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Stynen Takes North Antrim Title

by National EventsTTI News

Continental visitor Leo Stynen (Germany) was the toast of Ballymena at the weekend when he won the North Antrim Open title after beating Irish No3 Daryl Strong in a dramatic premier class final while the hard hitting Barry Dickson, resilient blocker Stephen Turkington and local hero Adam McIlmoyle all tasted victory in the supporting events.  The organisers were also delighted that former Irish international Jimmy O’Hara (Ballymena) competed, incredibly having represented Ireland as far back as the 1940’s.

The premier class was packed with incident and shocks galore as fancied runners Pawel Sulcowski (Poland), Gervis Knox (Trillick), Mark McGuigan (Rasharkin), Brian Devereux (Wexford) and Gary Crawford (Doagh) fell by the wayside but Stynen and Strong remained solid throughout the dangerous preliminaries. The Queens destroyer, who will be competing for Ireland at the upcoming world championships in Moscow, then pulverised “Fast Phil” Wallace with relentless jackhammer backhands in the first semi while the 26 year old German attacker Stynen had too much quality for East Down Churches champion Peter Clarke who snatched a game before his fate was sealed in four brutal sets.

The final saw Stynen launch attack after attack with pronounced forehand loops doing most of the damage while Strong countered at every opportunity.  With the former Ulster champion down 2-1 in sets but leading 4-2 in the fourth Stynen took a severe nose bleed and play was halted as tournament referee Brian Orr, a former Ballymena Open champion, allowed the German to take a medical break.  When the match recommenced Strong seemed to have lost his impetus while Stynen quickly got back into his rhythm to win the fourth and the title. 

Desperado Dickson is a firm crowd favourite with his no compromise approach to the game admirable but he had to show uncharacteristic patience before smashing his way to a hard earned success over combination bat magician Robin Agnew in the class A semi.  In the final slick topspin wizard Ricky Davies got caught up in pure trench warfare which suited Dickson who dispatched his worthy adversary in five entertaining sets.

Another Greystone league supremo, Stephen Turkington, who has been making waves on the rural table tennis circuit for some time grasped his opportunity to show his pedigree at provincial level with a three set demolition of experienced campaigner Ian Davies in the class B final and there was rapturous applause when Ballymena Academy player Adam McIlmoyle gained revenge over club colleague Peter Neeson in four close sets to take class C.  Event Organiser Norman McBride had devised a tournament format that due to its popularity amongst competitors could well become the template for future Ulster competitions.

Meanwhile University of Ulster, Jordanstown team of Keith Knox, Gervis “Razor” Knox and Robert “Sting” Fisher have been crowned Belfast and District Premier league champions after convincingly defeating nearest rivals Glenburn in a rearranged clash.   

North Antrim Open Results

Premier singles

Semi Finals

Leo Stynen (Germany) bt Peter Clarke (Annahilt) 3-1

Daryl Strong (Belfast) bt Phil Wallace (Ballyclare) 3-0

Final

Stynen bt Strong 3-1

Class A singles

Semi Finals

Richard Davies (Ballyclare) bt Mark Lynns (Ballymoney) 3-0

Barry Dickson (Portadown) bt Robin Agnew (Cookstown) 3-2

Final

Dickson bt Davies 3-2

Class B singles

Semi Finals

Ian Davies (Ballyclare) bt Arnold Morgan (Banbridge) 3-0

Stephen Turkington (Portadown) bt Jimmy O’Hara (Ballymena) 3-0

Final

Turkington bt Davies 3-0

Class C singles

Semi Finals

Adam McIlmoyle (Ballymena) bt James Dillon (Coleraine) 3-0

Peter Neeson (Ballymena) bt Thomas McCann (Dunloy) 3-1

Final

McIlmoyle bt Neeson 3-1

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Butterfly National Juniors – Day Two

by National EventsTTI News

The second and final day of the Butterfly National Junior Championships saw Ireland’s top Cadet players play for the Cadet National titles, while some of the country’s youngest developing talent played off for the National Under 10 titles.

In the Under 14 Girls, all eyes were on Ashley Givan and Edel O’Reilly as they progressed through the rounds as expected to meet once again in the Final. These international team-mates have had many battles over the season and it was no different in the Nationals. Givan raced into an early lead, before O’Reilly fought back to win a good 2nd set 14-12. The 3rd game was a very nervy affair, which Givan clinched 12-10, before taking the title in the 4th set. O’Reilly battled for every point, but it was not be her day and Givan adds a second National Singles title to her National Senior win earlier in the season. Emily Burns belied her 7th seeding to progress to the semi-final and will be delighted with her 3rd place.

In the Under 14 Boys competition, perhaps the match of the weekend took place in the quarter-final. Club Donic’s Conor Mullally faced top seed Ryan Farrell and took a 2-0 set lead. Some astonishing rallies and great back court play by Mullally set up a potential shock result. However, Farrell produced a great fight back to take the next 3 sets and progress. Farrell then faced Jonathan Porter and was clinical in a straight sets win. Neil Irwin progressed to the Final with wins over Michael Lagan and Under 12 National Champion, Kevin Hutchinson. Fireworks were expected, and it was Farrell who delivered in style with a comfortable 3-0 victory to claim his first National title. Hutchinson claimed 3rd with another impressive performance against Porter.

In the Under 10 competition, the emphasis was on providing lots of matches to the stars of the future. Lots of fun was had with Kerry O’Mahoney eventually claiming the Girls title with a win over Marie Williams. In the Boys, Martin Williams claimed the title with a victory over Donie Mullally.

Many thanks to all the players and spectators who took part in another fantastic National Championships – congratulations to the new Champions and thanks to sponsors Butterfly and to all the volunteers who made the event so enjoyable for the players.

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Butterfly National Juniors – Day One

by National EventsTTI News

At the Butterfly National Junior Championships in DCU, Day One proved to be a day of highly entertaining table tennis, with some titanic struggles, some wonderful play and some surprises along the way.

The Under 12 Girls was always a difficult one to call with some great young talent being developed around the country. The first semi-final pitted the McGlone sisters Elayna and Katie together. Both players were members of the Silver medal winning squad at the Six Nations Primary Schools Championships and a keen battle was sure to ensue. Katie took the first set but Elayna showed tremendous battling qualities to eventually clinch an enthralling five setter and progress to the Final. The other semi-final saw Laura Finn, the top seed, progress past Valentina Puotkalis to set up a Finn v McGlone Final. This Final saw some great attacking play and the match swayed one way and then another, with a final set decider required. The final set went to 7-7 and the title was there for the taking. Finn stood up to the plate to claim the win to great cheers from the appreciative crowd.

In the Under 17 Girls, National Senior Champion Ashley Givan was many people’s favourite. She faced Roisin O’Reilly in the semi-final, and despite dropping the first set looked comfortable enough recording a 3-1 victory. In the other semi-final, Sara Dolan raced into a 2-0 lead over Rebecca Kenny and despite dropping the 3rd set 11-3, showed good resolve to close out the match 3-1. So Dolan and Givan in the Final, and again the crowd was treated to a classic 5 set match. This was Dolan’s last National Junior Championship and she showed steely resolve and produced some fantastic shots to take the last set 11-8 and become the deserved National Junior Champion, adding to her National Under 21 title and National Senior Doubles title to round off a pretty spectacular year for the Eastpoint player.

In the Under 12 Boys, Tom Davis of Club Donic emerged from the pack and produced the goods under pressure to progress to the Semi-Final – a fantastic achievement. Here, he ran into Eric Sheckleton who recovered from slow starts in the 2nd and 3rd set to come back and win in straight sets. Davis will be delighted with his display and we should expect to see more from him next season. The other semi-final had a familiar look to it, as Jonathan Porter faced Kevin Hutchinson. Both players really know how to attack and soon drew the attention of the large crowd. Hutchinson was just too good today, closing out the match in straight sets, to set up a Leinster v Ulster Final. The Final was a nervy affair, with the 3rd set going to 17-15, but Hutchinson was not to be beaten and again was a deserved National Champion.

So to the Junior Boys – many of whom have lit up the Senior scene this season. With Logue, McCreery and Robinson just returned from the Luxembourg Open, the standard of play was high as expected. From team-mates to rivals so quickly! Logue was paired with McCreery in the semi-final and the two produced some great rallies – McCreery eventually won through despite Logue displaying great fighting spirit. Robinson was paired with Declan O’Brien and was just too good today for the Munster player in a reverse of their match at the National Seniors where O’Brien eliminated Robinson in the last 16. An all-Ulster Final saw McCreery produce some sparkling play – he looked dominant throughout , eventually winning in 4 sets. 

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Blast From the Past

by TTI News

This week’s Blast from the past goes back to the 80’s and features well known Irish Soccer International Niall Quinn plus some names still heavily involved in table tennis. The ranking lists make for interesting reading with many of the listed players still going strong!

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World Schools: Report from Colaiste Choilm

by International EventsTTI News

The Coláiste Choilm team, Ballincollig Co. Cork, represented Ireland from the 23rd of March 2010 to 31st March 2010 in Brno, Czech Republic. The team consisted of Declan O’ Brien, Alex Cooney, Eoin Murphy and Ben Aherne. After putting up a great display they finished 11th overall in the Championships.

Day One

The first match was against Malta. After a thrilling close encounter with the match level at 3-3 it was down to Declan O’ Brien against the Maltese number 2. Fortunately Declan prevailed as the winner with a confident 3-0 score line. This gave the boys confidence going into tough opposition against Poland. Despite a valiant effort by the boys the more experienced Polish Team prevailed.

Day Two

After a disappointing loss against the Polish team the boys found it difficult to find their form and lost to Slovakia in the morning session. Confidence was low in the Irish camp however Coach Ivan Shorten had a pep talk with the boys and they came out a different team. In the afternoon session they faced England who were in the same position as Ireland, fighting for 3rd place in the group. With heroic performances from Alex Cooney and Declan O’ Brien who both won their singles matches and also their doubles gave Ireland a 5-2 victory over our nearest rivals. This was an excellent result and gave Ireland 3rd position in the group.

“I am very pleased with finishing 3rd in a very tough and talented group. The team all played very well throughout the group showing great character after the disappointment of the Slovakia and Poland matches to eventually beat England which is always a sweet victory to claim!!!” said Declan O’ Brien.

Day Three

In the morning session the Team had a very comfortable 4-0 victory over the Italians which set up a match with the highly regarded German team. Unfortunately the Germans proved to be the better team eventually winning 4-0. Despite this result some of the matches were very close with the doubles going to 5 sets, losing 12-10 in the fifth. This left the Boys with an 11th overall position in the championships.

Day Four

After the team events coming to a close with China winning all team events the boys had a rest day in which to embrace the culture and scenery of Brno.

Day Five

This was the singles day. However the boys were unsuccessful in some very close contested matches. As per usual the Chinese proved to be world class gaining number one position in all events.

 “Overall I thought it was an unforgettable experience which will hopefully prove beneficial for my final year as a junior next season” – Alex Cooney

 “This was my first experience representing Ireland at international level and I was pleased with finishing 11th overall” – Ben Aherne

 “It was an amazing and invaluable experience especially both playing and watching some of the best players in the world” – Eoin Murphy

 “Having won 9 of 14 matches I was extremely pleased with my performance” – Declan O’ Brien

 Well done to all the lads and travelling party which included Ivan Shorten (Coach), Ellen O’ Brien (Head of Delegation) and Tom Mitchell (Umpire).

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Givan Strikes Gold Again

by International EventsTTI News

A great performance by Ireland’s Cadet Girls at the Cheltenham Select saw Ashley Givan add the Cheltenham Select title to her Cadet Six Nations and Senior Nationals medal haul. Team-mate Edel OReilly was also in top form and progressed to the Final before Givan pipped her to the title. Both girls lost in the quarter finals of the Juniors in close matches.

In the Cadet Boys, Ryan Farrell and Neil Irwin both played well in the Cadets and Juniors, despite facing tough draws. Despite weinning their Cadet groups, Farrel was eliminated by eventual runner-up Jared Patel in the knock-out stages, with Irwin also losing out at this stage. Farrell progressed to the last 16 of the Junior Banded where he lost 11-8 in the fifth to the number 3 seed Adam Nutland.

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Irish Claim Silver at Primary Schools International

by International EventsTTI News

Ireland’s STIGA sponsored Primary School Girls produced some fantastic performances to claim Team silver medals at the Primary Schools International hosted in Guernsey from the 9th-11th April. The Girls produced a blistering start defeating Wales 8-2 and Scotland 9-1 on the first day of play. Coach Louise Long and team of Katie and Elayna McGlone, Laura Finn and Sarah Cooney then faced into a battle against England, with the winners favourites to claim gold. Ireland were unlucky to lose 6-4, with the two matches dropped in the Doubles proving their downfall. Sarah Cooney recorded an impressive 2 wins against the English girls, with the critical doubles match going to 12-10 in the 5th set – Ireland went on to claim an impressive silver, but as always in sport will look to go one step further in 2011 – they were not far off defeating the highly rated English girls. In the Singles, all 4 girls progressed through their groups to the last 16. Laura Finn lost to England’s Abigail Griffith at this stage, while Katie McGlone and Cooney were unlucky to be drawn against each other – Katie joined sister Elayna in the last 8 following a 3-1 victory. At the qurter final stage of the event, tensions were high and in a classic encounter, Katie was defeated 3-2 by Welsh girl Laura Edwards. Elayna was defeated by Letitia McWilliams to end the Irish involvement in the competition.

The Primary Schools Boys had a tougher weekend, losing to both Scotland, Wales and Englan in the Team event to finish 4th. Coach Shay Logue and team of Mark Gordon, Ryan McConkey, James O’Reilly and Jonathan Porter had to regroup for the next day’s singles. Porter was in exceptional form and progressed through the group stages, progressing then to the quarter finals in straight sets over Scotland’s Jason Fleming. There he ran into the seriously talented Hugo Pang of England who just had too much for Porter on this occasion. Pang showed his class by going on to claim the title over Christopher Wheeler. In the Consolation Event, James O’Reilly will be delighted to claim gold, with a great win over Scotland’s Yazer Rasouf in the Final.

Many thanks to sponsors STIGA – check out their latest newsletter here – http://www.stigatabletennis.com/enews/no2-2010/index.html

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Luxembourg Open – Review

by International EventsTTI News

Last week, some of Ireland’s top male players were in action at the Luxembourg Open, with some good results recorded…

Day 1

In the Team Event, Ireland 1(Paul McCreery and John Murphy) were defeated 3-0 by Ukraine before facing Austria. This match proved to be a classic battle, as Austria raced into a 2-0 lead. However, the finalists of the 2010 Butterfly National Senior Championships fought back in the Doubles before McCreery levelled the match with an outstanding 5-set victory over Dominique Plattner who is ranked over 400 places ahead of Ireland’s No.1 in the World Rankings. This led to a winner-takes all showdown between the experienced Murphy and Austrian Storf – this match also went the distance, with Murphy unlucky to lose out by 13-11 in the final set.

Ireland 2 is made up of Ashley Robinson and Sam Logue – both of whom are still eligible Juniors. This tournament was always going to be a daunting task for the duo, their highlight to date being a superb Doubles victory over England’s McNeath and Nicholls.

The singles competition gets underway today where the Irish contingent will be looking to score some positive results – the draw is as follows:

McCreery v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) World Ranked 982

Murphy v SOTA Rei (Albania) – Not Ranked

Robinson v TAUBER Michael (Israel) – World Ranked 818

Logue v Filenko (Ukraine) – World Ranked 496

Murphy and McCreery have both got good draws against lower ranked opponents and will fancy their chances to progress – Robinson and Logue will have to produce stunning performances to shock their opponents. Results will appear on ITTAWeb as soon as they are received.

Day 2

The Irish got off to a great start in the Men’s Singles, with Murphy and McCreery both scoring good wins in the 1st Round over their lower ranked opponents. McCreery then really turned on the style in the 2nd Round as he blitzed England’s David McBeath in straight sets – McBeath is 300 or so places above the Irish No.1 in the World Rankings, so another scalp to add to that of Austrian Plattner. Murphy also progressed to Round 3, but in more dramatic circumstances, taking a 7 set classic against Sweden’s Sven Hansen. Both players eventually crashed out of the main draw in Round 3, with England’s Gavin Evans too strong for Murphy in a straight sets win and Nichola Moller of Switzerland eliminating McCreery. For youngsters Robinson and Logue, this tournament has been a difficult experience and they have struggled to record a victory against established senior internationals – hopefully this experience will stand to them as they develop as International players.

Na Liu also had a fantastic tournament as part of the BTTF squad, finishing runner-up in the event with some terrific performances – she lost out to Malin Petersson in the Final.


Day 2/3 Results in Full

McCreery v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) WR 982 Won 4-2

McCreery v David McBeath(England) WR 689 Won 4-0

McCreery v Nichola Mohler(Switzerland) WR412 Lost 4-1

McCreery v Boris de Vries (Netherlands) WR636 Lost 4-2

McCreery v Jan Thews(Lux) WR1138 Won 4-0

McCreery v Eric Berner(NOR) WR448 Lost 4-2

Finished: 53rd

Murphy v SOTA Rei (Albania) Not Ranked Won 4-0

John Murphy v Sven Hansen WR963 Win 4-3

Murphy v Gavin Evans(England) WR458 Lost 4-0

Murphy v Valeriy Rakov(Ukr) Not Ranked Lost 4-2

Murphy v Endika Diez(Spa) WR445 Lost 4-1

Murphy v Daniel O’Connell(WAL) Not Ranked Won 4-1

Finished: 57th Place

Ashley Robinson v TAUBER Michael (Israel) – WR818 Lost 4-2

Ashley Robinson v Christian Kill(Lux) WR733 Lost 4-2

Robinson v Mike Bast(Lux) WR588 Lost 4-0

Robinson v Lars Ronneborg(Nor) WR1267 Lost 4-0

Robinson v Stewart CRAWFORD WR556 Lost 4-0

Finished: 83rd Place



Logue v Filenko (Ukraine) WR 496 Lost 4-0

Logue v Simon Arvidsson(Sweden) WR425 Lost 4-0

Logue v Casper Ter Luun(Netherlands) WR 619 Lost 4-0

Logue v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) WR 982 Lost 4-0

Logue v Illio BARBOLIN(Belarus)  WR521 Lost 4-0

Finished: 83rd Place

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Luxembourg Open: Day 2 Update

by International EventsTTI News

Some of Ireland’s top men’s players are currently competing at the Luxembourg Open, with some good results recorded so far.

Day 1

In the Team Event, Ireland 1(Paul McCreery and John Murphy) were defeated 3-0 by Ukraine before facing Austria. This match proved to be a classic battle, as Austria raced into a 2-0 lead. However, the finalists of the 2010 Butterfly National Senior Championships fought back in the Doubles before McCreery levelled the match with an outstanding 5-set victory over Dominique Plattner who is ranked over 400 places ahead of Ireland’s No.1 in the World Rankings. This led to a winner-takes all showdown between the experienced Murphy and Austrian Storf – this match also went the distance, with Murphy unlucky to lose out by 13-11 in the final set.

Ireland 2 is made up of Ashley Robinson and Sam Logue – both of whom are still eligible Juniors. This tournament was always going to be a daunting task for the duo, their highlight to date being a superb Doubles victory over England’s McNeath and Nicholls.

The singles competition gets underway today where the Irish contingent will be looking to score some positive results – the draw is as follows:

McCreery v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) World Ranked 982

Murphy v SOTA Rei (Albania) – Not Ranked

Robinson v TAUBER Michael (Israel) – World Ranked 818

Logue v Filenko (Ukraine) – World Ranked 496

Murphy and McCreery have both got good draws against lower ranked opponents and will fancy their chances to progress – Robinson and Logue will have to produce stunning performances to shock their opponents. Results will appear on ITTAWeb as soon as they are received.

Day 2

The Irish got off to a great start in the Men’s Singles, with Murphy and McCreery both scoring good wins in the 1st Round over their lower ranked opponents. McCreery then really turned on the style in the 2nd Round as he blitzed England’s David McBeath in straight sets – McBeath is 300 or so places above the Irish No.1 in the World Rankings, so another scalp to add to that of Austrian Plattner. Murphy also progressed to Round 3, but in more dramatic circumstances, taking a 7 set classic against Sweden’s Sven Hansen. Both players eventually crashed out of the main draw in Round 3, with England’s Gavin Evans too strong for Murphy in a straight sets win and Nichola Moller of Switzerland eliminating McCreery. For youngsters Robinson and Logue, this tournament has been a difficult experience and they have struggled to record a victory against established senior internationals – hopefully this experience will stand to them as they develop as International players.

Day 2 Results in Full

McCreery v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) WR 982 Won 4-2

McCreery v David McBeath(England) WR 689 Won 4-0

McCreery v Nichola Mohler(Switzerland) WR412 Lost 4-1

McCreery v Boris de Vries (Netherlands) WR636 Lost 4-2

McCreery v Jan Thews(Lux) WR1138 Lost 4-0

Murphy v SOTA Rei (Albania) Not Ranked Won 4-0

John Murphy v Sven Hansen WR963 Win 4-3

Murphy v Gavin Evans(England) WR458 Lost 4-0

Murphy v Valeriy Rakov(Ukr) Not Ranked Lost 4-2

Murphy v Endika Diez(Spa) WR445 Lost 4-1

Ashley Robinson v TAUBER Michael (Israel) – WR818 Lost 4-2

Ashley Robinson v Christian Kill(Lux) WR733 Lost 4-2

Rob v Mike Bast(Lux) WR588 Lost 4-0

Lars Ronneborg(Nor) WR1267 Lost 4-0

Logue v Filenko (Ukraine) WR 496 Lost 4-0

Logue v Simon Arvidsson(Sweden) WR425 Lost 4-0

Logue v Casper Ter Luun(Netherlands) WR 619 Lost 4-0

Logue v AARAS PAL Francis (Norway) WR 982 Lost 4-0

Lost 4-0