The Irish Junior Boys and Junior Girls have just returned from Weekend 1 of this season’s Junior British League. The event took place in the fantastic Lilleshall National Sports Campus in Shropshire, with 6 player and 2 NPC’s travelling.
Results After Weekend 1
The Boys Team of Ryan Farrell, Tom Davis and Zak Wilson were led by Coach Dave Buckley. Davis and Farrell were part of the team that won promotion from Division 2B last year, so all eyes were on them to see how they would perform in Division One, just one rung below the elite Premier Division. They did not let Irish supporters down, with some fantastic performances that have left them right in contention for promotion. Zac Wilson was an excellent addition to the team – he will be delighted with an 80% win ratio.
The Boys hit the ground running, claiming 6-0 and 4-2 victories in the first two matches against Ellenborough and St.Mary’s respectively, before a very tight 3:3 draw with London Academy rounded off Saturday’s play. With two games on the Sunday, the pressure was on the Boys to at least secure one win to maintain their place towards the top of the table. This was delivered in style against Rotherham Scorpions, with Zac Wilson clinching the win for the team against Liam Rowson. The final match was to be the toughest, against Bournemouth, boasting Hugo Pang and Jamie Trevilion amongst their squad. Tom Davis and Zac Wilson notched wins, but Pang and Trevilion were dominant, securing 2 wins each and inflicting the first defeat to the Irish. Davis pushed Trevilion all the way in a thrilling 5 set match, just losing out 11-8 in the final set. He will no doubt target this game in the return fixture.
This left Team Ireland in clear 2nd place overall, just off the unbeaten Bournemouth. Their efforts were recognised when awarded Team of the Weekend by the Competition Organisers. They will be delighted with this allocade, but all focus will be on Weekend two in February 2014 and securing promotion to the Premier Division.
Coach Dave Buckley stated
“The boys winning team of the weekend was a great bonus and there should be fair recognition of this as 1996/1997 was the last time this feat was achieved – all three performed really well and were very sporting both on and off the table.”
The Girls team of Hannah Lynch Dawson, Chloe O’Halloran and Emma Ludlow were led into battle by Coach Louise Long. A draw and two wins on Saturday left the girls in an excellent position going into Day Two. Playing in the fiercely competitive Premier Division, the girls will have been delighted with this start, which included a big 5:1 win over Wales and a 6:0 win over Draycott.
Overnight thoughts turned to two pivotal clashes with Burton & Uxbridge and St.Andrews. Ireland lost 6:0 to St.Andrews – a tough scoreline for the Girls who will be disappointed with the result having pushed their opponents close in each game. O’Halloran in particular was unlucky to lose out to Letitia McMullen in a tough 5-setter. The Irish had a short amount of time to recover before facing Burton – who had 4 wins from 4 at this point. In Emma Torkinton, Burton have a fine player and she showed her class in collecting two wins. Hannah Lynch Dawson and Chloe O’Halloran also notched wins for the Irish in a much improved performance as they just lost out 4:2.
This leaves the Irish Girls poised in 3rd place with eyes firmly set on moving up the table on the final weekend. They will fancy another shot at the unbeaten Burton and will also be out to avenge a 6:0 loss to St.Andrews – watch this space, as 2nd place is within reach here for our talented squad.
The Irish Junior Boys and Junior Girls have just returned from Weekend 1 of this season’s Junior British League. The event took place in the fantastic Lilleshall National Sports Campus in Shropshire, with 6 player and 2 NPC’s travelling.
Results After Weekend 1
The Boys Team of Ryan Farrell, Tom Davis and Zak Wilson were led by Coach Dave Buckley. Davis and Farrell were part of the team that won promotion from Division 2B last year, so all eyes were on them to see how they would perform in Division One, just one rung below the elite Premier Division. They did not let Irish supporters down, with some fantastic performances that have left them right in contention for promotion. Zac Wilson was an excellent addition to the team – he will be delighted with an 80% win ratio.
The Boys hit the ground running, claiming 6-0 and 4-2 victories in the first two matches against Ellenborough and St.Mary’s respectively, before a very tight 3:3 draw with London Academy rounded off Saturday’s play. With two games on the Sunday, the pressure was on the Boys to at least secure one win to maintain their place towards the top of the table. This was delivered in style against Rotherham Scorpions, with Zac Wilson clinching the win for the team against Liam Rowson. The final match was to be the toughest, against Bournemouth, boasting Hugo Pang and Jamie Trevilion amongst their squad. Tom Davis and Zac Wilson notched wins, but Pang and Trevilion were dominant, securing 2 wins each and inflicting the first defeat to the Irish. Davis pushed Trevilion all the way in a thrilling 5 set match, just losing out 11-8 in the final set. He will no doubt target this game in the return fixture.
This left Team Ireland in clear 2nd place overall, just off the unbeaten Bournemouth. Their efforts were recognised when awarded Team of the Weekend by the Competition Organisers. They will be delighted with this allocade, but all focus will be on Weekend two in February 2014 and securing promotion to the Premier Division.
Coach Dave Buckley stated
“The boys winning team of the weekend was a great bonus and there should be fair recognition of this as 1996/1997 was the last time this feat was achieved – all three performed really well and were very sporting both on and off the table.”
The Girls team of Hannah Lynch Dawson, Chloe O’Halloran and Emma Ludlow were led into battle by Coach Louise Long. A draw and two wins on Saturday left the girls in an excellent position going into Day Two. Playing in the fiercely competitive Premier Division, the girls will have been delighted with this start, which included a big 5:1 win over Wales and a 6:0 win over Draycott.
Overnight thoughts turned to two pivotal clashes with Burton & Uxbridge and St.Andrews. Ireland lost 6:0 to St.Andrews – a tough scoreline for the Girls who will be disappointed with the result having pushed their opponents close in each game. O’Halloran in particular was unlucky to lose out to Letitia McMullen in a tough 5-setter. The Irish had a short amount of time to recover before facing Burton – who had 4 wins from 4 at this point. In Emma Torkinton, Burton have a fine player and she showed her class in collecting two wins. Hannah Lynch Dawson and Chloe O’Halloran also notched wins for the Irish in a much improved performance as they just lost out 4:2.
This leaves the Irish Girls poised in 3rd place with eyes firmly set on moving up the table on the final weekend. They will fancy another shot at the unbeaten Burton and will also be out to avenge a 6:0 loss to St.Andrews – watch this space, as 2nd place is within reach here for our talented squad.
Congratulations to all of the players and thanks as always to Coaches Long and Buckley for coaching and looking after the teams over the weekend.
Congratulations to all of the players and thanks as always to Coaches Long and Buckley for coaching and looking after the teams over the weekend.