Posts in category: TTI News

The Vet’s hosted a very successful Veterans Tournament on Saturday the 11th of March in Dungannon. St. Anne’s (Dungannon) was a very successful venue for the latest in the Irish Masters events, with competitors travelling from all 4 provinces. With the advantage of a relatively early start and the use of 12 tables, play concluded by 7.30pm. Consolation singles and playoff matches were also played, which gave competitors additional games.

The morning started with the 40s, where there were few surprises. Kudos to Rory who had flown in from GB, to be told that his hire car was not available, so he travelled from Aldergrove by taxi. His reward was a quarter-final win over Phil 3-0 but was then blitzed by the invincible Ukrainian Oleg whose path to the final was untroubled. In the bottom half Mervyn Taylor made it through to the last 8, losing 3-1 to 2^nd seed Tibor. Daryl, in an unaccustomed low seeding position after illness, beat Pat 3-0 to reach the semi, where he and Tibor played the match of the day. Daryl lost the 1^st and 3^rd games, the 5^th was neck and neck, and eventually Daryl won it 12-10. So often Daryl finds a way to win the tight matches. This was a great advertisement for Masters table tennis. Oleg then beat Daryl 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10. Everything Daryl threw at him Oleg returned, frequently from back at the barrier, and often with his very powerful backhand. Daryl had a chance to take it to a 5^th but in the end Oleg was just too ‘strong’(sorry!).

Daryl was favourite in the 50s, though having only qualified for that age-group in January he was unseeded. Top seed was Tibor, and the shock of the day was when he lost in the last 16 to Craigavon’s vastly improved Fergal O’Hagan in 4 games. Dave Gibbons then disposed of Fergal 3-1 but lost in the semi 3-0 to Daryl. 2^nd seed was Pat McCloughan who duly reached the semi with a 3-1 win over Des Flanagan. Meanwhile local hero Rod McKirgan battled through to the semi with a last 16 win over Sean McAnaney 3-2 and a 3-0 victory over Mark McAlister. Rod excelled himself by reaching the final with a 1^st ever win over Pat 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9. Daryl won his 2^nd consecutive 50s with a hard-fought victory though he did drop the 1^st game, scores were 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3.

We then moved to the 60s which was always going to be a very open event. The 2 finalists from the Connacht event, Des and Sean, were drawn in the same group as amazingly they had been at Connacht! Sean was top seed, Des beat him in the group and then progressed to the final with a semi win over Dave Pender 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4. The top 2 seeds were now in the bottom half, Sean had a surprisingly straightforward last 8 victory over Philip Shaw 11-7, 11-4, 11-8. Jeremy Lappin reached the semi with a nail-biting win over Fergal 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10. Sean beat Jeremy 3-1 and met Des for the 4^th time in 2 tournaments. Des reversed the Connacht final result, winning 10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 11-4, this was Des’ 1^st Irish event 60s title.

The last men’s event was the 70s. Brian Finn moved steadily in to the final. Tom Donnelly – great to see him back – gave him some trouble before succumbing 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-6. The 3^rd game was crucial when Tom was unable to close out a 10-8 lead. Barry Dickson had a very tight 3-2 win over Albert Coulter before losing in the semi to Brian 11-5, 11-9, 11-9. By contrast Norman Nabney lived dangerously all day! He got crunched 3-0 by Barry in his first group match, then beat Liam Perris 3-2, dropped the first game to Jeremy, and in the semi gave away 5 match points to David Jacobson at 2-1 and 10-5, before again winning 3-2. And so to Brian v Norman – friends and practice partners but both determined to win. Brian took the first 2 games at deuce, Norman made a Houdini recovery to win the next 3, scores were 14-16, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7. Still friends!

The ladies’ event was hard-fought as usual, though none of the matches went to 5 games. In the battle for 3^rd and 4^th place Paula beat Sharon. The sole Ulster representative Ruth McGilligan competed with spirit, Galway’s Teresa finished 5^th just above Renata, but the highlight was the final match for 1^st and 2^nd place between Ger and Anne-Marie, with Ger coming out on top 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 14-12. A fine match, with a difference of only 2 points in each game.

And finally, many thanks are due to the host club, the first time they have held an Irish Masters event. Adrian Brown refereed excellently, helped by Jay McAllister and tournament co-ordinator Susan Irwin. Here’s to 2024!

Tournament results can be downloaded below:

The Vet’s hosted a very successful Veterans Tournament on Saturday the 18th of February in Palmerstown.

Connaught Vets Open 18th February 2023  

Mens 40’s 

In the round of 16 Eduardo Da Silva won in 3 sets over Rodney McKirgan. Phill Wallace had a very easy 3 sets win over Rory Scott. Susan Hanlon won a close 5 setter over Anthony White. Oleg Biletsky had a very easy win over Dave Gibbons. Pat McCloghan had an impressive 3 sets win over Rita Kacsandi. John Bowe also had a straight sets victory over Dermot Tierney. The returning Daryl Strong won a close 3 sets match against Oksana. Tibor met a familiar opponent in Mark McAlister and Tibor won in 4 sets. In the Qtr’s Eduardo beat Phil 3:0. Oleg beat Susan in 3 sets. Pat beat John in a close 4 sets. Daryl had a tight 5 sets win over Tibor. In the semi’s Oleg had an easy 3 sets win over Eduardo. In the other semi final Daryl won in 3 sets over Pat. The final was a very closely fought match that went the full distance with Oleg winning 11:9 in the 5th. 

Mens 50’s 

The qty’s saw Tibor winning in a tight 3 set match with Des Flanagan. Daryl playing in his first 50’s competition, beat Philip Shaw in an easy 3 sets. Mark McAlister beat Dave Gibbons in a close 4 sets. Pat yet again met Sean McAnaney and again it went the full distance with Pat being the victor. In the semi final Daryl beat Tibor in straight sets. In the other semi final Pat beat Mark in a close 4 sets. Daryl proved too strong ( no pun intended) for Pat in the final and won in straight sets. 

Mens 60’s 

Sean McAnaney yet again met Norman Nabney and Sean won in 4 sets. Tommy Fitzgerald after an epic 5 sets win over Brian Finn in the last 16’s continued his good form to beat Des Flanagan in the qtr’s. Dave Pender beat Paul Norgrove in 4 sets. Philip Shaw beat rival Dave Pemberton in 4 sets. 

In the semi’s Sean beat Tommy in 4 sets and it was the same result in the other semi final with Philip beating Dave. The final was a straight forward match with Sean winning in 3 sets over Philip. 

Mens 70’s 

In the qrt’s top seed Brian Finn won in 4 sets over Jim Storey. Ken Peare had a straight sets win over Liam Perris. Jeremy Lappin won a closely fought 3 sets match against Norman Nabney. Tommy Caffrey proved too tough for Shay O’Reilly over 3 sets. In the semi’s Brian beat Ken 3:0. Tommy beat Jeremy in 3 sets. Yet again Brian met Tommy and as usual it went the full 5 sets but on this occasion Tommy won in the 5th. 

Ladies 

The ladies competition was split over 2 groups. There were a number of closely fought matches involving Renata, Ruth,  Geraldine, Ikuko, Paula. In the first semi final Rita had a 3:1 victory over Susan. In the other semi final Oksana had a comfortable 3 set win over Anne Marie. In the final Rita was back playing at a high level and beat Oksana in straight sets.