time, and came out strongly against Munsters top player, proving to have enough in the tank to end O’Briens quest for a 3rd consecutive title, and take the Singles title, and so complete the notoriously difficult Varsity clean sweep for UCD, for the first time since 2012, and for only the 4th time by any University in the last 30 years.

As the dust begins to settle following a thrilling 2016 Butterfly Irish Junior National Championships, we must reflect on what was an excellent event at the National Basketball Arena. 

Mia O’Rahilly Egan was the big winner over the weekend, as the Griffeen Valley TTC player won an unprecedented double of titles following successes in both the U15 and U18 Girls events, 

In the Under 18 Girls, she advanced to the final following a hard fought group stage, before accounting for the ever tough Rebecca Finn (Ulster) in the semi-final 3-2. In the final she faced Ballincolligs Chloe O’Halloran, who had overcome the fancied Katie McGlone in the penultimate round in a close encounter. But in the final there was no stopping Mia. After recovering from a big deficit to take the 1st set in deuce, she went through the gears to claim her first Junior National title. 

The Cornilleau sponsored played wasn’t finished there though. On Sunday she went into the U15 Girls event as top seed and heavy favourite. She didn’t disappoint, as she ruthlessly cut through the field before getting the better of the ever difficult competitor, Zofia Wawrzyniak, in the final.

Mia O’Rahilly Egan is now a double National Champion!

(Lots of photos of prizewinnera and other action here)

The Griffeen Girl wasn’t the only one to cause a big stir over the weekend, however, as a total of three players successfully defended their National Championship crowns – an outstanding feat. 

The first of these was the ever-improving Connacht star Thomas Joyce. He went into the U13 Boys event as top seed, but was never going to have it easy in a notoriously competitive age group. Thomas wasn’t to be halted though, as he powered past Griffeens Dillon Byrne in the semis, before overcoming Dillons club mate and 2nd seed, Art Mclaughlin, in a gripping 5 set final encounter. This was possibly the match of the day, with both players showing a high level throughout. 

The next player to successfully pull off a National Championship defence was another Connacht youngster, as now it was the turn of Thomas’ training partner, Natasya Barry, to show her quality. In a very open category, their were a number of potential winners, but there was no stopping Natasya as she thrived on the memories of last years success to retain her crown. In the semis, she overcame the talented 9 year-old Sophie Earley in straight sets, putting in an extremely assertive performance. She then faced Glenburns Nicole Scott, who was showing good form of her own following an impressively crafted, semi-final win against top seed Silke Heinen of Leeside TTC. 

In the final though, there was no stopping the girl from Athlone, as Natasya was relentless in her attack, running out a straight set winner. 

Finally, Saturday saw yet another player defend a national title as Zak Wilson swept all before him in a typically dominant display of Table Tennis. The TV Hude man was showing a top level following a successful debut season competing in the German League. In the semi final, he overcame Ryan McConkey (Ulster) in convincing fashion, setting up a showdown with 2nd seed and International team mate Alexander Gillen. Earlier, Gillen progressed to the final in similar fashion, as he sailed through the event before battling past fellow UCD club-mate Charlie Fitzgerald in the semis. 

In the final, both players showed why they were the fancied pair coming into the event, as they put on a high quality contest for the onlooking crowd. In the end, Zak ran out a 3-1 winner, showing that bit more at the tight stages, while Alex will perhaps rue some missed chances. Massive credit to the Belfast boy here, as he defended his National title in true warrior-like fashion. 

On Sunday, while Mia was making her way towards the double in the U15 Girls, the U15 Boys was boiling up nicely. Again, the top seed wasn’t to be stopped here, as Sweden based Jonatan McDonald followed up his Ulster Open success as he made his way towards becoming an Irish National Champion for the first time. En route to the final, Jonatan overcame Art McLaughlin in straight sets before facing off with U13 winner, Thomas Joyce. Thomas was showing some excellent form himself, as he took out the 2nd seeded Conor Nugent in straight sets in his semi. 

In the final though, there was no stopping Jonatan, he was that bit stronger in each department as he powered past his young opponent in three straight sets. 

In the Para Singles, the two big names, Paddy Vaughan and Conor O’Callaghan faced off in the final match for the right to become National Champion. Despite being in great form, having reached the U15 quarter final, Paddy had no answers this time around, as his International team-mate proved a bit too strong on this occasion, running out a 3-1 winner, meaning Conor O’Callaghan is the 2016 Para Singles Junior National Champion!

Click here to visit the Munster web-site for photos of all the prizewinners and lots of action from the weekend.

Participants in the Girls’ U-11 “Hopes” event

Entrants in the Boys’ U-11 “Hopes” Event

Feb 12th – 14th and  Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Co Mayo was the venue for a very successful Connacht 2016 Table Tennis Open. All ages and categories were catered for with great participation and competition – from the young and energetic U11’s to the older but no less enthusiastic Veteran’s.

Under the watchful and experienced eye of Tournament Referee Con O’Cedaaigh the tournament ran smoothly from its on-schedule Friday 6pm start for the Seniors right through to the Sunday close with the final point of the U21 final at 4.30pm sharp.  Well done Con for keeping us on our toes all weekend, on keeping all events running smoothly and for getting us finished on schedule … a rare and remarkable achievement (take a well-deserved bow!). Thanks also to Con’s more than able assistant referee Joe Finnegan for his unwavering dedication and assistance throughout the weekend. The tournament would not have been possible without you !

The Senior Men’s singles and doubles provided few surprises with Gavin Maguire coming out on top in both events. In the singles final he overcame Sweden based, up and coming Senior International Ryan Farrell, while in the doubles the Leinster man’s excellent partnership with UCD club mate Charlie Fitzgerald wasn’t to be troubled..

Charlie wasn’t quite so lucky in the U18 Men’s division on the Sunday being narrowly overcome in the final in what was probably the match of the weekend where Dylan Grace clinched victory with a 3-2 (12-10) win !

The Senior ladies competition also proved very competitive with the young and very talented Mia O’Rahilly Egan coming through in a hard fought final contest against Chloe O’Halloran.

Mia in fact managed a clean sweep of all competitions she participated in on the Saturday by also coming out on top in the U15 Girls and Mixed doubles finals beating a competitive Thi Li Cashman in the U15’s and partnering with Conor Mullally to defeat Zofia Wawrzniak and Matthew Hynes in the mixed doubles rounding off a successful and proud day for Mia while Chloe O’Holloran made up for defeat in the Seniors by taking the U18 title over Katie McGlone on Sunday.

Saturday also saw Thomas Joyce again experience that winning feeling and do Connacht proud by winning the U15 boys division seeing off a valiant challenge form Conor Nugent in the final. Thomas followed this up on the Sunday by winning the double with a final victory over Jake Adler in the U13 Boys competition.

Class 2 saw the emergence of the young and talented Thomas Earley emerging victorious over the veteran of the game and Connacht stalwart Kevin Devaney in an epic final battle that showed the vibrancy of youth just overcome the never say die attitude of the experienced Kevin.

Kevin was also to the fore in the veteran’s section itself – this time being out foxed in the final by the wily Brain Devereux after a very competitive set of matches leading to a very enjoyable final.

Silke Heinen was the pick of the crop in the U13 girls division ousting the very talented Natasya Barry in the final with Pravesha Raji seeing off a competitive Sophie Earley in the 3rd/4th place playoff.

Sunday also saw Ronan Rooney overcoming John Finn for the Wheelchair Division and Paddy Vaughan seeing off the challenge of Sean Geoghan in final of the Disability Standing Division.

The final events of the weekend was the U21 section where the Ladies division was won by Mair Kelly over Claire Heller while in the Men’s division Brian Dunleavy overcame some earlier disappointments from the weekend’s competition to see off the challenge of Conor Murphy in a fitting end to a great weekend of table tennis.

Thanks to everyone that made the weekend a success and to all those that travelled and participated so sportingly. We look forward to welcoming you all once again in 2017 (bring a few friends !)

The Connacht Table Tennis Committee.