Athlone tennis club set for finals of senior championships
Athlone Tennis Club is preparing for the concluding stages of their annual senior club championships this weekend.
The senior club championships are sponsored by MCG Properties, and the various finals will take place on Sunday. Play is due to commence at 2pm on Sunday and with five cup and five plate finals to be played, a great evening’s tennis is keenly anticipated.
The action is expected to come to an end at about 7pm. Refreshments will be served from approximately 6.30pm and all members and supporters are welcome to attend.
Junior Club Championships
Last Saturday, the Athlone Tennis Club under-14, under-16 and under- 18 junior club championships, sponsored by Temple Print, were completed in glorious September sunshine. These girls and boys competitions were very keenly and sportingly contested.
The level of performance especially from the boys, some of whom are also in the senior club championships, will make the seniors take note. Can Harry O’Rourke retain last year’s senior title or can Sean Raftery win it to go with his U18 title? Just some of the questions that will be answered this weekend.
Singles Results
Under-14 Boys: Michael Flynn beat Joe Reidy
Under-16 Girls: Maeve Bass beat Brigid Flynn
Under-16 Boys: Harry O’Rourke beat Jeremy Clarke
Under-18 Girls: Maeve Bass beat Aoife Raleigh
Under-18 Boys: Sean Raftery beat Fergus Groenendijk
Doubles Results
Under-18 Girls: Sinead Reidy/Maeve Bass beat Gertie O’Rourke/Aoife Raleigh
Under-18 Boys: Sean Raftery/Jeremy Clarke beat Harry O’Rourke/Fergus Groenendijk
Under-14 Girls: Postponed to a later date
Midland Leagues - Division 4
Division 4 team members Orla Kinahan, Jacinta Digby, Jimmy Raleigh and Dave Costello had an away semi-final against Birr Wilmer 1 on Wednesday of last week and returned happily with a 3-1 victory. Orla and Jacinta won their doubles 9-7 but Jimmy and Dave lost 7-9. In the mixed doubles, Orla and Jimmy won 9-7 and the Jacinta/Dave combination also won 9-6. They now have to play Birr Wilmer 2 in the final fixed for Birr on Tuesday evening, September 30.
The two teams have already met in their section of the league and the result back in July was a 2-2 draw, but Athlone were winners having won more games. Anna Walsh (for whom Jacinta deputised last week) will be back for the final against Birr.
Athlone teams have won this division for the past two years and no club in the midlands has achieved a treble win for this trophy. Can history be made on Tuesday?
Midland Leagues - Division 3
The Athlone 2 team completed their series of matches on September 15 with an excellent result against Loughrea, winning 4-0. In the ladies doubles Ann O’Sullivan and Joan Conway won 9-2 and, in the men’s doubles, Tomasz Koza and John Cooney won 9-6. Joan and Tomasz teamed up to win 9-4 while Ann and John won 9-5.
This victory saw them gain a quarter-final spot against Roscrea. However, Roscrea came out on top in the quarter-final which was played last Tuesday night.
Social Tennis
In the men’s competitions on Monday night of last week, 16-year-old Jeremy Clarke combined with the oldest player in action on the night, Dave Costello,, in combating their opponents and triumphing on the night.
Every Tuesday night the ladies have their social tennis. Last week Laura Silke and Bernie Kane were among the new members that were given some tennis tips by Ann O’Sullivan. New members to tennis will be provided with basic coaching every week while the more proficient may practice with established players. On Thursday night of last week, marathon man Kieran Galvin combined with Deborah McKeown in a mixed doubles evening of tennis. Both have been absent from the tennis courts for a while but class always shines, they had a good tennis night.