Susannah wins in Castlebar -29/06/2008

Susannah winsCastlebar

Susannah Hughes Jordan followed up her u18 success in Mullingar by clinching the girls u18 singles title at the Kilkelly Meteor junior tournament in Castlebar. The Enniskillen junior continued her recent fine run of form by defeating two Leinster players Jenny Crotty 6/1 6/3 and Olivia Crossan 6/1 6/1 to set up a final meeting with Castlebar’s interprovincial player Aisling Towey.

Going into the match Susannah had a 0/3 record against Aisling who had recently represented Ireland at the Tri Nations. The match started badly with Susannah losing the first three games and looking out of sorts. However she recovered her poise and nerve to win four games in a row and put the pressure back on Aisling.

Connaught’s top ranked player responded admirably to the challenge and took the next game to square the match at four each. The ninth game was a close run affair and after several deuces Susannah held serve to lead 5/4. Aisling therefore had to serve to save the set and this game provided some of the best tennis of the match as both girls understood its signifigance to the eventual outcome. Susannah prevailed to take Aisling’s serve and the first set 6/4.

Aisling responded immediately by breaking Susannah in the first game of the second set. The ELTC junior however again rose to the challenge and reeled off three games in a row to establish a 3/1 lead. Again Aisling responded and took the following game to reduce the deficit to one game. Susannah then applied intense pressure to forge ahead to a 5/2 lead missed her first match point but eventually prevailed to win the match 6/4 6/2 and claim the u18 girls singles title.

The tournament director, Maria Kilkelly praised both girls for the quality of their tennis and thanked all the competitors for their participation in making the Kilkelly Meteor tournament a resounding success with its highest entry in years. Indeed players had travelled from Dublin, Belfast, Sligo, Galway and of course Enniskillen ensuring a very competitive tournament.