Tenniskillen.com

Fermanagh juniors shine with Hannah leading the way

Junior matchplays have been taking place over the past couple of weeks with five tennis clubs involved - Enniskillen, Irvinestown, Omagh, City of Derry and Donegal. The top two junior boys and girls from each club at under 10, under 12, under14 and under16 played off in regional matchplays to determine the qualifiers for the provincial matchplays. The local Fermanagh clubs were well represented in the provincial matchplays with nine juniors from Enniskillen and four juniors from Irvinestown qualifying to the next stage.

Qualifiers for the provincial matchplays were as follows (Enniskillen unless stated) - U 10 Boys Kyran Maguire (Irvinestown), Conan Whitley (Irvinestown); U12 Boys - Jarrad Monaghan, Ronan Mc Keever; U12 girls - Hannah Cousins, Sarah Cousins; U14 Boys- Headon Hughes Jordan; U14 Girls - Katie Britton (Irvinestown) Laura Beirne; U16 Boys - James Carroll; U16 girls - Emily Donaldson, Abigail Green, Frances Taggert (Irvinestown)

The provincial matchplays were completed last week at various clubs throughout the province. Kyran Maguire and Conan Whitley travelled to Bangor last to play in the U 10 Team Event . Both boys played in separate teams and as a result faced each other in the first match . Kyran ranked No 1 in Ulster got of to a good start over his friend and club mate eventually winning 6 / 2 but both boys enjoyed a number of long rallies and tight games. Kyran went on to win his next two matches with ease in the competition without dropping a single game , while Conan also ranked in the top 5 in Ulster won his next two matches which ensured that both boys will now travel to Greystones Tennis Club Co Wicklow for the National Matchplays.

The U12 Girls event was held at Lurgan. Hannah Cousins played some outstanding tennis to win all the matches in her group including a very close match against her sister Sarah. Her toughest opponent proved to be Eva O'Hagan from Newry and this match was undoubtedly the match of the day. Hannah's powerful forehand was misfiring in the first half of this tense match and she found herself one set down and 3/5 down and indeed two match points down. However, in typical fashion, she dug deep to level the match taking the second set 7-5. In the third set champions tiebreak, Hannah held her nerve and won by a comfortable margin in the end. This match ensured her of qualification in the national matchplays in Cork next weekend. Her coach Matthew McGann was delighted with Hannah's performance and said" it was a pleasure to see a local junior tennis player step up and take on the best girls in Ulster tennis and be rewarded for the hard work and commitment she has shown in training throughout the past year."

The U12 Boys provincial event was hosted at Enniskillen. This was a very strong group and a very high standard of tennis. Jarrad Monaghan displaying his usual determination had many close matches going to third set tiebreaks and only narrowly missed out on qualification for the national matchplays. Ronan McKeever has shown considerable improvement throughout the past year and this experience will no doubt stand to him in future matchplay competitions.

In th U 14s, the vastly improving Katie Britton of Irvinestown broke into the top ten finishing 8th in Ulster , In her first full year of competition she took part at the matchplay in Belfast Boat Club . Having won two of her matches, Katie who has been training and practising very hard over the winter showed why she will be one to watch in the forthcoming season in her age group. Laura Beirne also made her provincial debut in this competition at U14 level. In spite of stiff competition, Laura performed admirably at this level and enjoyed a very tight encounter against local rival, Katie Britton. Match experience at this level is essential for any junior wanting to raise their game and this outing will certainly stand Laura in good stead. Sympathy was expressed for Alison Glass who retired injured during the regional matchplays, and it is hoped that Alison will recover in time to participate in upcoming tournaments.

The U 16 girls provincial matchplays at Coleraine saw a welcome return to competition by Abigail Green. Abigail showed no signs of lacking match practice but was up against very strong opposition notably Newcastle's Megan McGreevy and Belfast's Lucie Frazer. In spite of some tough matches, Abigail emerged with great credit and this outing should boost her confidence for the coming season. Frances Taggert of Irvinestown who has just turned 15 was playing her first year at U 16 and finished a very creditable seventh. She won two matches and will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming summer tournaments.