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Andrew
Dennison Table Tennis Equiptment|
Local Players dominate winning a record five junior individual titles The Ulster table tennis championships were held on Saturday at the Valley Leisure centre in Glengormley with Tyrone players winning five out of the six junior titles. Ulster junior table tennis champions are The championships started with
Jonathan Porter winning the under 10 title. His Clogher club mate
Mark Gordon claimed the silver. Meanwhile in the girls events
Ashley Givan completed the double retaining the under 12 and also
winning the under 14 title. Kerry Jones got bronze in the under
14 event. NEWMILLS OPEN : POLISH
ACES ON FIRE BUT ASHLEY STEALS THE SHOW
Polish Topspin aces Martin Wolczynski and Thomas Openchowski gave the crowds a final to remember at the Newmills Open, sponsored by Sammy Wright Tyres and Keith R Boyd Motor Engineers, in County Tyrone on Saturday at a tournament where Clogher young gun Ashley Robinson produced a stunning display, Gillian Richardson took the ladies title for her home club and the scratch pairing of Daryl Strong and “Fast Phil” Wallace proved to be in a class of their own in the doubles. The open singles was full of shocks and excitement from the word go and it was Robinson who was proving to be a thorn in the flesh of his much more established rivals, having already taken the class 2 title after a five set thriller with Gervis Knox, he then proceeded to beat seeded players Wallace Mahaffy (Ballymena) and Phil Wallace (Ballyclare) on his way to the semi finals. Incredibly Robinson had beaten Wolczynski earlier in the class 2 but this time had no answer to the revitalised Pole who smashed his way to a three sets triumph in the penultimate round. The other semi was much closer with “the Destroyer” Strong up against the skilful Openchowski in what developed into an intriguing encounter. Reigning champion Strong led 2-1 and 10-7 but then seemed to snatch at the ball in an attempt to close out the match as the rather vocal Openchowski clung on and against the odds to snatch the game. Although Strong fought hard to regain momentum the Polish attacker took the upper hand in the fifth and won through. The final was a fast and furious affair with the more experienced Openchowski battering his rival in the first two sets with venomous forehands before Wolczynski hit back to take the next two to level the match. Table Tennis at this level requires high fitness and Openchowski seemed to run out of steam in the fifth as his younger adversary took his chance with a series of aggressive topspins which gave him the impetus required to stage the perfect comeback as the Clogher coach tried to force Wolczynski into mistakes but to no avail. Tullanisken club coach Gillan Richardson got the better of Rebecca Irwin (Eglish) in a super ladies final and then Irwin lost out to the talented Tiago Santo (Portugal) in the under 21’s. Meanwhile the amazing Ted Mahaffy (Belfast) was a popular winner of the class 3 singles while Randolph Loney mesmerised his fellow Portadown player Stevie Turkington with a fine display of “hocus pocus” defence to take the class 4. Cavan Farmer Cyril Fannin is a classic hardbat virtuoso and really dominated Friday night’s showcase event with a flatkill that left allcomers shaking with fear. Surprise semi finalist Gillian Richardson quickly took charge in her match with Letterbreen legend Jeremy Lappin but the Irish veteran international dug deep to just creep through. The final was not for the fainthearted as both charged in with both barrels blazing but Fannin seemed to be fractionally quicker on the draw and that was enough to seal Lappin’s fate. The novice singles went to local hero Richard Black and George McFarland combined with Turkington to sneak home in a very entertaining combination doubles final. Newmills Open Results Mens singles
KING NING OF THE LAKELANDS
Oriental topspin wizard Na Ning braved the horrendous weather conditions to win the open singles title at the Fermanagh Open staged in the Lakeland Leisure centre, Enniskillen on Saturday. The Chinese pengripper overcame fellow UCD student Leo Stynen (Germany) in a contest of speed and skill where his red hot forehand did most damage on his way to a four set final victory. Andrew Loane (Belfast) and Jack Stephens (Drum) mustered up singles titles for Ulster in the under 21’s and class 2 respectively while the Queens duo of Phil Wallace and Daryl Strong enjoyed a doubles victory for the province with a fine display.
“Fast Phil” Wallace
was the only Ulster player to make it into the quarters of the
main event after dispatching the inform Strong only to see his
progress halted in three straight sets by Hungarian Tibor Pofok
although the Ballyclare Battler charged in fearlessly to the delight
of his fans but found an adversary capable of taming his vicious
topspins with precise touches. Although Ning lived up to his favourite billing this too was a day for giant killing acts with the hard hitting Roy Coard (Lisburn) knocking Kevin Mackey (Dublin) out of the open singles and also Geoff Slater used his combination bat trickery to leave multiple Fermanagh champion Jeremy Lappin in a daze but the performance of 11 year old Ashley Given even overshadowed these when she overcame the vastly experienced Russian Sabina Kazimagomedova in a thrilling five setter. Of course reaching the semi final of the under 21 singles raised few eyebrows as Ashley recently took the cadet title in the West of Scotland Open but when she snatched the first set off Cookstown premier league star Knox everyone payed attention. However this contest proved to be a bridge too far for Givan as a relieved Knox switched on his power game to win through. Glenburn’s Andrew Loane overcame another talented junior Ashley Robinson to make the final and then went on to win a very competitive final against knox. Legendary Monaghan chopper Jack Stephens always gives value for money and the class 2 category was his domain as he repelled a series of classy attackers by constantly retrieving the ball from almost impossible positions. Jack thrives in five set matches and this was the case in his semi final battle with Galway’s Robbie Gavin where Stephens seemed to be cruising to victory only to lose his way but then regained his composure enough to take the fifth in dramatic fashion. In an entertaining final Dublin junior Sam Logue probed Jack’s defence with relentless barrage of topspins but for someone who has been at the vanguard of defensive table tennis for 30 years this was standard procedure and he forced his younger opponent into submission The comeback of the day was produced by Kevin Mackey when he looked to be down and out against Sabir, the conqueror of Jimmy Robinson, in the veterans final only to snatch victory from seemingly certain defeat. Credit must go to Isobel Lappin and Deirdrie Slater who ran the top table with great efficiency and all the Fermanagh league officials who organised the tournament so professionally. Fermanagh Open Results Mens singles
County Antrim Open
There was just no stopping Newry Teacher Daryl Strong as he swept aside the opposition with relative ease at the County Antrim Open in Ballyclare High School on Saturday to win the main event while Jimmy Robinson (Craigavon) and Martin Pickles (Wolverhampton) also shone in the supporting classes. The showcase event for the Antrim league attracted a high quality entry although it was disappointing to see no Southern competitors participating. Destroyer Strong did not even drop a set on his way to the singles title which reflected his superiority on the day. Austrian Bernard Wagner battled well into the last 16 only to come across Strong and suffered the consequences. He then dispatched Cookstown captain Mark McAllister in the same manner. Next in line was Wallace Mahaffy who is a great entertainer with an exciting repertoire of shots but having been out of the game for some time lacked the consistency required to trouble Strong who was just too solid. Fast Phil Wallace has a thunderous topspin artillery which often leaves opponents shellshocked so when he overcame Ulster veterans Jimmy Robinson and Peter Clarke in quick succession the partisan home crowd hoped he could topple the favourite but after starting like an express train against the No1 seed in the final his momentum was quickly halted with the ruthless precision of Strong’s counterhitting and his demise was swift. Former Irish No2 Robinson has been plagued with injuries in recent years but really turned on the style in front of an appreciative audience when he overcame Paddy Guy (Carryduff) in a fast and furious four set class 2 semi before being pitted against ace defender Martin Pickles who can confuse the best with his combination bat trickery but experienced Jimmy was tactically aware and used controlled attack to see off his rival in a tight five settle before staging another “Robbo Rampage” in the veterans final where he beat Glenburn captain Norman Nabney in a match that neither player deserved to lose. Pickles quickly put his class 2 disappointment behind him to overcome the talented Andrew Davies in the class 3 final. There was some great performances from the locals
with Gary Crawford (Ballyclare), Philip Jamison (Larne) and Andrew
Davies (Carnmoney) flying the flag for the Antrim league valiantly.
Special mention must be made of Knockagh captain John Huyton who
performed two giant killing acts by beating both Jimmy Robinson
and Martin Pickles at the preliminary group stages. Ulster Senior Table Tennis Championships
Classy Graham, who now plies his trade for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesleague, dispatched the talented Crossgar attacker Paul McCreery in straight sets in an entertaining mens semi while Strong meted out similar treatment to his Queens captain Phil Wallace setting up the much anticipated showdown between the two top seeds . Last weekend Graham looked to have the Irish Top 12 tournament in the bag only to suffer a shock defeat to Sam Hanley which handed the title to Swedish based John Murphy so when Strong rushed into a 2-0 lead and controlled the third the Graham camp feared the worst again only to see him somehow take the game from nowhere. However his respite was short lived and the Newry teacher once again applied the pressure but then squandered three match points when victory looked certain and his chance had gone. Aggressor Strong was now a spent force and was unable to quell the rushing tide of topspins as Graham turned up the heat and won the fifth 11-5 to win the Ulster title for the first time. This was the best Ulster final of recent times and the players received a standing ovation as they left the arena. Glenburn’s Claire Nelson was at her impressive best and really went to town on her opponents winning the ladies, under 17 girls and class two events while former Irish No2 Jimmy Robinson resurrected his career with a bang when he captured the Frank Spalding Memorial Trophy with a five set victory over his AK-07 team-mate Peter Clarke. Portugese Open hero Paul McCreery joined forces with Graham to take the doubles and he justified his top seeding in the under 17 boys with a devastating display. There is wealth of talent in Tyrone and Fermanagh with the clubs really encouraging the juniors and two local protégés Ashley Robinson (Clogher) and Ashley Givan (Dungannon) both showed why they are stars of the future with Robinson reaching the under 17’s boys final and Givan battling into the ladies final.
Local players take 4 titles
The Fermanagh Junior Open Table Tennis Tournament took place in the Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen on Saturday 24th November. It attracted over 130 entries from all parts of Ireland, including Dublin, Cavan, Mayo, Monaghan, Antrim, Tyrone and Fermanagh. The tournament included events for both boys and girls in Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 17 age categories. The standard of table tennis played by the youngsters was outstanding. The fact that four of the major titles went to players in the Fermanagh Table Tennis League shows the quality of local players in an all Ireland perspective. The results were as follows:
Under 10 Boys Under 10 Girls Under 12 Boys Under 12 Girls Under 14 Boys Under 14 Girls Under 17 Boys Under 17 Girls Fermanagh Table Tennis Association would like to thank the Northern Bank for kindly sponsoring this event. Special thanks should also be given to the organising committee, Isabel Lappin, Deirdre Slater, David Wilson and Jeremy Lappin. Jeremy also did an excellent job as tournament referee, ensuring that everything ran smoothly on the day
CHINESE ACES DAZZLE
AT ACTION PACKED ARDS OPEN Oriental aces Na Ning and Liu Na left the rest of the field in a spin as they dazzled all with their silky skills at an action packed Strangford Arms Newtownards Open at the weekend, on a day when rising stars Paul McCreery (Crossgar) and Gavin Maguire (Dublin) also covered themselves in glory it was Pengripper Ning who stole the show after defeating arguably the best lady player in Britain Liu Na in a match of attacking brilliance. Event organiser and former Ulster No1 Jack Cash was delighted with the tournament and said, “This is a great day for table tennis in Newtownards, the standard of play was unbelievable and the top four shoot out was really something else, we were all on the edges of our seats.” The tournament format of three sessions of round robin play ensured that every participant had at least nine matches but it was in the second session that the heat was really turned up as only the winners of the top 16 groups would progress to the top four shoot out. National college of Ireland student Ning and Liu Na breezed their way into the finals but Maguire (17) and McCreery (15) did not have an easy passage through, surviving titanic five set struggles with Ulster champion Daryl Strong and German based Peter Graham respectively. These matches were a superb advert for the game in Ireland but the best was yet to come as both Maguire and McCreery stepped up another gear and really mixed it with the orientals much to the delight of the spectators but alas neither could record a victory so had to be content in battling it out for bronze which saw Paul win 3-1 against the Eastpoint club supremo. The final match of the day was amazing with Liu Na and Ning really going all out for the £200 first prize with lightning fast exchanges commonplace and it looked as though girl power was going to triumph when Liu hit a series of rocket forehands to take the first but then Ning clawed his way back and when the encounter was all square at two sets all he really moved into overdrive with his vicious forehand loops pressuring Liu into blocking more than counter hitting which gave him more time to play his full repertoire of shots ensuring a 11-6 winning margin and with it the Newtownards Open title to add to his Ulster Open and Leinster Open successes. Topspin wizard Graham quickly put his disappointment of not making the top four behind him when he reeled off three superb victories against Strong, Mark O’Flynn (Dublin) and Ulster veteran Peter Clarke to snatch fifth place. 15 year old Sam Hanley (Dublin) won the 9th-12th play-off while another rising Irish star Daniel Keenan (Dublin) came good in the 13th-16th play-off. Newtownards legend Jack Cash won the consolation singles ahead of Andrew Davies (Knockagh) and former Irish junior Mike Ferguson. The Ulster Open veterans tournament takes place in Glenburn next Saturday and the Ulster senior championships will be staged in Fivemiletown on 15th December.
Newtownards Open Final Standings 1 Na Ning
BACK TO THE TABLE
Fermanagh Table Tennis season has got off to a flying start. There are 44 teams in six divisions who will battle it out over the next six months to see who can win the coveted divisional titles and knock out cups. The league committee under the leadership of the new chairman Thomas McConkey from Newbliss is delighted with the large entry of teams and is looking forward to another successful season. The first big event in the Fermanagh table tennis calendar is the Fermanagh Junior Open which will be held at the Lakeland Forum in Enniskillen on Saturday 24th November 2007. All entries to CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES 19th NOVEMBER 2007
Two Ashleys shine in Blackpool
Local Table Tennis Players Visit Poland
Eight local Fermanagh and Tyrone league players have just returned from an exciting table tennis training camp held in the small town of Nowy Targ, Poland. Players from Sweden, Germany, Latvia, Israel, Ireland and many players from across Poland attended the 4th International Training Camp in Poland. A total of 100 players attended the training camp from the 13th to 28th who individually received coaching from some of the best players in Poland and Included a few sessions with last years Polish Singles Champion Jakub Kosowski.
TRIO PLAY IN BELGIUM
Three local under 12 table players
have just returned from Belgium after competing in the International
Youth Cup in Hasselt.
Newmills Open
Top class table tennis returned to Tyrone in style when Ulster mens champion Daryl Strong and Polish topspin ace Magda Martyniuk won the major titles at the Newmills Open hosted by the progressive Tullanisken club on Saturday as Robert Fisher, Billy Large and Stephen Turkington all claimed gold at an action packed Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council supported event. Newry teacher Strong has proven pedigree at the very top level and he gave a topspin masterclass to his opponents in the open singles competition although local hero Trevor Montgomery, who had accounted for Robert Fisher, certainly made him work for his victory in all action quarter final clash as did combination bat specialist Martin Pickles (Wolverhampton) in a semi played at a much slower pace. There was a major shock when Glenburn star Danielle Douglas took out No3 seed Gervis Knox (Trillick) at the last 16 stage. Meanwhile at the other end of the draw Commonwealth star Phil Wallace was in devastating form, giving the opposition no time to settle although Cookstown captain Mark McAllister was left wondering how he was whitewashed in the semi despite controlling the games. When Strong and Wallace meet it is always a fast and furious affair and this encounter was no different as the Ballyclare topspin wizard came out of the blocks flying only to be reeled in by the more consistent former Irish international Strong whose counter-hitting was sublime and who in the end ran out a comfortable 3-1 winner.
The ladies competition produced the best table tennis of the day with semi finalists Martyniuk, Danielle Douglas (Belfast), Gillian Richardson (Newmills) and Robyn McClean (Belfast) all top notch attackers so it was no surprise when Martyniuk and left hander Douglas went toe to toe with the Krakow player just proving faster on the draw when it mattered and then Richardson playing in her home club enjoyed similar success over McClean. Magda then really turned on the style in the final and overcame Richardson in three straight sets.
The class 2 final had everything with Bangor’s hard hitting Fisher and Monaghan defender Jack Stephens entertaining spectators with some truly marvellous rallies and when Stephens moved into a 8-4 fifth set lead the match looked to be over only for Fisher to make a stunning recovery to win the tie with a series of stinging forehand smashes. In class 3 Former Irish league footballer Billy Large overcame Billy Stephens 3-1 in another cracking final while not to be outdone Portadown battler Stephen Turkington just did enough to beat future prospect Peter McConnell in an exciting class 4 final tussle.
Meanwhile the under 21’s and veterans
teams have been announced for next weekend’s inter-provincial
championships in Dunshauglin, County Meath. They are under 21’s:
Gervis Knox, Gordon Ross, Andrew Loane, Amanda Mogey, Ashley McBride.
Veterans: Peter Clarke, Willie Cherry, Norman Nabney, Jenny Harrison.
STEPHEN TAKES DIVISION 6 TITLE Stephen Fawcett from Newbliss Table Tennis Club is the Fermanagh Division 6 singles winner. To reach the final Stephen beat his own team mate Daniel Gibson in the quarter final 11,9; 12,10; and 11,9 and Mark Gordon in the semi- final 11,4; 11,6 and 12,10. His opponent in the final was the relatively unknown Barry Bannon from Maguiresbridge who had defeated Andrew Gordon in the quarter final 11,9; 4,11; 11,4; 11,8 and his team mate Raymond Logan 11,8; 7,11; 11,8; 11,8 in the semi final. Stephen held his nerve in the final and with a combination of good serving and good defensive play won 11,5; 11,4; 9,11;11,6. The doubles competition was keenly contested. At semi final stage Andrew and Mark Gordon were narrowly defeated by Barry Bannon and Raymond Logan 11,9; 6,11; 11,9; 7,11; 11,8. Daniel Gibson and Stephen Fawcett also had a close encounter in the other semi-final narrowly beating the Florencecourt duo Lynn and Brian Thornton 11,8; 8; 11; 8,11; 11,6, 11,9. The doubles final was a thrilling affair with Barry and Raymond attacking at every opportunity. This did not unnerve Daniel and Stephen, who kept their cool and with a combination of good defensive play and counter attacking play took the title 11,8; 9,11; 13,11;11,7. The consolation event was won by Gary Thornton who proved too strong for his opponent Dylan Scott in the final winning 11,7; 11,7; 8,11; 11,4. Fermanagh Table Tennis Association would like
to thank Clogher Table Tennis Club for hosting the tournament and
S. McBride Trophies for sponsoring the event. COOKSTOWN
DUO CLAIM THE SILVERWARE
There was drama and excitement in abundance at the County Antrim Open table tennis championships in Sixmilewater Leisure centre on Saturday as Cookstown team-mates Mark McAllister and Peter “the Hammer” Clarke lifted the silverware, Andrew Davies had the locals cheering with a sparkling display and Ballyclare topspin ace Gary Crawford showed some of his old magic on his return to the sport. The Newtownabbey Borough Council sponsored tournament attracted a large entry and the excellent playing conditions produced some marvellous matches. In the main event Glenburn captain Norman Nabney defeated Crawford and then the hardhitting Robert “the Sting” Fisher in impressive fashion while at the other end of the draw Clarke found a tough adversary in the form of Knockagh’s Andrew Davies at the semi final stage. Davies had raised plenty of eyebrows in the earlier rounds when he saw off a number of experienced competitors and started in the same vein against Clarke with the Ulster veteran forced to block and counter-hit to try to repell the constant smashes of his younger opponent and he just survived the onslaught enough to win through. The final was pure trench warfare with Nabney hitting his way to a 2-0 lead before Clarke responded and fought back to take the next three by minimal margins to claim the title. English veteran and combination bat specialist Martin Pickles reached the over 40’s final with little difficulty as Nabney and Clarke did battle once again in the semis with the same result in another photo finish. The Hillsborough player then had a 3-0 final win to take his second title. Cookstown Trout farmer Mark McAllister is enjoying a great season and once again rose to the occasion when he defeated Fisher in a fabulous five set class 3 final.
February will be hectic month for table tennis activity with the Ulster Open in Shankill Leisure Centre on the 3rd, The Fermanagh Open in the Lakeland Forum on the 17th and the Newmills Open in Tullanisken Hall near Coalisland on the 24th. County Antrim Open Results Class 2 singles
CHERRY FALLS
AT FINAL HURDLE
The Harry O’Prey Memorial cup went south with Irish international Dave Pemberton as table tennis came home to Newtownards in style at the Irish National veterans championships in the towns leisure centre with local hero Willie Cherry falling at the final hurdle in the main event, Norman Nabney reeling off yet another 50’s victory and the Ballymoney pairing of Brian Orr and John Fall coming in from the cold to win the doubles at the post Christmas thriller. Dubliner Dave Pemberton is a classy competitor as his lofty Irish senior No5 ranking demonstrates and few of the veterans can live with his relentless pace but he was forced to pull out all the shots against Athlone warrior Karim Sabir in a titanic semi final battle, only edging home 11-8 in the fifth. On a day when many top seeds were put to the sword at the other end of the draw No1 seed Galway terrier Terry Dolan discovered Glenburn’s Willie Cherry at his devastating best in the quarters and suffered the consequences. The former Commonwealth star then meted out similar punishment to his Ulster team-mate Peter Clarke in the semis but found Pemberton too quick on the draw in an entertaining final. Cherry often threatened but found left hander Pemberton’s topspin wizardry just too difficult to contain and he went down fighting in four tight sets. The county Antrim duo of Brian Orr and John Fall made an astonishing comeback at the Nationals having only made rare tournament appearances in recent years but the old magic was still there and they claimed the doubles title after coming back from 2-0 down against hot favourites Cherry and Nabney in the semis before beating Pemberton and former Irish league footballer Billy Large in a cracking final. Norman Nabney is always there in the final mix at any veterans tournament and once again he came up trumps in the over 50’s singles by first of all beating No1 seed and combination bat specialist Brian Finn (Balbriggan) and then whitewashing dangerous attacker Ollie Adamson with a fine display of counter-hitting . Downpatrick cricketing legend Derek McCann made his debut in the over 60’s class and nearly went all the way after reeling off a series of impressive wins including beating former Ulster No1 Ivan Barton as well as Ussher Watson, Ted Mahaffy and Co Meaths Tom Burke but met his waterloo in the form of Drogheda’s Ollie Adamson going down 2-3 in the final but former Shankill coach Ussher Watson went one better in the over 70’s beating another county Meath player, Tom Burke in a further five setter. There were loud cheers from the appreciative audience when Fermanagh’s Isobel Lappin scored a double, with success in both the over 40’s and 50’s ladies singles. A special award was presented
to former Ulster No1 David Addy in recognition of his many achievements
in the sport and Ted Mahaffy deservedly won the sportsmanship award.
Ladies STRONG PERFORMS THE GREAT ESCAPE By - Peter Clarke
The innovative Ulster Branch now have categories for all age ranges, from under 10’s to veterans, in this festive thriller which proved a huge success. The only downside was the absence of 13 times senior champion Andrew Dennison who is concentrating on coaching as well as Irish international Peter Graham and Trillick Tornado Keith Knox who are perfecting their skills in France but nevertheless the standard of play was extremely high. Former Commonwealth star Strong is a fighter as he proved when put under the cosh for long periods by Fermanagh heavy hitter Jeremy Lappin in a titanic quarter final clash and looked down and out before eventually scraping home 12-10 in the fifth. The Queens No1 then faced similar stiff opposition in the form of 15 year old Paul McCreery (Crossgar) who he had lost to at Rockport last month but revenge was sweet for Strong as he used all his experience to come through another exciting five setter to set up a final meeting with Queens team-mate Phil Wallace. Ballyclare topspin ace Wallace usually pulverises opponents with his rocket forehand drives and in this match he kept Strong under pressure for long periods with this approach but Daryl probed for weaknesses and eventually overcame his more venomous adversary with a superb display of controlled attack. Hillsborough’s Peter Clarke won the Frank Spalding Memorial cup for a second time after defeating arch rival Willie Cherry (Glenburn) in the veterans final but found brilliant prospect Claire Nelson just too sharp in class two. There was a major shock in the open doubles when the scratch pairing of Strong and Wallace were put to the sword by young guns McCreery and Knox. The table tennis action continues next weekend with the Ulster Open veterans championships taking place at Glenburn. Stiga Ulster Table Tennis championships
results: Open singles Veterans singles Under 21’s Class 2 Open Doubles Under 17 Boys Under 17 Girls Under 14 Boys Under 14 Girls Under 12 Boys Under 12 Girls Under 10 Boys Under 10 Girls
TOP DRAWER TABLE TENNIS AS NEW SEASON GETS UNDERWAY Top-drawer table tennis was again served up at many venues throughout Fermanagh, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan and Sligo as the prestigious Fermanagh Table Tennis league season got underway. With a host of transfers and new signings in the closed season this year will undoubtedly unfold as another exciting spectacle as teams strive towards the coveted league and cup titles. VALLEY HOTEL DIVISION 1 Last season’s Division 1 champions Fivemiletown will be without topspin wizard Tony Frempong for most of this season as the Enniskillen man is out of action due to a broken ankle. We all wish Tony a speedy recovery but in the meantime to try and fill this big void team captain Davy Wilson has signed, Cookstown’s Mark McAllister and Trevor Montgomery as replacements. In their first match Wilson, McAllister & team stalwart, Mervyn Funston travelled to Drum and came away with an impressive 7-3 victory. However, old rivals Letterbreen A (Jeremy Lappin, Wayne Crawford & Torsten Jentsch) did not fair so well when they crossed the border to face Drumully A (Leroy Carleton, Andrew Carleton & James Hutchinson) as the border team secured an impressive 6-4 home victory. On the back of winning the Division 2 title last season, Lisbellaw A (Arnold Jobb, Geoffrey Slater & Mark Givan) made their first appearance in Division 1 for many years with an away outing to Churchill where they emerged as 6-4 victors after 10 arduous battles. CRAWFORD CAR SALES DIVISION 2 Sligo City (Wilfred Burke, Gary Hall & Adrian Flynn) travelled the long journey north to Lisbellaw B and were well rewarded for their efforts as they came away with an excellent 6-4 victory over last season’s Div 3 champions (Brian Veitch, Adam Slater & Chris McDowell). Kesh Cobras had a great start to the season as veteran campaigner, Noel Ellis lead young Andrew Nevin and new signing Aidan Gormley to a 7-3 victory over the Clogher A (Alex Gordon, Ashley Robinson & Catherine Trimble). The Brookeborough trio of John Lynn, Mark Lynn & Paul Honeyman travelled to Belturbet (James Mayne, Thomas Mayne & Daniel Mee) for their first encounter of the season and pulled off a great 8-2 win and in doing so has sent a clear message of their intentions to the rest of their opponents in Division 2. SPEEDY REGISTRATIONS DIVISION 3 Division 3 saw the first club derby match of
the season as Letterbreen C (Derek Benson, Isobel Lappin & Neville
Crawford) took on Letterbreen D (Kenny Bourke, Simon Bryant &
Aodhan Bryant) and it was the “D” team that came out
on top with a super 6-4 victory to notch their first win of the
season. FERMANAGH LEAGUE PLAYERS TAKE DUBLIN BY STORM
The Stiga Irish Open Junior Classification table
tennis tournament took place in Dublin at the weekend and as usual
this prestigious event attracted all the top players from the four
provinces. The Fermanagh Table Tennis Association were well represented
by players from several of the top local clubs; Andrew Nevin –
Kesh Club, Stephen Slater & Ashley Givan – Letterbreen
Club, Ashley, Haley and Amy Robinson, Judith Atwell, Catherine &
Ruth Trimble, Roslyn Blackburn, Jonathan Porter and Mark & Andrew
Gordon from the Clogher Club. The Irwin family, Rebecca, Laura and
Neil from Oonacream represented the Greystone league from the Dungannon
area. UK SCHOOL GAMES 2006 Catherine Trimble, Keith Knox and Ashley Robinson
have been selected for Northern Ireland as part of an eight strong
team to represent table tennis at the first UK school games in Glasgow
from 7th –10th September, with Judith Atwell named as reserve.
Keith has been training in China for the summer while Ashley and
Catherine have trained in Poland with other members of Clogher table
tennis club. SWEDES RULE THE ROOST IN
BANGOR
The Swedish topspin masters took table tennis to a new level at the OK Marine 21st Bangor Open played at the town's leisure centre at the weekend. The two day spectacular which was also supported by the Northern Ireland events company and North Down Borough council proved to be a showcase event for the silky skills of Fredrick Hakinsson and compatriot Magnus Mansson who dominated the main event while their was some local success with teenage sensation Claire Nelson and former Irish international Tom Heasley claiming titles for the province.
The international Olympic committee only this week stated that the table tennis was the greatest participation sport in the world with over 40 million players worldwide and some of the cream of this huge crop made their way to North Down to compete in Vincent O'Regan's superb tournament which has grown in stature every year since its resurrection in 1994. The amazing Hakinsson scythed his way through the quality field with ruthless precision only stuttering slightly at the hurdle of oriental ace An Shu in the semis, which is understandable considering that the pen-gripper has beaten the world's greatest ever player Jan Ove Walder on three occasions, however the swede stepped up the pace when necessary to run out a comfortable 3-1 winner. Although most of the audience focus was on Fredrick another swede Magnus Mansson was quietly doing a similar demolition job at the other end of the draw including a crushing victory over reigning champion Terry Young but suddenly the massive audience were drawn to his semi final clash with England No2 Alex Perry, a former Commonwealth gold medallist when it became apparent just how good he was. The fast and furious topspin encounter that ensued saw the classy Perry outgunned by the Malmo man's vicious back hand drives.
Learned observers felt that the final would be too close to call but in the end Hakinsson had too many aces up his sleeve and proved to be too fast on the trigger for his fellow countryman, running out an easy 3-0 winner. After he was presented with his £2000 cheque by OK Marine representative Lindsay Allen the modest swede declared, "It is very nice to win such a great tournament, I have really enjoyed my time in Northern Ireland and hope to come back again". The Irish interest had faded at the last 16 stage of the mens singles when Dubliner Colum Slevin went down to English junior hotshot Darius Knight 3-2 despite enjoying three match points in the third game. However 13 year old Paul McCreery from Saintfield shocked everyone when he beat Knight 3-1 in the under 21's event. When one considers that Darius is No8 in the English senior rankings then the calibre of this victory is put into true perspective. There was huge disappointment that Slevin could not have gone further considering that this Irish legend has competed in an amazing 13 world championships and has over 400 international caps to his credit but perhaps father time is finally starting to catch up on him and if he had also entered the veterans category where he would have been hot favourite to take the title it would given the Bangor audience an opportunity to really get behind him. Colum did have some consolation when he reached the open doubles final with Gavin Rumgay (Scotland) but they were well beaten by the scratch English pairing of Alex Perry and Terry Young.
Reigning ladies champion Petra Lovas (Hungary) may be small in stature but she has a huge table tennis pedigree as she displayed once again at Bangor with a fine display of controlled attack play to overcome Yue Jiao Wu (China) 3-1 in another top quality final. Wu had put four times winner Na Liu (China) to the sword at the penultimate stage.
Glenburn's Claire Nelson gave the locals something to cheer about when she won a brace of titles, in junior girls and under 21's singles respectively while Ulster based Chinese ace Yin Xin really moved into top gear to beat Swede Lucas Ryden 3-2 in a fantastic under 21's mens final. Tom Heasley has been a total revelation this season after being out of the game for 15 years and his success story continued with victory in the Band 3 singles while his veteran interprovincial captain Jack Cash (Newtownards) finished runner up to Isle of Man defender John Magnall in the Band 4 final. One of the best matches of the day was the veterans final were Italian eccentric Roberto Giontello faced Abdul Wuraola (England). Roberto looks more like a member of the Jimi Hendrix experience than a table tennis player but he is a great entertainer and a top notch blocker as he proved against Wuraola who threw everything at him but to no avail and the lively Italian added to silverware when he also won the Band one singles after subduing the attacking prowess of Na Ning (China).
This was the best table tennis tournament to be staged in Ireland for decades and that is due entirely to the vision of ace organiser Vincent O'Regan who was quick to pay tribute to those who helped him in this venture. He said, "I would like to pay tribute to our sponsors Lindsay Orr of Ok Marine, The Northern Ireland Events Company and North Down Borough Council who all gave great support to the tournament and of course to the many helpers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes and finally to our friends from the English Table Tennis Association who looked after the top table with such professionalism". There is no rest for Vincent who is already planning next year's event! OK Marine 21st Bangor Open Results Mens singles Ladies singles Open Doubles Veterans singles Mens under 21's singles
Ladies Band 1 singles JMens Band 1 singles Boys singles
The Fermanagh Open 2006 Photos By Malcolm Guy
LE Haslett & Co Division 4 Tournament
Drum Table Tennis Club recently hosted the League tournament. This tournament was a very competitive event with many of the younger members and the future lifeblood of the Fermanagh League out to get their hands on the coveted titles on offer. It was also very refreshing to see players from Division 5 & 6 battle against more experienced counterparts in the fourth division.
S McBride Trophies Division 6 Tournament
The first of the Fermanagh Table Tennis Divisional
tournaments took place on Saturday, 21 January 2006 in Clogher.
Over 30 members of Division 6 entered the competition with Monaghan,
Newbliss, Florencecourt, Clogher, Brookeborough and Kilskeery clubs
all represented. A high standard of table tennis and sportsmanship
were displayed throughout. The Singles event was hotly contested
and at the semi-finals stage, Christopher Harrison (Monaghan) beat
Matthew Tubman (Brookeborough) in three sets and Mark Adams (Monaghan)
beat Andrew MacMahon (Newbliss) also in 3 sets. The final promised
to be an entertaining event with Christopher and Mark not only team
mates but also ranked one and two in the Division at present. Each
finalist displayed excellent table tennis skills with Mark taking
the first set, but Christopher was not about to let his team mate
walk away with the trophy without a fight and along with great determination
and some excellent salvos of forehand topspin loops successfully
won the next 3 sets to win a very entertaining match, 11-13, 13-11,
11-9 & 11-9.
Those players who finished third or fourth at the
initial group stages went on to compete in the Consolation event.
This saw Gary Thornton (Florencecourt) take on Paul McConkey (Newbliss)
in one semi-final with Mark Gordon (Clogher) compete against Darren
Scott (Newbliss) in the other. After two hard fought matches, Mark
and Paul emerged as finalists. Again, the spectators were not disappointed
with the standard of play on show and it was Mark Gordon who won
11-6, 11-9, and 11-4 to secure his first of what will undoubtedly
be many Fermanagh League trophies. OHS TROPHIES
The annual Division 5 League tournament took place recently in the Community Centre in Kesh and was well attended by players from every club in the division. The Division 5 League along with Division 6 promotes table tennis at grass roots i.e. at primary and secondary school level. Indeed all the players who attended the tournament were of school age, but the standard of play far outweighed their tender years and was of a very high standard. The competition was ran on a round-robin group basis to allow every player an opportunity to play at least 5 competitive matches, the initial round-robin produced further group stages in the main and consolation singles events. In the main event the group stage produced semi-finalists from Monaghan, Letterbreen and Kesh. Christopher Harrison (Monaghan) the only Division 6 player in the semi-finals overcame Jason Wilson (Letterbreen) one of the pre-tournament favourites in 3 sets whilst in the other semi-final Jason’s brother Mark Wilson beat David Mills (Kesh) in a titanic match winning 14-12 in the fifth and final set after being two sets down, David led 10-8 in the final set and subsequently threw away two services with the match at his mercy. In the final Christopher Harrison produced some amazing all round play to oust a very tired Mark Wilson in three sets 11-6,11-5 & 11-7. An amazing few weeks for this up & coming table tennis player as he completed an amazing double by adding this title to the individual Division 6 title. The Consolation quarterfinal stages produced semi-finalists from Monaghan, Newbliss and Florencecourt. Stuart McConkey (Newbliss) beat Neil Thornton (Florencecourt) in three sets to claim a place in the Consolation Singles final. Mark Adams beat his club mate Robert Anderson from Monaghan in the other semi-final and then went on to lift the Consolation singles title by defeating Stuart 11-4, 11-9 & 11-5. An open Doubles tournament was run to conclude the event with Christopher Brady (Florencecourt) combining with Jason Wilson (Letterbreen) to beat the Monaghan duo of Mark Adams & Robert Anderson 12-10,11-3 & 12-10. The event was a feast of young table tennis talent
plying their wares & if you would like to get involved in Junior
Table Tennis in the future please do not hesitate to contact the
Western Regional Development Officer, David Wilson on 028 89541683.
Fermanagh Junior League Tournament
The Fermanagh Junior League tournament was hosted
by the Lisbellaw Club on Saturday 10th December 2005 and as usual
was well supported by young players from Cavan, Monaghan, Tyrone
and Fermanagh.
FERMANAGH SENIOR CLOSED TOURNAMENT
Fivemiletown High School was the venue for the Fermanagh Senior Closed Tournament. This event always attracts the top players in the county and this year was no exception, with big guns such as Jeremy Lappin, Tony Frempong, Wayne Crawford, Davy Wilson and many others looking to have their name etched on the coveted trophy. The tournament consists of two main categories, the Open section, where the competition is open to all players and the Intermediate section which is only open to players not playing in Division 1. The usual tensely contested Doubles Tournament was also played. No doubles trouble for Letterbreen duo
Bryant topspins his way to victory Crawford in devastating form The second semi-final between Davy Wilson and Jeremy Lappin was another excellent display of table tennis with Jeremy throwing topspin loops of both his backhand and forehand and Davy counter hitting with sheer power. Although the games were nip and tuck it was Lappin who eventually took the victory in straight sets to ensure an all Letterbreen final with Wayne Crawford and without doubt the final proved to be the grandstand spectacle of the night. Both Lappin and Crawford are out and out attackers and that was the tactics deployed by both players and after the first two sets it was Jeremy who was in the driving seat on a 2-0 cushion. Most players who find themselves with this type of deficit against Lappin very rarely recover, but this was not so for Wayne as he came out in the third set and played what only can be described as devastating table tennis and went on to hold this unrelenting form to square the match at 2-2. Both players started the deciding set again in all out attack mode and with the match poised at 9-9 the tension in the hall was electric. It was Wayne who took the advantage at 11-10 as he drilled another bullet like backhand past his opponent and when Jeremy uncharacteristically made an unforced error on the following service the coveted Fermanagh Senior title was Wayne’s in what was one of the best matches played in this competition for many years. All in all this proved to be a fantastic night for
the Letterbreen Club and as such they deserve great congratulations
as they took away the three Fermanagh titles, a feat that will surely
not be equalled for many years CREDIBLE PERFORMANCE BY
PORTORA The Ulster School’s Cup took place last week in the Six Mile
Leisure Centre at Ballyclare. This is a team event and the standard
of play is always very high with this year being no exception. Ulster
No 1 and Commonwealth team member Peter Graham (U19) along with
Irish No 2, Paul McCreery represented RBAI along with their teammates
while Fivemiletown High School also sported a very strong U19 side
with Irish U17 No 1, Keith Knox and older brother Gervis as team
captain. Co Fermanagh was represented in the boys’ section
at this prestigious tournament by Portora Royal School and both
the school and the Fermanagh League can be proud of the credible
performance the boys put up against such tough opposition. Portora
got through to the semi-final of the Senior Boys event where they
faced Fivemiletown High School. This event consists of a six-man
team with six singles matches and 3 doubles matches played to decide
the outcome and after four of the singles matches were completed
the overall tally was still even between the two schools. However,
Fivemiletown opened up a decisive gap when they narrowly edged the
next two singles matches and unfortunately for the hard fighting
Portora team, the Knox brothers just proved to be too skilful in
the doubles as they beat Stephen Slater and Grant Ellis 3 sets to
1 to secure the victory. Fivemiletown High School went on to win
the Senior Cup final against RBAI.
Western Area Super Club : Letterbreen
The Fermanagh Table Tennis Association is very happy with the success of the Super Club, which has recently been relocated to Letterbreen and is well attended by both senior and junior players. The club is open on Monday nights from 7.30pm until 10.00pm and Jeremy Lappin, Tony Frempong, David Wilson & Torsten Jentsch provide an excellent quality of coaching to all the young aspiring players. Prior to the formation of the Super Club several of Fermanagh’s top league players have provided coaching for many players and a great vote of thanks for this is attributable to Jeremy Lappin, Isobel Lappin, Tony Frempong and David Wilson. More information about the Super Club can be obtained from the Western Regional Development Officer, Mr David Wilson on 028 89541683.
Fermanagh Junior Open The Fermanagh Junior Open tournament
was held in the Lakeland Forum on Saturday and this year saw a record
entry with over 120 young people from the four provinces of Ireland
competing for the titles of U10, U12, U14 and U17 Champion in both
boys and girls events. All matches were hotly contested through
group and knockout stages with feelings of jubilation and disappointment
experienced in the hall throughout the day.
Kieran Reilly from Cavan and Andrew
Nicholl from Belfast competed for the U10 Boys’ title with
Kieran securing it for the Castlerahan TT club. Both finalists in
the Girls’ U12 competition were from Connacht, Sarah Timlin
and Brid McAndrew, with Sarah winning.
The U14 and U17 Girls’ competitions
produced some thrilling table tennis with a quarter final match
between Ashley McBride and Emma Wilson captivating the entire audience
as the girls battled in the fifth set to 21-19 with Emma winning.
Claire Nelson from Belfast secured both titles after beating Sarah
Timlin (Connacht) in the U14 final and Danielle Douglas (Belfast)
in the U17’s.
Trevor Knox (Kilskeery) =5th U10 Boys The tournament co-ordinator, Deirdre Slater, would like to thank all the committee and league members who helped in any way before and during the tournament , and especially Isobel Lappin for collating the entries and preparing the draw. Thanks also to Ulster Bank Limited for their generous sponsorship of this event.
Patrica Coyle Retail Manager of Enniskillen Branch, Presenting Dessie Elton (FTTA) with sponsorship for the Fermanagh Junior Open. Also pictured is David Wilson Western Regional Development Officer for the sport.
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Fermanagh Table Tennis © 2006 - Designed By Gervis Knox