Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club - Archive Section - 2011
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Final
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League came to a close this week at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club with the playoff for 3rd & 4th place on Monday night between Maria's Maestros and Wozni's Wonders with a number of players subbing for both teams. The first round saw closely fought matches on three of the courts with the Maestros just edging 7-6 wins for the Maestros from Martin Garrity /Kathleen Maguire; Wendy Eaton /Adam Gannon; Chrissy Pendry / Eileen Whitely. The only win for the Wonders came from a good win, 10-3, from Joanne Daly partnered by sub Alby Gray, which edged the team ahead going into round two. A 9-4 win for the Wonders from David McDowell /Joanne was equalled by the same score with a great effort for the Maestros from Kathleen Maguire /Tanya Cathcart. Wendy /Chrissy added to the score with an 8-5 win for the Maestros but Kate Heaver /Lorrainne Mackey just held on for a 7-6 win leaving the Wonders finishing in front by a slim margin of 53- 51.
The Final on Tuesday night was between the unbeaten front runners throughout the league, Novaks Novas and Rafas Rebels. At the half-way mark the scores were level pegging with 7-6 wins for the Novas from Donna Mc Sorley James Meade and Kevin & Liam McGuinness (Kevin playing in spite of a foot injury) while the Rebels had 7-6 wins from William Britton/ Ronan McGuinness and Jill Parkinson and Cora Meade(sub)
It was all to play for going into round two when James and partner Steve Beaumont (sub ) took their match 8-5 for the Novas but a 9-4 win from Jill & partner Anthony McCaughey put the Rebels ahead. Sinead Maguire ,Novas team captain, and Liam Mc Guinness took their match 7-6. The teams were neck and neck at this stage and tension mounted in the Pavilion while the last match on Court one continued. This was the deciding match and David McDowell (sub)and partner William Britton just edged a 7-6 victory leaving the Final score 53 -51 for the Rebels, proving that in tennis ,it's never over till the last ball is struck.
At the Presentation in the Pavilion afterwards, the outgoing Club Captain John Sheridan, thanked our sponsors Niall Smyth and Michael Leslie for their invaluable support over the past years and invited them to present the prizes to the players of both teams.Speaking on behalf of Smyth Leslie, Michael congratulated the winning team and all those who had taken part in what had clearly been an enjoyable league.He said the firm were pleased to be associated with Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club and wished the club continued success both on the courts and at their 20th Anniversary Gala Ball being held on 2nd December.
John Sheridan also thanked F.D.C for their continued support and expressed the clubs gratitude to George Beacom and Bawnacre staff for the wonderful spread they had provided before the presentation. He also congratulated the winners, commiserated with the gallant losers and made special mention of the subs who had played their part for all of the teams throughout the League.
The club took this opportunity to present the prizes to the winning team of the Northern Bank sponsored Summer League, which had been won by the Pennies, Captained appropriately by Kathleen Maguire.
John Maguire, Club President, concluded the evening by reiterating the Clubs sincere appreciation of the ongoing support from Smyth Leslie, Northern bank and F.D.C and George and Bawnacre staff. He reminded everyone of the 20th Anniversary Ball on 2nd December and looked forward to seeing players on the Court Tues 13th December for the Christmas Turkey Competition sponsored by Millar Meats.
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 8
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League is drawing to a close at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis with the last round of matches in the knockout stage being played this week. Monday night saw a contest between Andy's Army and Maria's Maestros,with both teams at the bottom of the league table and closely matched in points. This match would decide who would pick up the wooden spoon and who would get another match in the playoff. The Army started well with a 10- 3 win for William Britton (sub ) and partner Frances Taggart, but elsewhere in this first round the Maestros took all the matches with a 9-4 win from Rhonda Moore /Eileen Whitely, 8 -5 win from Sandra McElroy/ Tanya Cathcart and 7-6 win from Adam Gannon/Kate Heaver (sub).
In round two the Maestros stretched their lead with wins from Pete Keogh / Sandra,( 9-4 ), Brendan /Tanya (7-6 ) & Kate/Rhonda (8 -5 ). The Army's only victory in this round was a 7 -6 win from Oscar Whaley (sub ) and partner Katherine Ross. The final score was 57 - 47 to the Maestros, leaving no doubt about the Army's claim to the wooden spoon.
Tuesday night saw Wozni's Wonders take on the big guns of Novak's Novas,the Wonders hoping to be the first team to defeat the league leaders. The Novas were two players short which resulted in American tennis rules on both court 1 and court 4 when the single player won on both courts in round one, Donna McSorley taking her match 7-6 and Kevin McGuinness scoring a whopping 13- 0 in his. John Sheridan and super-sub Oscar Whaley added a 9-4 win to the Novas score leaving them in a very comfortable position at the half way mark. The Wonders did pull back points with 11-2 wins from David McDowell /Joanne Daly and Brendan McGuiness / Steve Beaumont but the Novas secured the victory with 10-3 win from John /Kevin and an impressive 13 -0 win from Oscar playing alone. The Novas finished the night with a 62-42 victory and an unbeaten record during the league.
Final scores:
- Novaks Novas 525
- Rafas Rebels 460
- Woznis Wonders 428
- Marias Maestros 352
- Andys Army 324
Third and fourth place playoff on Monday 21st Nov between Wozni's Wonders & Maria's Maestros.
The Novas meet Rafa's Rebels in the Final on Tuesday 22nd Nov.
Presentation of prizes for the Smyth Leslie Autumn League will take place in the Pavilion immediately after the Final on Tuesday night. Prizes for the Northern Bank Summer League will also be presented on the night, (the Pennies beat the Pounds 40-38 in the final of that League). All players from both leagues are invited to the presentation night when no doubt George Beacom and the Bawnacre staff will provide the usual high standard of refreshments.
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 7
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club really gathered pace this week with all the teams out making the most of the fine Autumn weather. Andy's Army faced Rafa's Rebels on Monday night, this being the Rebels last match in this stage of the League. The Rebels opened up a big lead in round one with wins from Martin Garrity & partner James Meade (sub) 10-3, while the partnerships of William Britton/Ronan McGuinness and Jill Parkinson/Cora Meade (sub) consolidated their lead with 9-4 wins.
The only win in this round for the Army came from super-sub Oscar Whaley/Katherine Ross who took their match 8 -5. The second round wasn't any easier for the Army with big wins from Martin/William (11-2) and 9-4 from Jill/Andrea Irvine (sub) leaving the Rebels way out in front. The final score was 66-35 for the Rebels.
On Tuesday night Maria's maestros and Wozni's Wonders had a close match with David McDowell and Brendan McGuinness winning their match 8-5 for the Wonders while Sandra McElroy & Brendan King (sub) evened for the Maestros with the same score.
American tennis rules applied on court 3 when the Wonders were short a player, but in both rounds the Wonders single player had good wins over their doubles opponents, with Kate Heaver winning 10-3 in first leg and Anthony McCaughey (sub) winning 11-2 in second leg. On the other courts, tight matches ended in wins for the Maestros from Pete/Sandra, (7-6), David/Brendan (8-5) and Adam Gannon/Eileen Whitely (8-5). The final score was 55-49 in favour of the Wonders.
Andys Army had their second outing this week on Wednesday when they faced the frontrunners Novak's Novas. The first leg of the match was fairly evenly matched with 8 -5 wins for the Army from Maggie Britton and Arnold Jackson (sub) and William Britton (sub) with daughter Katie. Wins for the Novas from John Sheridan/Sinead Maguire (8 - 5) and Kevin/Liam McGuinness (7 - 6) meant that at the halfway point, it was anyone's match. The second round matches told a very different story with big wins on all four courts for the Novas. Martin Garrity (sub) and partner Brendan King took their match 9-4 as did John/Kevin. James Meade with partner Adam Gannon (subbing at 4) won 8 - 5 and the icing on the cake for the Novas was a massive 12 -1 win from Sinead Maguire/Liam McGuinness. The Novas ended the night with a 63 - 41 win.
Scores going into this last week of the knockout stage of the League:
- Novak's Novas 463 (7 matches played)
- Rafas Rebels 460 (8 matches played)
- Wozni's Wonders 386 (7 matches played)
- Maria's Maestros 295 (7 matches played)
- Andy's Army 277 (7 matches played)
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 6
The courts at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club were busy four nights this week as teams caught up with both scheduled and postponed matches in the Smyth Leslie Autumn League. On Halloween night, Maria's Maestros faced the unbeaten Novak's Novas with a number of subs being called in for both teams. In Round one Sandra McElroy and Tanya Cathcart got the Maestros of to a good start with an impressive 8-5 victory while for the Novas Kevin and Liam McGuinness maintained their unbeaten record with a 10-3 win.
The Novas took the remainder of the matches in this round with Donna McSorley and partner Kathleen Maguire (super sub)taking their match 9-4 and John Sheridan and Oscar Whaley (sub) winning 8-5, ensuring the Novas went into Round two with a comfortable lead. Round two matches were more closely fought with a couple of games decided on the tie break in the Novas favour, but two big wins from John/Kevin 10-3, Kathleen/Ronan 8-5 left the final score at 64-40 for the Novas.
On Tuesday night Wozni's Wonders and Rafa's Rebels were in strong competition to try to build up points which would help take them close the gap with frontrunners Novaks' Novas. In Round one the Wonders just edged ahead with big wins from Fergal O'Hanlon/Kate Heaver (9-4) and Andrea Irvine/Oscar Whaley (8-5) while the Rebels had 7/6 and 8/5 wins from Martin Garrity / Kathleen Maguire, William Britton /Ronan McGuinness. In round two, the strong partnership of Martin/William took a 10-3 win for the Rebels, while Kathleen/Ronan and Jill Parkinson /Anthony McCaughey secured 9-4 wins. The only win in this round for the Wonders was from Kate / Oscar (11/2 ) but the Rebels took the honours with a 54 -50 victory.
Wednesday night saw the first of the rescheduled matches being played when Andy's Army took on Maria's Maestros. Both teams were reliant on a number of subs and in both rounds American tennis rules applied on court 3 as the Army were short one player. In round three of matches were decided on the tie break,two going in the Army's favour, while Sandra McElroy and sub William Britton took an 8-5 win for the Maestros.
Round two saw a 10-3 win for the Maestros from Martin Garrity (sub ) and Sandra being counterbalanced by the same score from sub Kevin McGuinness who was playing American tennis.The Britton family team of Maggie and William took their match 9-4 giving the Army their first and very welcome win of 54-50.
Rafa's Rebels were out for their second match of the week when they met Novaks Novas, for the match postponed due to adverse weather.Martin Garrity/Kathleen Maguire took the Rebels into the lead with an 8-5 win and William Britton and sub Steve Beaumont stretched that lead with a score of 8-5.On courts 3 and 4 however the Novas were asserting their authority with wins from John Sheridan /Sinead Maguire (7-6) and Kevin /Liam McGuinness (9-4).
Round two saw decisive 8-5 wins for the Rebels from Martin/William and Adam/Anthony but the Novas held their unbeaten record with a 9-4 win from Liam Murphy / Fergal O'Hanlon (sub) and Sinead Maguire/ Liam McGuinness ended the match with 10-3,leaving the final score 55 -49 for the Novas.
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 5
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League at Irvinestown Lawn tennis Club was disrupted by heavy rain again on Monday night, the match scheduled between Rafa's Rebels and Novak's Novas will be rearranged.
In better conditions on Tuesday night Wozni's Wonders took on Andy's Army. The Wonders got of to a great start in Round one with big wins on all four courts from the partnerships of David McDowell / Brendan McGuinness (8-5), Brendan King /Steve Beaumont (10-3), Fergal O'Hanlon/Kate Heaver (12 -1) and Andrea Irvine/Kevin McGuinness (11-2 ).
In the second round matches Maggie Britton and Tanya Cathcart led the Army to an 8 - 5 win but this was the only success for the team with the Wonders stretching their lead with further big scores from Brendan/Steve (8-5), Fergal /Andrea (9 -4 ) and Kate /Kevin (12 -1). The night finished with a 75 - 29 points win for the Wonders, leaving the Army in strong contention for the much coveted wooden spoon.
On Wednesday night Rafa's Rebels and Maria's Maestros were on court,when the Maestros were missing their two top players so a quick reshuffle with team members and subs was called for. In round one the Rebels stormed into the lead with three 10-3 victories from Martin Garrity/Kathleen Maguire, William Britton/Ronan McGuinness and Anthony McCaughey/Lorrainne Mackey. The only win in this opening round was from the young brothers,Liam and Kevin McGuinness, both subbing, who scored 7-6.
The second round matches again saw big wins for the Rebels with the strong pairing of Martin/William securing 11-2, while on the other courts Jill/Anthony won 10-3, and Kathleen/Ronan won 8 / 5. The Maetros had their only other win on the night from Liam McGuinness and Eileen Whitely (8-5 ) with the match finishing with a 70 - 34 win for the Rebels.
With the League more than halfway through, the race now seems to be between the Rebels and the Wonders to gain a place in the final against the frontrunners Novak's Novas who have led the scoring since the first week.
Scores to date:
- Novak's Novas 281 pts 4 matches played
- Rafa's Rebels 281 pts 5 matches played
- Wozni's Wonders 281 pts 5 matches played
- Maria's Maestros 156 pts 4 matches played
- Andy's Army 147 pts 4 matches played
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 4
The smooth running of the Smyth Leslie Autumn League at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club was disrupted on Monday night when heavy rain and flooding forced Andy's Army and Maria's Maestros to call of their match.The team Captains will re-schedule this and let players know. On Tuesday night,in better conditions, play went ahead between Wozni's Wonders and Novak's Novas with the Wonders trying hard to mount a challenge to the Novas unbeaten record. The only win for the Wonders in Round one came from Fergal O' Hanlon and sub Wendy Eaton who took the game 7-6 while the Novas took the other matches with good wins from Donna Mc Sorley and partner David Lowe(sub) 9-4 , an 8-5 win for Kevin and Liam Mc Guinness and Brendan King and Adam Gannon (sub ) taking their closely fought match 7 -6. In Round two the Novas continued to assert their authority with 9-4 wins from the partnerships of Donna / Brendan, John Sheridan / Kevin McGuinness, Sinead Maguire / Liam McGuinness and David Lowe and Adam Gannon subbing at No.4 taking their match 8 - 5. In spite of the best efforts of the Wonders ,it seems that the Novas are unstoppable and the League score sheet proves how far ahead they are at this stage of the League.
- Novak's Novas 281 pts 4 matches played
- Rafa's Rebels 211 pts 4 matches played
- Wozni's Wonders 206 pts 4 matches played
- Maria's Maestros 120 pts 3 matches played
- Andy's Army 118 pts 3 matches played
Play continues this week on Mon; Tues; Wed; nights, weather hopefully permitting.
Smyth Leslie Autumn League - Week 3
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League continued this week at Irvinestown Lawn Tennis Club with all the teams out over three nights. First up in pouring rain on Monday night were Andy's Army against Rafa's Rebels. The opening round of play saw some close matches with Catherine Taggart and Katie Britton putting up a strong fight for Andy's Army against William Britton and Ronan McGuinness, narrowly losing the match by just one game. Martin Garrity and partner Kathleen Maguire continued with their winning streak for the Rebels taking the first round match 8-5, Martin went on to take his second round match 10- 3 with partner William Britton. The only win for Andy's Army came from Kevin McGuinness (sub) and partner Katherine Ross while for the Rebels Jill Parkinson and partner Georgina Meade had a first round victory of 7-6 , Jill and partner Andrea Irvine won 8-5 in round two. The final score on the night was 59-45 in favour of the Rebels.
Maria's Maestros and Wozni's Wonders were out on Tuesday night when the weather wasn't any kinder to the players. Donna McSorley was subbing and with partner Brendan McGuinness got the Wonders of to a good start with an 8-5 win, with the same score being repeated for the team by Joanne Daly and Steve Beaumont. Wendy Eaton and partner Adam Gannon pulled some points back for the Maestros with an 8-5 win while Rhonda Moore and Eileen Whitely did well for the Maestros winning their match 7-6.
In round two the Wonders stretched their lead with two big wins of 10-3 from the partnerships of Brendan McGuinness / Steve Beaumont and subs Oscar Whaley / Anthony McCaughey. There were no wins in this second round for the Maestros and the Wonders finished the night with an impressive 62-42 win.
Novak's Novas were out on Wednesday night facing Rafa's Rebels and once again Martin Garrity came away with 8-5 wins for the Rebels in both rounds, firstly with partner Kathleen Maguire and then with William Britton. The only other win in this round for the Rebels came from Jill Parkinson and Georgina Meade when they took the match 7-6. The young McGuinness brothers, Kevin and Liam, had a convincing first round win of 9-4 for the Novas edging them ahead at the half way mark.
In the second round three big wins of 10-3 for the Novas from James Meade and young partner Oscar Whaley (sub) and the partnerships of John Sheridan / Kevin McGuinness and Sinead Maguire / Liam McGuinness settled the matter and the Novas continued their unbeaten record coming away with a 62-42 victory. All credit to all of the players who turned out in atrocious playing conditions and particularly to the subs who came out and gave of their best regardless of which team they were representing.
Smyth Leslie - Autumn League - Week 2
Week two of the Smyth Leslie Autumn League in Irvinestown and Novak's Novas returned to the scene of last weeks big win on Monday night,this time taking on Maria's Maestros. Once again the Novas showed they mean business in this League with Round one resulting in big wins for the top pair of Donna McSorley and James Meade (10-3) and the young McGuinness brothers, Kevin and Liam, taking their match 12-1 while John Sheridan and team captain Sinead Maguire took a 9-4 victory. The only win of the night for the Maestros came from a hard fought battle by Sandra McElroy and Tanya Cathcart who clung on to take the match 7-6 from Brendan King and Liam Murphy.
In Round two, the Novas streaked ahead with big wins of 11-2 from John Sheridan and partner Kevin McGuinness while Sinead and Liam McGuinness took their match 10-3.
The Maestros had no answer against the stronger team and the final score was 74 - 30 for the Novas putting them in a very strong position.
On Tuesday night Rafa's Rebels met Wozni's Wonders in a closely matched contest with both sides getting a share of the spoils. Martin Garrity and partner Kathleen Maguire got the Rebels of to a good start in Round one with a 9 - 4 win, and William Britton and Ronan McGuinness adding the same score to the sheet in their match. A terrific win of 10 - 3 for the young partnership of Adam Gannon and Oscar Whaley (both subbing) boosted the chances for the Wonders. In Round two Adam and partner Andrea Irvine got the deciding game to take their match 7 - 6. A good win from Brendan McGuinness and partner Steve Beaumont (9- 4) kept the Wonders in contention but 8 - 5 wins in both rounds for Lorrainne Mackey, team Captain for the Rebels, with partner Anthony McCaughey in round one and Kevin McGuinness in round two helped secure a 54 - 50 win for the Rebels.
All of the teams will be back in action this week with play on Mon Tues and Wed night at 8 p.m. with Novak's Novas the ones to catch.
Autumn League sponsored by Smyth Leslie Estate Agents
The Smyth Leslie Autumn League got underway this week at Irvinestown Lawn tennis Club with Andy's Army facing Novak's Nova's on Monday 26th September.This was a great start for the Nova's with big wins in Round 1 from Donna McSorley and partner James Meade (12 -1 ) playing at one & two and brothers Kevin and Liam McGuinness ,making their debut in this League at 7 & 8, claiming the same massive score in their match.
Andy's Army couldn't get past their opponents in either Round, with the best showing of the night for the team coming from Catherine Taggart and Katie Britton who narrowly lost 6 - 7 to Brendan King and Fergal O'Hanlon (sub). The remaining matches all ended in 9 - 4 wins for the Nova's resulting in an impressive 80 - 24 win for Novak's Nova's.
The warm,dry Autumn conditions continued on Tuesday night when Rafa's Rebels took on Maria's Maestro's.
Generally this was a more even contest with a number of games being won or lost on the tie break. In Round 1, Martin Garrity and Kathleen Maguire (Rebels)just lost out to the Maestro's two Davids (McDowell & Lowe) while Wm.Britton & Ronan McGuinness got the extra point for the Rebels in their match. A couple of big wins for the Rebels from the recently returned Anthony McCaughey with partner Lorrainne Mackey (10 - 3) and the strong pairing of Martin Garrity & Wm Britton in Round two gaining the same score, boosted the score line. For the Maestro's Round 2 saw good wins from the ever-improving Adam Gannon & partner Eileen Whitely (10 - 3) and David Lowe & partner Kate Heaver (sub) (8 -5) which helped to keep the Maestros in contention but couldn't change the final scoreline of 56 - 48 in favour of Rafa's rebels.
Andy's Army had their second outing on Wed night when they commenced battle with Wozni's Wonders.
Team Captain Laura McDowell rallied her troops hoping to put Mondays defeat behind them and led the attack with a first round win with partner Liam Mc Guinness (sub) of 10 - 3. Liam continued his winning streak in round two with partner Georgina Meade claiming a 9 - 4 victory for the Army. However these were the only two victories in the match for Andy's Army with big wins in round one for the Wonders from David McDowell & Brendan McGuinness ( 8 - 5 ). Joanne Daly & partner Steve Beaumont (10 - 3 ),Fergal O'Hanlon & Kate Heaver (9 - 4 )
Wozni's Wonders consolidated their lead in round 2 with both partnerships of Fergal and Andrea Irvine and David McDowell & Joanne Daly holding on to get the deciding point (7 - 6) in close fought matches which resulted in a 55 - 49 win for the Wonders.
It was good to see the return of past club members Andrea Irvine and Anthony McCaughey to the courts and from their showing this week , they are still forces to be reckoned with, despite the long lay off !
Play continues this week on Mon & Tues night.