Archbishop McHale Juvenile Table Tennis Cup
Day 1
Written by Mr Forde
Well the day finally came and the crowds had gathered for the first of four first round matches of the AMC Table Tennis Juvenile Cup.
There was great excitement among the pupils and the guessing games had begun who the eventual champion was going to be.
First up we had Sander taking on the mighty Sean which turned in to a right battle. Sander took an early lead but Sean doesn’t give up that easily and fought back like one of the great Liverpool teams did in a European Final a couple of years ago. It was very close but Sander just won it in the end. Both players gave us a brilliant match to start off the tournament. Well done to both Sander and Sean.
Next up, we had the hot favourite Beltran versus our all-rounder sports person Sarah. This was also an entertaining match and fair dues to both players as it was played in a very sporting manner. There was no dirty tackles at all. Beltran eventually pulled through to the next round. Well done to both Beltran and Sarah.
The third match was one of the longest matches of the day. We had two very even players in Roben and Michael. This also went to the wire and was very competitive. Michael really hung in there and nearly snatched it in the end but Roben just sneaked through to the next round. Well done to both players.
The crowd was getting bigger and bigger so Mr Harris and Ms Waldron were called in for crowd control. I think the excitement was at fever pitch for the last match where Kody was taking on his good friend Joshua. This was a real exciting game and it went back and forth where both players showed all the skills they picked up over the last few months. Josh was leading 8-5, and it looked all over until Kody played some brilliant shots to take a 9-8 lead! However, Josh was not finished and scored the next three points to eke out an 11-8 win.
This was a fabulous start to the tournament and many thanks to the two organisers Jamie and Senan who have done a brilliant job. Thanks also to Mr Kearney for refereeing all the match’s ably helped by Edward, and last but not least the biggest cheer of the day was for Sean who supplied two boxes of sweets for everyone which was a lovely gesture.
Looking forward already to tomorrow's matches.
The last match of the day was between two very talented players Brochan and Kevin. These players both had practiced hard on Tuesday evenings and Brochan prevailed in a high quality match. Well done to both players.
This bought an end to Day 2 and what a half hour of table tennis we had. I think the next round will be just as exciting and the support from all the students and staff has been amazing.
Thanks again to all the players.
Day 2
Written by Mr Forde
Welcome back everyone to another day of exciting table tennis action. The scene was set and Jamie and Senan had everything set up for the players.
First match up we had two fine players in Ryan and John. Ryan had the advantage here as he had practiced really hard for this competition and it showed in his serves. John put up a great fight but Ryan pulled away in the end to go through to the next round.
Next up we had two great players in Oskar and Dominic. This was predicted to be a great game and that it was. Oskar had a brilliant serve and took an early lead but Dominic quickly figured it out and came back to level matters 6-6. The crowd was getting bigger and bigger (all two metres apart) as the excitement grew and this was anyones match. Just when it seemed Dominic was in control Oskar came good with some brilliant serves. This was not for the faint hearted and the cheers for both players could be heard all around Tuam.