West of Ulster Junior Open shaping up nicely

Presentation of a cheque by Tesco

The West of Ulster Junior Open 2011 sponsored once again by Tesco has attracted entries from far and wide. Many of the players who took part in last year’s competition are returning once again but are joined by many newcomers. From Ballymena, Matthew Robinson will be one of the favourites for the U12 but he will not have things all his own way with local boys Kyran Maguire and Conan Whitley both of Irvinestown Tennis Club expected to provide solid opposition. Local girls Sarah Cousins (Enniskillen) and Zara Flack (Irvinestown) are expected to perform well in the U12 girls singles. Thomas Muldoon (Lurgan) and Angus Johnston (ATT Ballymena) will be amongst the favourites for the U14 boys singles and local players who will relish the challenge include Enniskillen’s Ronan McKeever and Sean Dillon. It will be good to welcome back Rachel Doyle, a former Enniskillen player who now plays at Windsor in Belfast. Rachel will be hard to beat in the U14 Girls Singles, but Hannah Cousins is expected to provide stern opposition . The U16 boys also sees the return of Josh Crawford also of ATT and Marc Acum of (Lurgan). Matthew Duffy, Daire Dillon and Conor McShea of Enniskillen have all made big improvements to their games and can be expected to put in strong performances. The U16 girls singles also sees the return of Eva Lennox (ATT) and Emily Donaldson is likely to be the strongest local contender at this level. The U18 boys singles provides the strongest entry of all with 17 entries and David Acum (Lurgan) and Stephen Murphy (Portadown) will do battle with local Enniskillen players Connor Donaldson and Steven Miller. Suzannah Hughes- Jordan currently heads the UTP rankings at U18 level and will be a strong contender for honours next week.

There are also novice events for those who are less experienced and these events are expected to be particularly popular with many local players. Ethan and Niall McDaid from Letterkenny and Kathy Bannigan (Butt Hall, Donegal)are expected to feature prominently. The tournament starts on Monday 27th June with finals day on Sunday 3rd July and a barbecue from Friday through to Sunday will ensure a holiday atmosphere throughout the weekend.