Spring League serves up exciting action at Tullamore Squash Club

The final of the Tullamore Squash Club Spring League, sponsored by Café India, took place last week. This was a very exciting competition spanning January to March. In all, 108 people plus a number of substitutes took part. The competitors were divided into 10 teams of 8 players each. The first part of the competition was played in a league format with each team playing each other. Eventually the four leaking teams made it to the semi-finals. The successful teams were team C captained by Paul Redmond, Team E captained by Brian McDonald, Team F captained by Jason Roache and team G captained by Tom Clarke. The format for the semis was team C versus team E and team G versus team F. A big crowd turned up on the night and were rewarded with two great matches resulting in Paul Redmond and Tom Clarke"s teams emerging to contest the final. On the night, a great crowd turned up for the final. Team G had emerged as leaders throughout the league section and had beaten Team C in their league meeting so the pressure was on Paul Redmond to encourage his team to new heights. Owen Kelly and David Butler were first on court and though Owen, a newcomer to the club, produced a great performance, David Butler won the game 3-1. James Condron was a no-show for the final but Imelda Murray gamely stepped in but Gos Murray took this game 3-0 to leave the score at 4-3 to team C. Frank O"Rourke beat Michael Joyce 3-1 to put team G in the lead 6-5. Victor Carson and Ishtiaq Zubairi were next on court and served up the match of the night. Victor won this 3-2 to stretch team G"s lead to 2 points. This was as good as it got for team C as Patrick Martin beat John Doyle, 3-1, Peter Kearney beat Michael Kinsella 3-0 and Niall O"Gara beat Michael Donal 3-0. This left team G with a 10-point deficit with one match to play. Paul Redmond and John Conroy however, served up a great match which Paul Redmond won 3-1, leaving the final score at 19-11. The presentation of the prizes, where were very generously sponsored by Abdul of Café India, took place immediately after the final. John Cooper, Chairman, thanked Café India for their continuing sponsorship, Michelle Heraughty, competition secretary and all team captains, referees and all who took part in a very successful competition. Names are now being taken for the last competition of the season, the Summer League. If you are interested, please enter your name on the sheet which is on the notice board. A handicap competition is currently being planned to raise funds for the Autism Centre in Edenderry. There is a maximum of 64 places available in this competition. Entry fee is €20 and sponsorship cards are also available. The Club AGM will be taking place next month.