8 events, 175 players and two enthralling days of table tennis saw the launch of the 09/10 domestic Junior table tennis circuit at DCU, Dublin last weekend…
The Stiga Irish Junior Classification launched the season in style with some great matches, the emergence of some new players and the continued dominance of some familiar faces.
Under 17 Boys
Paul McCreery was the favourite going into the event following some good form recently at Senior level and some excellent performances at the European Youths. He justified his favourite tag with some commanding performances as he cruised the title, defeating an impressive Ashley Robinson in the Final. Declan O’Brien came from 6th seed to take 3rd place, defeating 2nd seed Sam Logue en route to the semi-finals.
Under 14 Boys
This weekend saw the emergenence of Club Donic’s Zhao Li, who impressed at Under 17 level before completely dominating the Under 14 competition to take the Cadet title. His opponent in the Final was Ryan Farrell, who produced some big performances to progress, including a fantastic 3-1 victory over Ulster’s Neil Irwin in the semi-final. In the 3/4 match, Irwin eventually took 3rd place following a typically hard fought match with Kevin Hutchinson of York Road TTC. Hutchinson, still eligible at Under 12 level, showed much promise however and will be happy with 4th place.
Under 12 Boys
In possibly the match of the tournament late on Saturday evening, Jonathan Porter of Clogher and Kevin Hutchinson went head to head in the Under 12 Final and thrilled a big crowd with a fantatic display of attacking table tennis. In a tense 5 setter which swung one way and then the other, Porter eventually took the title. No doubt these two players will meet again later in the season and there is little to seperate them.
Under 17/Under 14 Girls
In the Girls’ events, once again the story of the weekend was Ashley Givan of Clogher TTC. Installed as the top seed in both the Cadet and Junior events, she once again saw off all opponents to emerge triumphant with two titles to kick off her domestic season in style. For her opponents, its back to the drawing board to find some way to defeat Givan. Rebecca Kenny returned from a recent injury to take 2nd place in the Juniors and will hope for an injury free season to allow her to take that next step, while a battling Edel O’Reilly from Ballincollig TTC had to also settle for 2nd place in the Cadets
Under 12 Girls
There is some depth in talent at this level of Irish table tennis at the moment, evidenced by the final pairing of Laura Finn and Katie McGlone, who were both outside of the top seeds. Glenburn TTC’s Finn took the title in an impressive display over McGlone, who also looks to have the makings of a very good player at this level. Sarah Cooney of Ballincollig TTC was also impressive to take 3rd place.
Under 10 Boys/Girls
A bigger entry than usual at Under 10 level with the focus of the organisers’ to provide as many games as possible to these little stars! Playing the game ina fun environment, they all appeared to have a great day – for some it was their first major tt tournament. Ross McGarry of York Road and Rebecca Finn of Glenburn TTC took the titles – but at this level the emphasis is very much on encouraging the players to enjoy their day’s play.
Event Summary
This was a great weekend of table tennis – with two rounds of round-robin and a plate competition, all players were guaranteed a large number of games. 175 players travelled from all over the country to take part, which is a positive indicator to the progress being made in developing underage table tennis in Ireland. As always, these events could not happen without the hard work of volunteers. So thanks go to the Leinster Branch, Richard Butler, John O’Donoghue, Shay Logue, John McGlone, Anna Kelly, Tony Martin, Joe Finnegan, Ian Erskine and all of the Umpires for their hard work in ensuring the tournament ran as smoothly as possible. Con O’Ceadaigh also performed wonders at the control desk over two long days – without volunteers like this these events simply would not take place. ITTAWeb eagerly awaits the next major Junior event, the Leinster Grand Prix.
Irish Junior Classification at DCU, Glasnevin on 12th and 13th September
Junior Boys Junior Girls
1st P.McCreery 1st A.Givan
2nd A.Robinson 2nd R Kenny
3rd D.O’Brien 3rd S Timlin
Cadet Boys Cadet Girls
1st Z.Li 1st A Givan
2nd R.Farrell 2nd E O’Reilly
3rd N.Irwin 3rd E Burns
U12 Boys U12 Girls
1st J.Porter 1st L Finn
2nd K.Hutchinson 2nd K McGlone
3rd E.Sheckleton 3rd S Cooney
U10 Boys U 10 Girls
1st R.McGarry 1st R Finn
2nd D.Mullally 2nd K Hayes
3rd M.William 3rd K O’Toole
