Newcastle girls ease to points

Newcastle girls ease to points

13 May 2015

NEWCASTLE Tennis Club’s U-14 girls played their first away match of the season on Saturday at Cloughey Tennis Club.

The team of Molly Crawford, Sinead Flanigan, Ellen Gorman and Amelia Burns set off early in the morning and after a windy journey on the Strangford-Portaferry crossing they reached their destination slightly earlier than the 11am fixture. 

Due to coaching at Cloughey, the girls were unable to warm up immediately so an improvised exercise routine was carried out on Cloughey beach. 

 Eventually the matches got underway, the doubles being played first. Both pairings played well together and Newcastle won both matches.

The Newcastle girls were feeling buoyant, if a little windswept.

The singles matches commenced with Molly and Sinead playing first.  The sun came through and the girls played well with some excellent shots executed.

Both girls won, so the pressure was now on Ellen and Amelia. 

They both stepped up to the mark, playing confidently and hitting the ball with gusto. 

Again, both girls won their singles so Newcastle came away very happy with a score of 6-0. 

Cloughey Tennis Club provided much-needed refreshments and juice.

The camaraderie between both teams was great and some amusing tales were told.  A big thank you to Cloughey for their hospitality and home-baked goodies.

 The journey home was chatty until larger than expected ice creams were purchased.  Some quiet time ensued.

Well done to the girls who represented the club in a very sporting manner.    

Also on Saturday Newcastle’s U-18 boys hosted visitors from Lurgan in their final fixture of the season.

The local boys began their matches in a good position, having won both of their last two fixtures. Scott Monteith very ably captained the team this time, supported by Matthew Dougherty, Michael Flanigan and Joseph Gorman.

The boys worked hard against very well-matched opponents, and some really excellent rallies displayed the tightness of the matches. Neither team could overpower the other, and they parted company with a very respectable draw.

This result is likely to put the  Newcastle U-18s into the runner-up position in their division, which would assure them a play-off match later in the month.

No sooner had the U-18s exited the courts, the U-14 B team were hot on their heels, getting warmed up for their matches against visitors Downshire C.

With Joel McKibbin as captain, partnered by his brother Reuben and supported by Luka Hallissey and Wolfgang Mueller, the boys got to work straight away on their doubles matches.

Joel and Reuben defeated their counterparts 7-4 and although Luka and Wolfgang make a really good partnership, they were just pipped at the post, losing 5-6.

Starting into their singles matches after a quick break, the boys showed their growing experience and confidence, choosing the right shots and some very clever play.

Joel overpowered his opponent 10-1. Reuben, Luka and Wolfgang battled it out in three very close, long matches, only to lose narrowly in the end. 

Downshire went home victorious 4-2, but it really could have been the other way round.

The Newcastle team showed such promise, determination and hard effort that it surely will not be long before this positive attitude pays off.

Sunday came around and with it the last fixture of the season for the U-14 A team. 

They travelled to Belfast to their hosts, Ballynafeigh.

The weather was looking very dodgy, but that did not deter the Newcastle boys, who played very well to beat Ballynafeigh.

Gabriel Corrigan and Ben McGuigan started out by winning their singles matches.

Ciaran Flanigan and Joseph Roseingrave followed suit by winning their doubles.

After a short break, Ciaran won his singles match 8-3, and Joseph won his 7-4. Gabriel and Ben had a closer doubles match, winning 6-5 in the end.

It was a competitive meeting, with Ballynafeigh boys playing well and making all matches close affairs but the Newcastle boys outclassed them for a great  6-0 win overall. 

This puts the A team in the runner-up position, having been beaten only by St. Patrick’s Racquets of Newtownards.  This guarantees them a play-off match later in the month.