For a full list of finalists & winners, click here.

Galway finalists poster: click here.

Click here for photos.

Connacht Badminton Championships Return to GLTC

For the first time in a number of years the Connacht Badminton Championships, in association with Elverys Sports, returned to Galway Lawn Tennis Club with the large crowd being treated to a number of very close finals. Graeme Watt (Sligo TC) set the tone in the Mens Singles A Section by defeating Ross Creaven (NUIG) in two sets, 21/12, 21/18. Creaven did put up a great fight in the second set but never seemed to be able to get the upper hand on his opponent who was anxious to hold onto the title he also won in 2007. In the Ladies A Section Paula McDonagh (Sligo TC) beat Orla Creaven (NUIG) again in two sets, 21/16, 21/14. However the tide turned in the Mixed Doubles A Section when the Creavens defeated their Sligo counterparts 21/17, 21/12.

In Section B, the Mens Doubles Final was an all Galway affair with Richard and Martin Gibbons (Oughterard) defeating near rivals Frank Lydon and Donal Monaghan (GLTC), 21/23, 21/19, 21/18. Despite loosing a very close first set the Oughterard men fought back gamely and eventually closed out the match in the third. In the Ladies Section B Final Maria Cribben (Claregalway) and Ina Curran (Belclare) provided another keenly contested match with the Claregalway woman coming out on top in a three set thriller. The title seemed to be slipping away when the Belclare woman opened up a three point lead late in the set but Maria responded in fine fashion and eventually won an enthralling game of badminton 24/22 in the third.

Congratulations also to the members of Oranmore Badminton club who dominated Section C with wins in the Mens and Mixed Doubles.

To see the winners poster, click here.

Click here for photos.

Division 2 mixed doubles.
Ivor Ottley/Mary Wade (GLTC)
vs
Brendan Murray/Pat Folan (GLTC)

Quick, powerful play by both men and intricate net-play with unforgiving serves from the ladies meant easy points were at a premium early on. Brendan/Pat had a slight advantage early on but Ivor/Mary drew level at 6-6. This momentum continued with Ivor serving to keep their opponents under pressure, bringing it to 10-6. They worked Pat hard at the net and forced her back into a defensive position. This trend continued to 12-6. Brendan/Pat regained some ground over the next dozen points, however, and made it close at 16-17 and 17-18. Pat served into the net but then redeemed herself with a beautiful net shot to set up Brendan's smash, 18-19 to Ivor/Mary. Great defence from Brendan/Pat, 19-19 and they took the next for 20-19 but a shot into the net from Brendan made it 20-20. Great attacking play from Ivor set up a kill at the net for Mary, 21-20, and they took it 22-20. The second set resumed the intensity with Ivor/Mary taking a slight advantage, 4-1. Some excellent mid-point tactical adjustments from Ivor/Mary extended this to 7-3 and 8-3. Brendan/Pat were evidently determined not to let this slip away easily: they reduced it to 6-8 and then took the lead 9-8 with some great net-play by Brendan. 10-8 followed. Brendan/Pat kept up this pressure to 13-9, Ivor under severe pressure at the back. The rot continued, but was stopped by Ivor at 12-16 and 13-16 with some neat smashes. Brendan/Pat kept this lead, however, and took the set 21-18 to tie the match. Again at the start of the third Ivor/Mary were slightly stronger, taking a 5-1 lead. A magnificent rally from Brendan/Pat brought it to 3-5. Ivor/Mary maintained their lead though and took the turn 11-7. Brendan/Pat took the next 4 to draw level at 11-11. The score went to 13-13, 14-14 and 17-17. Ivor/Mary then took a slight lead 19-17 but a super shot from Brendan made it 18-19 and then an excruciatingly unfortunate error from Mary cross-court at the net tied it at 19-19. They recovered from this quickly, however, and Ivor put Pat under pressure to take the next point, 20-19. Ivor then closed it out with a smash, 21-19.

Division 4 mixed doubles.
Shane Gilmore/Aoife Boyle (Cortoon)
vs
Eanna Darcy/Jennifer DeLacey (Oughterard)

Eanna and Jennifer started much stronger with Shane and Aoife looking quite nervous, and the Oughterard pair took an early 5-2 lead. Shane's wicked smash regained a couple of points and they started slowly drawing back the deficit, 5-6. Eanna/Jennifer maintained a slender lead at 8-5, but Shane/Aoife drew level at 9-9. Intricate all-round play from Eanna/Jennifer brought their lead back up to 13-9. They worked Aoife back in some points removing Shane's powerful smash from the game. Shane/Aoife fought back to 17-17 and took the lead with strong play from the pair. 18-18 followed. A couple of points went Shane/Aoife's way and they took it 21-18 with an ace from Shane, a surprising result given the start of the set. The second set was as close as ever, 5-3 early to Shane/Aoife but then 6-6 with a few quick points from Eanna/Jennifer. Both sides kept up the pressure, 10-8 to Eanna/Jennifer but no clear advantage to be had. Shane/Aoife regained the lead at 12-11 and 13-11 with Jennifer showing signs of tiredness and Eanna under pressure at the back. Strong smashing by both of the Cortoon players brought it to 15-11. Eanna/Jennifer drew it back to 14-16 but Shane/Aoife forced an error, 17-14, an ominous scoreline for Oughterard. A weak serve from Aoife followed, however (15-17), and another error, 16-17. Two more points quickly went the way of Eanna/Jennifer, and a third with a good smash by Eanna, to make it 19-17 in a 5-point turnaround. Shane/Aoife kept victory within reach and took it to 19-19 but then a smash into the net from Shane gave Eanna/Jennifer set point and they took it 21-19. The third was close to begin, 3-3. Eanna/Jennifer then took several in a row to go up 7-4 but again there was no clear lead. The slender margin was maintained at 9-6 and 10-6 after Aoife wasted an easy smash. A quick exchange saw Eanna/Jennifer take the turn at 11-7. Shane/Aoife drew it back once more with some good smashing by Shane and a close net exchange won by Aoife, 12-13. They could not draw level though with Eanna/Jennifer going up 14-12, 15-12 and 17-12. It looked like Eanna/Jennifer were going to take it but great resourcefulness from Shane/Aoife with both players almost on their knees at one point brought it to 15-17. Eanna/Jennifer would not let them recover fully though, 18-15, but they couldn't go clear, and Shane/Aoife made it 16-18 and 17-18. A fantastic rally by the Cortoon pair at 19-17 to Eanna/Jennifer made it 19-18 but Eanna/Jennifer took the next one to get match point at 20-18. They closed it out with a brilliant final rally with all 4 players covering the entire court, 21-18 in the end to Eanna/Jennifer.

Division 6 mixed doubles.
Declan Coleman/Cecilia Coleman (Corofin)
vs
Paul Leonard/Breda Ryder (Corofin)

This was a reasonably one-sided match from the start. The first set ebbed away and quite rapidly became 17-10 to Declan/Cecilia, who were in command throughout. It went to 20-11 before being closed out. A large gap was also opened up in the second set: 12-6 to Declan/Cecilia who again dominated with some instinctive net-play and strong play from the back. In the end they closed it out comfortably.

To see the winners poster, click here.

Click here for photos.

Division 1 mens.
Damien Hehir (GLTC)
vs
Cormac O'Connor (GLTC)

This began at a terrific pace with Damien taking the first three points. A perfect drop shot from Cormac was required just to get on the scoreboard. Cormac was on the floor in the next rally, immediately showing the commitment and desire. Damien was everywhere on the court and although Cormac forced a few errors there was a distinct advantage at 10-5 to Damien. Cormac fought hard for the next point but Damien played every shot in the subsequent rally to Cormac's backhand, forcing an attacking opportunity and 11-6. The same strategy paid off again at 12-6 and Cormac appeared worried after playing a couple into the net, 13-6. A great rally won Cormac a hard-fought point to 7-13. Weak serves from both resulted in 8-14 to Damien. A couple of points were exchanged and Cormac attacked heavily to go 10-15, then an unforced error on a smash from Damien for 11-15 and 12-16. A lovely tight net shot in defence from Cormac, 13-16 and a cross court drop from Damien that was just outside, 14-16, Cormac trailing. Cormac was everywhere on the court for the following rally but Damien's clinical smashing won out. The next point was almost a repeat of this, but Cormac played an amazing backhand drop from behind his body to go 15-17. An agonised cry left Cormac's lungs after he played a wide shot, seeing Damien to an 18-15 advantage. Close points followed and were exchanged, 19-16 to Damien. Then an unforced error into the net made Cormac appear almost tired, a bad omen for the second set. He drew one back to 17-20 and then 18-20 with two shots into the net from Damien. These errors were corrected on the next point with a deceptive and tight net shot from Damien to take it, 21-18.

The second set began with an early 4-0 lead to Cormac. A brilliant backhand smash followed by a driving forehand from Damien was punctuated by an alarmed "COME ON!" bringing him back into the set. The worry was warranted, however, as Cormac seemed more assertive and revived, going up 6-1 and 7-2. Much tighter net-play, followed by instinctive kills from Cormac, opened the lead up to 8-2. Damien looked in no way ready to quit but Cormac maintained and extended the lead, 10-3. Each rally was thrilling to watch at this point, Cormac buoyant and Damien worried but fighting hard. 11-5. Great short smashes and drops took Cormac to 14-5. Cormac kept up the pressure 17-5. Ridiculously close net shots took it to 6-17, then 18-8. Two over-hit serves from Damien were poorly timed to let Cormac close it out, 20-9 and 21-9.

An epic third set began at the same exhilarating pace. 1-1. Lovely drops from Cormac won the next rally, 2-1. An amazing rally followed this with Cormac again on the floor. Somehow he managed to regain his footing and continued to defend, but the point went to Damien, 2-3. Cormac maintained a slight early advantage though, 5-2, forcing a couple of errors. He followed this with a service error to make it 3-5 and then a perfect clear from Damien helped him to 4-5. Points were exchanged; 5-6, and then a (wide) error from Cormac tied it at 6-6. Cormac pressurised the play and regained the lead at 7-6 before an exquisite rally took place, with the shuttle reaching every corner of the court, resulting in a point for Damien and 7-7. A deceptive clear from Damien made it 8-7, but then the reverse with a perfect clear from Cormac to again tie the set at 8-8. A smash by Cormac that missed the line by an inch elicited a roar of agony. 9-8 Damien, then 10-8 with a sublime net shot. Another amazing rally followed with the shuttle being pulverised to all 4 corners: a brilliant net shot won it for Cormac, but then an error (mis-hit) took Damien to the turn 11-9. 12-9 quickly followed, but then a long serve from Damien gave Cormac one back at 10-12. An immaculately tight drop shot from Damien preceded Cormac forcing a net shot error from his opponent, 11-13 after both rallies finished. An unfortunate net cord off Damien's service made it eminently close at 12-13. Another great rally returned Damien's two point advantage at 14-12. Then a mis-hit service return into the net from Cormac made it a more ominous 15-12. An inch-perfect drop from Damien had Cormac on the ground, yet again to no avail as Damien widened the gap to 16-12. Dogged play by Cormac, 13-16. A massive smash from Damien off a slightly under-hit serve from Cormac repaired Damiens 4 point lead, before Cormac again pulled one back: 14-17. They exchanged points, then Cormac played a short net shot just wide of the tramline to give Damien a commanding 19-15 lead. A great net shot under pressure by Cormac reeled in his opponent once more to 16-19, but then an agonising miss from a sitter gave Damien match point at 20-16. Cormac took it to 17-20 with a complete mis-hit, and one thought perhaps that luck was thinking of siding with him! However, a brilliantly deceptive drop-shot return from Cormac's serve closed it out in Damien's favour, 21-17.

Division 2 mens.
Barry Creaven (GLTC)
vs
Richard Gibbons (Oughterard)

There was an early lead for Richard at 4-1 but a tight net shot and powerful smash from Barry made it 3-4. A couple of forced errors from both sides made it 6-4 to Richard, followed by a big hitting smash, 7-4. An exquisite rally from Richard took it to 9-4 and then an unforced error into the net from Barry made it 10-4. Richard kept up the pressure at 11-4. Barry looked in danger of caving in but fought back a couple of points to 6-11 and 7-12. Richard kept up the top class play, however, working Barry back and forth and not giving any easy points. A commanding lead of 18-10 opened up with Barry failing to punish any of Richard's weak shots, notably his serves, many of which were short of the doubles service line. Barry pulled a few back to 13-19 but Richard took it 21-13.

The second began closely, 3-3. More tight drops and hard smashing from Richard made it 6-4 and 7-5. Richard asserted more pressure to go 12-8 but again Barry fought back forcing a couple of errors, 10-12. Points were exchanged for 15-13 to Richard, then he forced an error from Barry but on the next shot a poor serve from Richard again brought Barry within 2. Barry played a lovely clear with perfect length to go 15-16 but then Richard took the next two with an unforced error from Barry into the net. Barry fought back and took the next though, forcing Richard into the same error and again with a good smash to go 17-18 to Richard. A new shuttle and a fantastic drop from Richard brought him one closer at 19-17. Richard managed to turn defence to attack in the next point but then made an unforced error to bring Barry within one at 18-19. However, Richard then took game point at 20-18 and closed it forcing a weak clear from Barry's backhand, 21-18.

Division 3 mens.
Robert Zemankiewicz (GLTC)
vs
Alan Gibbons (Oughterard)

This looked like a slight mismatch at the start. Robert went 5-0 and 7-1 up. His smash overshadowed the whole match, with any short clear from Alan being harshly punished. Fitness levels were also in abundance from the GLTC player. Once Alan began to get command of a few rallies it was incredibly hard to find a corner of the court out of Robert's reach. Robert also executed some perfectly judged clears from the back of the court to the other far line. Alan drew a few points back, working Robert to the back line and from side to side, taking the score to 6-10, 8-12 and 9-13 with a couple of beautiful drop shots. There was, however, no countering the powerful smash from Robert who extended the lead to 18-9 with more smashing and close net-play. A brief comeback from Alan drew it back to 15 but Robert closed it out at this score, 21-15. The second set started much closer, Alan going 5-3 up and apparently getting a grip on the match, having figured out Robert's style of play. This theme continued to 7-4 but every point was hard work, for both players. Robert took the next few, 7-7, but Alan returned these to regain a 9-7 lead. Again, Robert drew level at 9-9. This was followed with 10-10, 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13. The high intensity of the play made the closeness of the score all the more meaningful. Robert finally broke the deadlock, 15-13 and extended this to 17-13. He continued this spell to go up 20-13 and after a brief respite took it 21-14.

Division 4 mens.
Derek Small (Oranmore)
vs
Pedro Garcia (NUIG)

Pedro brought some style to the occasion, wearing a bright white and pink top. The man in pink made a strong start, with extremely tight net shots and very powerful smashes. With some great counter play Derek managed to keep the early score to no worse than 5-3 to Pedro. Any short clear from Derek was severely punished by Pedro. More powerful smashing and some inventive drops extended the lead to 9-5 and 12-7. Derek stayed with him and began to mount a comeback later in the set, regaining some of the deficit and bring the score back to 16-18. Pedro closed out the set 21-18, however. The second set began in a closer fashion with Derek taking an early 4-2 lead. Derek maintained the attacking play and coupled with some hesitation from Pedro on receipt of some clears helped Derek gain an advantage, 14-8. Some silly unforced errors from Pedro made for frustrating viewing and Derek capitalised to take a commanding 19-11 lead. Pedro attempted the comeback and drew it back to 14-19. Derek went to the hill at 20-15 and took it 21-16. Pedro was under pressure not to go down early in the third, having never looked like taking the second set. It was close at the start, 3-3. Derek seemed to lose concentration on a couple of points but Pedro returned the favour with a couple of over-hit serves. Pedro came out of the interchange on top at 7-4. More errors from both players but Pedro kept the lead at 10-8. A couple of great rallies by Derek drew it level at 10-10 and Derek took the lead at the turn 11-10. More hesitation from Pedro allowed Derek an easy point but Derek returned the favour with a over-hit service. Hard-fought rallies followed but Derek maintained the lead 14-12 and 16-14. A fantastic rally by Pedro worked Derek all around the court followed by a huge smash to take it to 16-16. 17-17 was followed by a great smash by Pedro and an over-hit clear by Derek to give Pedro a 19-17 advantage. A quick exchange brought it to 20-18 to Pedro. Derek drew it back, 19, but Pedro took it 21-19 in a thrilling finish.

Division 5 mens.
Eanna Darcy (Oughterard)
vs
Stewart McCamley (Oranmore)

This match provided a close and exciting first set, going 10-10 after Eanna took a slight early lead. This trend continued with scoring reaching 14-14 and 15-15. At this point, however, Eanna took a few points together to go 19-15 up with some clinical services and drop shots. A bit of a comeback from Stewart resulted in 20-18, with some very close rallies, but Eanna closed it out 21-18. A tentative opening from Eanna in the second set gave Stewart a slender lead but this was closed down promptly. A 12-7 lead opened up by Eanna and was maintained for the next several points but Stewart drew back within 3 repeatedly, 16-13, 17-14. Eventually Eanna extended the gap to an unretrievable 20-15 and finished it 21-15.

Division 1 ladies.
Orla Creaven (NUIG)
vs
Helen Sheehan (GLTC)

Powerful clears and smashes were in abundance from both players but Orla's tight net-play saw her take a clear early lead, going up 11-4. Helen pulled a couple of points back but with many of Orla's shots tight to the sidelines the gap continued to widen to 17-7. Quick, dominating all-round play from Orla and some unforced errors from Helen created a 20-9 lead for Orla and she took the next point and the set. Helen put in a strong effort early in the second set, taking a 7-3 lead and suggesting that Orla needed to clamp down on some unforced service errors. However Helen kept on the pressure and forced more errors from Orla, going up 14-7. A fascinating points exchange followed and Orla drew the score back to 14-16 with goose-feather destroying smashes. Again, some over-hit clears by Orla didn't help her cause and Helen played some perfectly judged clears and drops to draw closer to victory at 19-15. A determined comeback by Orla very nearly brought the game level but a mis-directed smash took the score to 20-18 and another over-hit clear by Orla tied the match at one set all, 21-18. In the third set, some accurate early net-play and defence opened up a 7-3 lead for Orla. Helen seemed determined not to let a repeat of the first set happen and after some very close rallies, each culminating with the shuttle ever nearer the net and the sidelines, managed to bring the score back to 9-9. Helen continued the comeback and went up 13-11 but from this point to the end every rally was fought for tooth and nail. The scores went 13-13, 14-14, 16-16 and 18-18. Every rally was an epic struggle. Helen took the game to 20-18 but a long service from Helen and a great net shot by Orla levelled at 20-20. Helen then went 21-20 up after forcing an over-hit clear from Orla and took the match 22-20.

Division 3 ladies.
Ina Curran (Belclare)
vs
Maria Cribben (Claregalway)

Ina took an early lead 4-0 but Maria drew it back to 5-5 and 7-7 with some strong smashing and accurate clears, and turned it around completely by opening up an 11-7 lead. A rapid exchange of points followed but Maria maintained her lead to 15-10. A few breathtaking rallies followed but Ina could not draw back the deficit with the score reaching 20-15. Some dogged play, however, saw Ina draw it back to 18 but Maria took it after a slightly over-powered clear from Ina fell long of the back line, 21-18. Ina took a slender early lead in the second, 6-3, 8-4 and 10-5. She maintained this lead with strong smashing against Maria who seemed to be tiring slightly as Ina worked her to all 4 corners of the court. Relentless attacking by Ina was countered by diligent play by Maria but Ina maintained the lead to go 19-14 up and took the set. Ina kept the momentum going in the third and took a 10-5 lead. This lead, although continuously challenged by Maria, never looked like being seriously impacted and Ina reasserted her advantage at 14-8 and 17-10 and closed it out.

Division 4 ladies.
Mary-Ann Healy (NUIG)
vs
Mary Prendergast (Claregalway)

A close start saw the scores tied several times, 4-4, 6-6, 8-8 and 9-9. Mary began to assert herself going up 12-10 and 13-11 but Mary-Ann kept up the pressure with strong clears and smashes and drew level at 13-13. 14-14 illustrated the close nature of the game, and Mary-Ann this time took a slender 16-14 lead. She could not however build on this and Mary again drew level at 16-16, and went a point ahead, but a couple of superb rallies by Mary-Ann reversed the score to 18-17 in her favour. Mary again drew level at 18-18. Mary-Ann went 20-19 up and but Mary drew level at 20-20. A fantastic drop by Mary-Ann was followed by equally impressive net-play by Mary, 21-21, but then a couple of strong smashes by Mary-Ann took the set 23-21. Mary-Ann started strongly in the second, 5-0 with Mary seeming to tire slightly. She reduced the deficit to 3-6 but more tight drop shots and smashes maintained Mary-Ann's advantage, 7-3. Points were exchanged till 12-8. She kept the lead to 19-12, keeping Mary on the back foot and went to 20-12. Mary-Ann took the set 21-12 and the match.

Division 5 ladies.
Michelle Egan (Claregalway)
vs
Rozsa Illes (NUIG)

Rozsa was under pressure in the beginning but quickly asserted herself with strong clears and powerful smashes, going up 13-4 in no time. Michelle drew a few points back to 7-18 but Rozsa took it easily 21-7. Her clears, smashing, drops and court movement were all superior. The second set was much closer however, 7-7. Rozsa began to dominate again after this though and with the same strong all-round play picked out an 18-14 lead. Michelle showed no sign of resignation, however, and drew it back to 17-19, pushing Rozsa to the back of the court and then smashing. She levelled at 19-19. Rozsa took the next point to take it to the hill at 20-19 but an error levelled it 20-20. A great rally took Michelle to 21-20 and an error from Rozsa made it 22-20, taking it to a third set. It was a close start to the third, 2-2. Michelle showed a massive improvement on the first set and every point was hard work for both players. Rozsa had a slight advantage at 9-6 and kept up the pressure to the turn, 11-6. Michelle never looked like capitulating, however, keeping within reach at 9-12. Rozsa took a couple of points to go up 14-9 and continued her strong play, coming out the best of most rallies and reaching 20-12, taking it at the next point.

The Doubles County Championships kicked off the competitive season with a flourish. The committee received lots of positive feedback and also a little contructive critisism that we'll be taking on board for next year and also for the Singles and Mixed Championships in January.

To see the winners poster, click here.

Click here for photos.

Division 5 mens.
Lyall Guiney (NUIG) / Alan Gilmore (Claregalway)
vs
Eanna Darcy / Eric Conneally (2x Oughterard)

The two Oughterard boys took this one but only just. Alan and I had a strong enough start to the first set but then faded away a little and lost out 21-16. In the second set we were trailing 9-4, 19-14 and 20-18 but we pulled it back to 20-20. This was all despite me pulling a back muscle at around 1pm during some jogging and being unable to walk without feeling severe pain! But an OD of nurofen later and we were poised at 20-20 to take the second set. Unfortunately I then hit the net twice in succession under little or no pressure and we lost 22-20. I blame the back muscle!

Division 6 mens.
Justin Lane (Claregalway) / Rory Gibbons (Oughterard)
vs
Niall Kelly / Kevin Cooley (2x Loughrea)

I reffed this one. The two Loughrea players were strong at the net and had powerful clears which kept the Claregalway/Oughterard pairing under pressure. Not a whole lot of smashing in the game, however, which resulted in many long rallies, particularly in the second set. Niall and Kevin ran away with the first set, winning it 21-12 (I think) but seemed to become a little complacent in the second. They were doing all the same things but perhaps not utilising their tight netplay as much and Justin and Rory, after going down several points early on, brought it back level around the 12-12 point. They stayed with the Loughrea pair thereafter until the end when only a few points separated them, but it was the Loughrea duo that won out again.

Division 2 ladies.
Ber Keane (GLTC) / Maria Cribben (Claregalway)
vs
Ina Curran (Belclare) / Mary Wade (GLTC)

I reffed this as well. Cracking match! The first set was quite one-sided in favour of Ber and Maria. They led throughout and had a 20-14 advantage. Mary and Ina didn't appear to have any wily shots to catch out the straightforward attacking play of their opposition. They pulled a few points back but lost the first set. The second set was much closer and although Ber and Maria led for much of it they were never more than a couple of points clear. Mary seemed to be everywhere on the court and played some wonderful net shots, and Ina was operating as a very effective powerhouse of clears and smashes. It felt as if Ber and Maria had to win the match 2-0 with Mary and Ina beginning to dominate rallies towards the end of the set. A close finish saw the match tied at 1-1 in sets. In the third set Mary and Ina kept up their attack and built steadily on a lead throughout the set. They were 19-10 up and there was no way back for their opposition, with a final score of 21-12 and a 2-1 sets victory to Mary/Ina.

Division 1 mens.
Adrian Furey / Anothony Conneely (2x Oranmore)
vs
Tom Hehir / Cormac O'Connor (2x GLTC)

This could have been a much closer game than it was. Several unforced errors from Anthony and Adrian, particularly at the start and end of the first set, set the tone. Tom/Cormac took an early lead and looked to be running away with the game but the two Oranmore boys drew it back to 12-12 through some simple attacking play by Adrian from the back of the court, alongside some intricate netplay by Anthony. But then a few more errors crept in and Tom and Cormac took advantage, stretching the lead out to a few points and taking the first set. A similar story in the second set saw Tom and Cormac taking the lead and keeping it. Over the course of the match they were deserved winners.

Some of the other matches were excellent as well, particularly the division 4 mens which was played in the heat of Oranmore rivalry. I missed much of the match from reffing but caught the last set with the younger pairing of Derek Small / Noel Browne beat John Costello / Mike O'Neill 2-1 overall. Evidently a close-fought affair!

(reports by Lyall Guiney, and they do not necessarily represent the views of the rest of the committee!)

Singles Competition

Ladies	Division 3	Maria Moran (Claregalway) beat Ina Curran (Belclare) 21/14, 21/19
	Division 4	Caroline Heverin (Cortoon) beat Deirdre O'Donnell (Oranmore) 21/17, 21/18
	Division 5	Ann Hession (Corofin) beat Mary-Ann Healy (NUIG) 21/13, 21/10
Men	Division 1	Damien Hehir (GLTC) beat John Lenfesty (Maree) 21/18, 21/14
	Division 2	Ulrich Brennar (NUIG) beat Ray Duane (Mullagh) 21/9, 21/19
	Division 3	Aiden Diveney (Maree) beat John Horgan (Claregalway) 21/19, 21/15
	Division 4	Alan Gibbons (Oughterard) beat Fergal Heverin (Cortoon) 21/10, 21/12
	Division 5	Shane Gilmore (Cortoon) beat Derek Small (Oranmore)

Doubles Competition

Ladies	Division 1	Marie Reilly / Ann Reilly (Loughrea) beat Helen Sheehan / Bridie McNamara (GLTC)
	Division 3	Teresa Dillon / Sheila Noone (Loughrea) beat Pat Folan / Deirdre Brynes (GLTC)
	Division 4	Caroline Heverin / Caroline Gormally (Cortoon) beat Kathy Mannion / Fiona Sheridan (Oranmore)
	Division 5	Kathy Mannion / Fiona Sheridan (Oranmore) beat Belinda Flaherty / Assumpta Egan (Belclare)
Men	Division 1	Cormac O'Connor / Tommy Hehir (GLTC) beat Anthony Conneely / Adrian Furey (Oranmore)
	Division 2	Bryan Lawlor / Ross Dempsey (GLTC) beat Padraig Dwyer / Tony Abberton (Loughrea)
	Division 3	Richard Gibbons / Martin Gibbons (Oughterard) beat John Horgan / Brian Casserley (Claregalway)
	Division 4	Aiden Diviney / Colin Hanniffy (Maree) beat Christy Clarke / Derek Gilmore (Cortoon)
	Division 5	Malachy Ruane / Alan Gibbons (Oughterard) beat Noel Browne / Derek Small (Oranmore)

Mixed Competition

Division 1	Orla Creaven / Ross Creaven (GLTC) beat Ger Fitzpatrick / Laura O'Brien (NUIG) 21/15, 21/18
Division 2	Ann Reilly / Padraig Dwyer (Loughrea) beat Bridie McNamara / Frank Lydon (GLTC)
Division 3	Teresa McCulla / Sean Fahy (New Inn) beat Maria Cribben / Alan Flaherty (Claregalway) 21/19, 15/21, 21/9
Division 4	Lorraine Gibbons / Alan Gibbons (Oughterard) beat Aoife Boyle / Shane Gilmore (Cortoon) 21/12, 15/21, 21/6
Division 5	Aoife Boyle / Shane Gilmore (Cortoon) beat Emer O'Hare / Lyall Guiney (NUIG) 21/19, 22/20

Singles Competition

Ladies	Division 2	Helen Sheehan
	Division 3	Helen Sheehan
	Division 4	Miriam Farrell
Men	Division 1	Cormac O'Connor
	Division 2	Nakul Sharma
	Division 3	Diarmuid Leonard
	Division 4	Tony Connolly

Doubles Competition

Ladies	Division 1	Mary O'Flaherty / Claire Kenny
	Division 2	Mary O'Flaherty / Claire Kenny
	Division 3	Helen Sheehan / Bridie McNamara
	Division 4	Margaret Callanan / Claire Robinson
Men	Division 1	Anthony Conneely / Adrian Furey
	Division 2	Frank Lydon / Aengus Lydon
	Division 3	Frank Lydon / Aengus Lydon
	Division 4	Tony Connolly / Ray Duane

Mixed Competition

Division 1	Claire Kenny / Cormac O'Connor
Division 2	Barbara White / Tony Kenny
Division 3	Ina Curran / Frank Dooley
Division 4	Margaret Callanan / Tony Connolly