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Badminton In The Midlands

Thursday, 26 January 2012

PLAYERS from a record number of 19 clubs participated in the Southwest Leinster Badminton Leagues individual Championship Finals played in Carlow Lawn Tennis Club this past weekend. SWLL Honourable Secretary/Treasurer, Loftus Warren, arranged to have Jean Kelly, President of the Leinster Branch, Badminton Ireland and 4 umpires from Badminton Ireland present to add dignity and prestige to the finals. The players rose to the occasion with some highly competitive badminton played at all levels.
Pride of place must go to the Grade 4 Ladies match and the Grade 5 Mixed match for the competitiveness and sheer grit and determination displayed by the players. In the Ladies match, Rachel Cass and Barbara Coffey, Abbeyleix CYMS and Lorraine Nolan, Moyvore and Sue Whyte, Mullingar battled point for point through three sets. Neither pair were willing to give an inch to their opponents. Lorraine and Sue got lucky at the end of the 1st set and put together 3 points in a row to win 21/19. In the 2nd set, Rachel and Barbara built up a small lead and added a bit more at the end of the set to win 21/17. The 3rd set was a very dogged affair with one team scoring one or two points and then the other. Neither pair could get a grip on the score. Finally, at 19-all, Rachel and Barbara managed 2 points to steal the win for Abbeyleix. Two Athy RFC pairs, Catherine Dalton and Raymond Dalton and Bernie Lowry and James Kilbride, battled for supremacy in the Grade 5 Mixed. Even thought the rivalry between clubmates was very good-natured, it was very intense. The players knew each other very well so there was the added mental battle to play the opponents weaknesses while trying to protect your own. Following point for point exchanges all through the 1st set, Catherine and Ray finally won 21/19. Bernie and James got a jumpstart in the 2nd set and never let up to score a 21-15 win. The 3rd set was a carbon copy of the 1st, including the score. Catherine and Ray managed to hang on for a 21/19 win, to claim the Grade 5 Mixed title.
Grade 1: Ladies: Eimear Banville and Claire Salvey, Carlow LTC, outscored Brideen Lynch, New Ross, and Ellen O'Neill, Ballinabranna, Co. CW, 21/9, 21/11. Men's: Aubrey Cox and William Stevenson, Carlow YM, controlled Colm Byrne and Andrew Harte, Carlow LTC, to win 21/17, 21/15. Mixed: Andrew Harte and William Stevenson were both in action in the mixed. Andrew Harte teamed with Eimear Banville and Sylvia Campion partnered William Stevenson. The 1st set promised an exciting match with a final score of 26/24 to the YM pair. After that the match fizzled out. Banville and Harte went on to win 21/9, 21/14.
Grade 2: Ladies: Sharon Cobbe and Clare Faherty, Portarlington Parochial met Ashleigh Fennell and Brenda O'Byrne, CYM. Fennell and O'Byrne claimed the title 21/16, 21/19. Men's: In a grandstand finish, Roy Connor and Sean Pollard-Jackson, CYM, outscored Jon Moyles and Dominic Sharpe, Gurteen, 21/14, 23/21. Mixed: Sinead Carson and Jon Moyles, Gurteen, scrapped past Shirley Parr and Michael Manning, Johnswell, 21/18, 21/19.
Grade 3: Ladies: After a valiant struggle, Camilla Dunne and Marina Lynam, Rahan, lost to Karina Walsh, St. Laurence's of KE and Lynsey Walsh, Kilcullen, 32/21, 21/17. Men's: In an exciting 3-set match, George Colli9er and Sean Pollard-Jackson, CYM, defeated Colm Cooney and Noel Doody, Baltinglass, 21/16, 13/21, 21/17. Mixed: In another tight match, Jennifer Dillon and Fergal Brennan, JW, defeated Ashleigh Fennell and Leeson Neale, CYM, 21/18, 21/14.
Grade 4: Men: David Lawlor and John Sheehan, Ballinabranna, scored one of the most emphatic wins of the night, defeating Scott Fennell and Cecil Reynolds, CYM, 21/15, 21/14. Mixed: Three sets were required to separate Chelsey Cox, CYM and Leon Coe, PP, and Alison Holmes, PP and Cecil Reynolds, CYM. Cox and Coe won, 21/12, 18/21, 21/17.
Grade 5: Ladies: Anne Pyke and Helena Rigney, Abbeyleix defeated Ann Kelly and Bernie Lowry, Athy RFC, 21/18, 14/21, 21/17. Men's: Brian Bond and Jack King may not have had huge winning margins, but they got past Raymond Dalton and James Kilbride, Athy RFC, 21/18, 21/14.
Grade 6: Ladies: Jennifer Cass and Rachel Cass, Abbeyleix CYMS, defeated Ann Brennan and Yvonne Hoban, JW, 21/18, 21/11. Men: After 2 exciting sets, the score of Adrian Brennan and Seamus Curram, Ballinabranna, collapsed in the 3rd set as they lost to John Mango and Texan Zachariah, Athy RFC, 21/15, 16/21, 21/9. Mixed: In another all Athy match, Carol Coyle and John Mango, defeated Catherine Dalton and Paul Santhosh by identical scores, 21/17, 21/17.
Grade 7: Cora O'Keefe and Natasha Phelan, JW, got off to a slow start against Karen Fitzpatrick and Danielle Sheenan, Ballinabranna, but they definitely picked up the pace in the second set. Final scores, 21/10, 22/20. Men's: Tom Foley and Keith Langrell, Kilteegan, WW, were the opposite in their match against Craig Coffey and Dylan Fitzpatrick, Ballinabranna. The scores were 21/18, 21/13 to Coffey and Fitzpatrick. Mixed: For Evelyn Jackson and Tom Foley, qualifying for the final was far more exciting than the final itself. After being down 15/20 in the 3rd set against Kathleen Lynch and Shane Fitzpatrick, Mountmellick Macra, Evelyn and Tom won 22/20. They went on to lose the final 16/21, 13/21, to Kilteegan clubmates Shirley Jackson and Keith Langrell.
U-17: Girls: In a very one-sided match, Rachel Cass, Abbeyleix and Clare Faherty, PP, outscored Eilis Brennan and Megan O'Keefe, JW, 21/6, 21/11. Boys: Andrew Cullen and John McCabe, Country Club, OY, slipped past Shane Comerford and Thomas Comerford, JW, in the 1st set, but hammered them in the snd set, 21/19, 21/8. Mixed: Eilis Brennan and Shane Comerford, JW, outscored Karen Larke, PP, and Scott Fennell, CYM, 21/13, 21/8.
Inter-County Competitions:
Laois entered 2 teams in the Senior Intercounty championships this past weekend. The Grade 3 team of Liam Dempsey, Michael Cass, David Jackson, Trevor Cobbe, Clare Faherty, Lesley Cobbe, and Barbara Coffey travelled to Roundwood in Co. Wick low where they met teams from Dublin, Wicklow and Kilkenny. In each match the score was 5-2 to their opponents, but the results could have been oh so different. Laois v Dublin: Clare Faherty won the ladies singles, then teamed with Liam Dempsey to win 2nd mixed. Laois v Wicklow: Clare Faherty again won ladies singles. Lesley Cobbe and Barbara Coffey won ladies doubles. Two more games were lost in the 3rd set 25/23. Liam Dempsey lost men's singles and Lesley Cobbe and Trevor Cobbe lost 1st Mixed. Laois v Kilkenny: Clare Faherty again won ladies singles and Lesley Cobbe and Barbara Coffey won the ladies doubles. Five of the 7 games went to 3-sets and Laois could only win one of these. Wicklow won the group with 14 points. Kilkenny finished level on 11 points with Dublin, but go through in 2nd place by virtue of their win in the head-to-head. Laois finished on 6 points, but with a bit more effort and a little luck, the results could have been oh so different.
Offaly Juvenile Doubles:
A big entry, lots of play, and some surprise results. That was the order of the day when Division 3, 4, and 5 boys met for the final round of the Offaly Juvenile Doubles in Clonaslee. In Division 3, James Coughlan and Mark Flaherty, Kinnity, finished at the top of the table after the 1st round, and only lost one game in the second round and that to 2nd place finishers Tony O'Connor and Paddy Quinlan, Country Club. Surprise pair on the day were Lorcan Kelly and Daniel Hiney, Ballycumber. Lorcan and Daniel finished well down the table after the 1st round with only 4 wins, but only dropped 1 score in the 2nd round in a 15/14 loss to Coughlan and Flaherty to finish in 3rd spot. A count-back was required to separate Joe Daly and Kevin Daly, Killoughey and Ethan Rowe-McCormack and Darragh Tierney, Boora. Each pair won 5 games in each round. Joe and Kevin finished with 81 points in their losses while Ethan and Darragh could only accumulate 74. So after 17 games, Joe Daly and Kevin Daly claimed 4th place by 7 scores. Other teams playing in the Division were Aaron Duffy and Joe McCourt, Rahan; Ciarain Condron and John Owens, Killoughey; Callum Moore, Country Club and Conor Owens, Killoughey; Allan Kelly and David Scully, Ballycumber, and Aaron Browne and Aaron Flaherty, Kinnity.
Division 4: Division 4 was played in 2 pools of 8 pairs each, so the top 4 pairs from each pool went forward into quarterfinals. From Pool A, Peter Moran and James Moran, Killoughey, lost 1 game in the 2nd round to leave them top of the table with 13 wins. 2nd place went to Aaron Goulding and Conor Brady, Killoughey. Shane Murphy and Declan Boylan, Boora, moved from 4th in the 1st round to 3rd after the second round. The last quarterfinal spot was claimed by Kyle Cornally and Luke Gavin-Mangan, BC. In Pool B, Conor Owens, Killoughey and Fergal Hanamy, Boora, finished top seed with 13 points, followed by Shane Corrigan and Andrew Robinson, Kinnity, with 12. William Cummins and David Quinlan, Country Club claimed the third spot with 5 wins in the 2nd round. The final quarterfinal spot was claimed by Barry Moylan, Boora, and Darren Caulfield, Killoughey, who also had a huge improvement on the day. The quarter-finals and semi-finals proved a rocky road for some of the favourites. Peter and James Moran, Kil, scrapped past Barry Moylan, B, and Darren Caulfield, Kil, in the 1st quarterfinal, 21/18. William Cummins and David Quinlan. CC scored a minor upset against Conor Brady and Aaron Goulding, Kil. A bigger upset occurred in Quarter-final 3 when Declan Boylan and Shane Murphy, B, eliminated Shane Corrigan and Andrew Robinson, Kin. The biggest upset of all was struggling Ballycumber pair, Kyle Cornally and Luke Gavin-Mangan outscored Conor Owens, Kil, and Fergal Hanamy, B. In the semi-finals, Luke and Kyle earned their place in the final by beating William Cummins and David Quinlan, while Declan Boylan and Shane Murphy pushed Peter Moran and James Moran in the battle for 3rd and 4th. The final proved a very exciting match, but Kyle Cornally and Luke Gavin-Mangan secured the title for Ballycumber. Declan Boylan and Shane Murphy finished 2nd for Boora. Peter Moran and James Moran got back to winning form with a win against William Cummins and David Quinlan to determine 3rd and 4th. Other pairs in the competition were Dylan Maher and Thomas Deegan, CC, Jack Kinnegan and Scott McDonald, CC, Morgan Grennan and Conor Moran, R; Johnny Minnock and Joey Minnock, R, Stephen Ryan and Maurice Walsh, CC, Kevin Moran and Mark Grennan, R, Ciaran Clavin and Martin Looby, R; Stephen Dunjican and Liam Moran, Kill, and Stephen Malone and Robert Cantwell, R.
Division 5: The road to qualification for the play-offs was even harder in Division 5. With only 5 pairs in Pool A, only the top 2 pairs went into semi-finals. Luke Cashin and Liam Seacy, Country Club were up for the task, dropping only 3 scores in 8 games to finish with 6 wins and 39 scores in their losses. Shane Kearney and Paul Lynam, R, edged out Aaron Loughnane and Luke Seacy, CC by 21 scores for 2nd place. In Pool B, Shane Daly and Sean Hanamy, B, lost 1 game in the two rounds to qualify to meet Shane and Paul in the 1st semi-final Jordan Coady and Stephen Dunican, Kill, qualified in 2nd spot to meet Liam Seacy and Luke Cashen in the other semi-final. The big surprise in Division 5 came when Shane Kearney and Paul Lynam outscored Shane Daly and Sean Hanamy. Luke Cashen and Liam Seacy eased past Jordan Coady and Stephen Dunican. Luke Cashen and Liam Seacy won the final against Shane Kearney and Paul Lynam to claim the Division 5 title for Country Club. Shane Kearney and Paul Lynam are Runners-up for Rahan. Shane Daly and Sean Hanamy outscored Stephen Dunican and Jordan Coady to claim 3rd for Boora and leave 4th to Killoughey. Other boys in the competition were Daniel Conway and Stephen Cooney, Kill; James Treacy and Scott Kelly, Country Club, Mark Buckley, Rahan, Alex Cornally and John Harkin, Ballycumber; Niall Grennan and Andrew Cantwell, Rahan, Conor Buckley and Mark Buckley, R, and Peadar Robinson and Joseph Corrigan, Kinnity..

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