At the Lisburn Junior Open at Hilden over Easter, Eve Callaghan was seeded number one in the U14 girls singles. She started off the week well with a very comfortable win over Anna Torrens from Newcastle. Next she faced Isabella Connor, the Irish U12 number 1. Eve was playing some excellent tennis and led 5-2 in the first set but Isabella fought back well to take the set 7-5. In the second set, Eve started to hit the corners and created the angles to take the second set 6-1. The Enniskillen girl saved the best till last and took the third set convincingly 6-1. In the final, Eve faced Lucy Mathers from Hilden. Eve used her slice and strong first serve to good effect to clinch the title 6-4 6-3.
In the U14 girls doubles, Eve teamed up with Katie Lowry from Newry. Eve’s short angles and Katie’s excellent volleys were instrumental in beating Lucy and her partner Tegan Long 6-1 6-0 in the U14 girls doubles final.
Eve competed at Templeogue Junior Open in Dublin a few days later. Her deep and consistent rallying helped her beat Jane Olden from Cork 6-0 6-0. Next Eve faced Lisa Ryan, the no. 3 seed from Malahide. She was quick out of the starting blocks winning the first set 6-2 and played with confidence throughout the match despite losing the next two sets 4-6 3-6. This puts Eve in a good position to compete in the Ulster Closed Matchplays next weekend.
Amy and Ciara Griffin from Enniskillen also took part in the Templeogue tournament. Amy won her first match against Belfast player Chrissie Bahrani 6/4 6/3 in the U18 Singles. Her second match saw her face the number 2 seed from Dublin and she started out well with the first four games going with serve. Despite Amy playing some excellent tennis, she was unable to match the number 2 seed who went on to win the match convincingly. Ciara played Sophie O’Rourke from Dublin in a tightly contested match which Sophie narrowly won 7/5 7/5. In spite of the loss, Ciara should be well satisfied with her progress over the last 6 months.
