BACKHAND…Jared Monaghan with a strong double-handed backhand during the Under 18 Boys Final
Last week saw the climax of the annual junior closed tournament at Enniskillen Tennis Club.
Once again the tournament received generous sponsorship from Lakeland Veterinary Services, Derrygonnelly. A large contingent of juniors supported this event and the progress made by our juniors over the past 12 months was obvious for all to see.
The U18 Boys Singles was a high class affair. In the earlier rounds number two seed Ronan McKeever suffered a real scare against Daire Dillon but came through in the third set. The final was of exceptional standard with Jared Monaghan and Ronan trading hard hitting shots from the baseline and using their full range of shots to move each other around the court. At one set all, and with no quarter given, Jared took the match in a championship tie-break. The pair also contested the U16 Boys Singles final and again it was a close encounter with Jared doubling up winning the match 6-3 6-4.
One of the best matches in the U18 Girls Singles was between Eimear Smyth and Alison Glass. Both girls gave their all in a very entertaining match, but it was Eimear who prevailed 10-3 in the deciding set. The final was between Sarah Cousins and Laura Griffin. In a high standard match, hard though Laura tried, she couldn’t peg back Sarah, and it was the younger girl who prevailed 6-3 6-4.
The U18 Doubles was probably the most entertaining of all the events and the quality of play at times was breath-taking. Conor McShea and Laura Griffin just prevailed against Headon-Hughes Jordan and Sarah Cousins 10-8 in the third and final set in a riveting match. Conor’s rich vein of form continues and he is now playing the tennis of his life.
The final of this event was the last match to be played in the tournament and it was a case of the best wine kept to last. Jared Monaghan and Alison Glass came through in two tiebreaks 7-6 7-6 against Conor and Laura. All four players emerged with great credit, but it was the volleying of Alison Glass that proved to be the decisive factor.
The U14 Boys Singles followed the expected course with the top two seeds Aran Dillon and Conor Rippey playing each other in the final. This time it was Conor who came out on top and his play reflects the marked improvement in his play over the past couple of years.
The U14 Girls Singles was a tight affair, with Dearbhla Dillon maintaining an unbeaten run throughout this event. However, she was made to work hard by both Sasha Funston and Amy Griffin and both these matches were only decided in a championship tie-break which Dearbhla won 10-8.
The U14 Girls Doubles was narrowly won by Ciara Griffin and Sasha Funston over Dearbhla Dillon and Amy Griffin. This match was a see-saw battle with Sasha and Ciara taking the first set comfortably 6-2. Dearbhla and Amy fought back strongly to take the second set in a tiebreak 7-6 before Sasha and Ciara took the third set 10-4.
The U12 Boys Singles was won by Luke Dillon but Jack Balfour caught the eye with some excellent performances. He took Luke to a first set tie-break and his never say die attitude made Luke work to the end. However it was Luke’s extra experience that allowed him to capitalise at crucial stages of the match and in the end Luke was the worthy winner.
The U12 Girls Singles was won convincingly by Amy Griffin another to have made good progress in recent months. One of the best matches in this event was the narrow win of Hannah Davis over Anna Guette by 7-6 6-3.
Conor Rippey crowned an excellent week by taking the Novice Boys Singles over Adam McShea. Adam showed plenty of his father’s competitive spirit and no shortage of skill either as went down 3-6 4-6. Tara McConville proved to be a very popular winner of the Novice Girls Singles maintaining an unbeaten run of three matches. However Hannah Davis made Tara work all the way taking her to three sets and it is a measure of the improvements Hannah has made to her game over the last year that she came so close.
The prizes were presented by the sponsor Innes Redmond who was delighted with the excellent entry and the spirit in which all the matches were played. Tribute was paid to the work of the club coaches Matthew and Louise McGann. They have invested so much time in junior development at Enniskillen that the standards the juniors are now
attaining are a tribute not just to the juniors themselves but also to the quality of the coaching that is now available within our local area.
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