FANTASTIC NEWS FROM THE ALGARVE

When was the last time an Irish team beat a team from France, Germany and Sweden?

When was the last time an Irish team beat all three in one day?

Well it happened at the Portugese Youth Open Championships!

Paul McCreery, Sam Hanley and Ashley Robinson beat France B 3-2 and European Champions Germany A, 3-0, in the Group stages.
Paul won a thrilling 5-setter against Tristan Florre, while in the doubles Paul and Sam pulled off another 5 set victory to clinch the victory against France.
Similarly against Germany Paul won in 5 sets against Yannick Dohrmnann and they won the doubles 11-6 in the fifth set to take another major scalp.

Their results in the group games saw them playing for positions 1 to 7. In their first match here they had a fantastic 3-2 victory over Sweden, who had already beaten England A in the Group stage.
They won the first two games here but lost the doubles 10-12 in the fifth set. Then Sam lost to Adam Andersson 5-11 in the fifth set to bring it to the deciding match. Paul won this 3-1 (12-10 in the fourth set) to clinch a place in the top four.

They were beaten 0-3 by, the eventual winners, a very strong Belgium A side in the semifinals. They did succeed in taking two sets however, with Sam winning his set 19-17.

They lost the 3rd/4th playoff to Croatia 0-3 to finish in an incredible 4th place overall. Sam lost the first match here 7-11 in the fifth set against Miho Simovoc, while Paul lost to Filip Cipin 10-12, 7-11, 13-15. Cipin later finished 2nd overall in the Singles event.

To put this in perspective:
England A finished in 12th place with Liam Pitchford (English Ranked No. 2) and Sean Cullen (English No. 4) on the team.
England B finished in 16th place, with Daniel Lowe(English No. 3) and Zak Zilensnik (English No. 6 and No. 1 Under 13)on the team.
Scotlands team of Sean Doherty and Calum Main finished in 21st place.

Well done to the players and Jing Yi Gao, NPC on a brilliant performance.

This result sends out a very important message to future Irish teams that we can actually win against the top performing countries.

Sports Award Scheme by Fingal Independent/Drogheda Independent Recognises ALSAA Players Achievements

Fingal Independent/ Drogheda Independent host a Sports Award scheme every year sponsored by the Clarion Hotel, Dublin Airport. Each month from January onwards local clubs are invited to submit nominees for the monthly Sport Star award selected by the Editor.

All monthly winners were invited to the black-tie Annual Award Night held on the 12^th January 2008 in the Clarion Hotel. This was hosted by Michael Lyster from RTE, where the Sport Star of the Year was announced. As well as the monthly winners the paper nominates two wild card entrants. This year Sara Dolan, ALSAA table tennis player, was selected along with Tony Grant, captain of Eircom League Champion’s Drogheda United, thus illustrating the high standard of competition. There was also two World Champions and two members of the Irish Cricket team who played in the World Cup.

Fellow ALSAA member Sam Hanley had been a monthly winner in 2006, while Sam Logue unfortunately missed out on a monthly nomination in November 2007.

Sara's citation read “in recognition of her achievements in table tennis in 2007, Irish Number 1 U14, beating the Dutch No 2 In Hasselt Cup and current Irish No 2 U17."

The overall winner was 4 times World Judo Champion Jack Dennis.

You can do it - table tennis

ALSAA's Results from the Leinster Close

Well done to everyone who played at the weekend! I hope you all enjoyed it and were happy with your performance. The following is a summary of who came where. If your name or someone else's isn't there please feel free to add it in a comment or send it in an e-mail: alsaatt@gmail.com

Under 10 Girls:
2. Lorna Mc Loughlin (ALSAA)
3. Sarah Cashen (ALSAA)

Under 12 Boys:
2. Paul O’Dea (ALSAA)
3. Ciaran Kelly (ALSAA)

Under 12 Girls:
2. Amy Rock (ALSAA)

Under 14 Boys:
1. Sam Logue (ALSAA)
3. Paul O’Dea (ALSAA)

Under 14 Girls:
1. Nicole Brady (ALSAA)
3. Kerrie Phoenix (ALSAA)

Under 17 Boys:
1. Sam Logue (ALSAA)
3. Andrew Campbell (ALSAA)

Under 17 Girls:
1. Rebecca Kenny (ALSAA)
2. Sarah Kenny (ALSAA)

As can clearly be seen ALSAA is dominating the Leinster scene! Keep up the good work! :D

Newtownards Round Robin

Played at the NewtownArds Leisure Centre Saturday 24th

While our younger players were up North playing in the Fermanagh Junior Open, we had 4 players travelling to Newtownards for this Senior Round Robin Event limited to 48 players.

Some top seniors entered included Na Ning (Irish No 1 Men's) and Liu Na, one of the top female players in Ireland and England. The tournament came with a guarantee of 9 matches in groups stages. It was an ideal opportunity to get plenty of quality matches for our players against some older and very experienced players. Our group included Sara Dolan, Sam Logue, Sam Hanley and Dan Keenan.

Dan finished second in his group losing to Paul Mc Creery. As the second round was made up of two group winners and two group runners up, Dan ended up in the group of Death along with Sam Hanley and the very experienced Peter Clarke. As if that wasn't tough enough, Na Ning made up the 4th place in the group. Sam conceded an early lead to his clubmate and training partner, Dan, eventually losing that game. However, he then beat Peter Clarke who went on to beat Dan. Na Ning won the group while second place was determined through countback with Peter going through. This was an unfortunate setback as Sam finished third and could only play for 9th to 12th place and Dan finished 4th in the group, only being eligible for the 13th to 15th playoffs. This was a bit frustrating because on recent form both players would have been able to compete well in the top 8 but for this European style format. Sara Dolan had some great matches but a German player Bernard Wagner who she had beaten twice in the day ended up finishing 3 places above her. Sam Logue also had some great matches one in particular against Willie Cherry, a top Ulster Senior. Sam lost in the 5th having been two up. He also met Sam Hanley in this group for 9th to 12th losing 0 V 3.

So for Sam and Dan possibly the match against each other cost them a far higher finish. As for Sara and Sam Logue some challenging matches against very experienced players will prove as vital experience and will aid their table tennis development.

Any of these plyers could have opted to go to Fermanagh and challenged for trophies but they went to the Senior Round Robin for better Table Tennis and got plenty of that!

Sam Hanley 9th
Sam Logue 11th
Dan Keenan 13th
Sara Dolan 28th

(Account by Paul Dolan)

Fermanagh Junior Open.

This tournament had a big entry with plenty of top quality players taking part. ALSAA entered eleven players in the various age groups. While all of our players played well there were some exceptionally good performances on the day.

Alan Mc Loughlin playing in the U14s had some great matches with players such as Gavin Reilly from Cavan, who he took to the fifth game. Laurna Mc Loughlin won the U10s plate and this was her first away tournament.

Linda Cashen had some close games and was very unlucky in a couple of tight matches but she did manage to take the U17s plate. Ciaran Kelly had a great tournament, getting to the final in the U12 boys main competition and with five of the top six players on the Irish ranking list taking part in the U12s he had to play some excellent table tennis to reach the final. Here he played Irish No: 1 Pshemek Kossowski who won the final ( 12 – 10 , 11 – 8, 11 – 8).

All the players enjoyed the tournament and some of the parents even managed to get in some Christmas shopping!!

(Account by Liam Kelly)

Leinster Senior Table Tennis Grand Prix ALSAA

The Leinster Grand Prix took place at the weekend of the 17th/18th November in ALSAA sports complex and it was a great success. Below is a piece on the tournament by Paul Dolan and a summary of the results.

NA NING IS KING

Dublin based Chinese Student Na Ning from China stayed top of the Irish Men’s Ranking by winning the Men’s single event at the Leinster Senior Table Tennis Grand Prix held at the ALSAA Sport Complex.

Ning came through a top class field of players, boasted by a host of talented new residents from many Eastern European Countries.

Number One Irish Junior Daniel Keenan from ALSAA put up a brave fight in the semi final against the vastly experienced Ning who started playing at four years of age in a top Chinese Academy. Trinity College student Leo Stymen from Germany narrowly beat Irish Senior International Peter Graham from Belfast in a superb match; 15 - 13 in the 5^th set, to set up a Germany V China final. Leo could not get to grips with the pulsating forehand attacking style of Ning and had to settle for the runner's up spot.

With Dan’s clubmates Sam Hanley and Sam Logue playing a Junior Gran Prix event in England, Dan stole the show as well, claiming 3^rd in the Men’s open, the runner's up spot in the Men’s Band 1 and winning the U21event with some super table tennis.

ALSAA’s Loreto Girls also had a great weekend, Rebecca Kenny beating her sister Sarah in the Band 2 final final on Saturday; Sarah however saved her best Table Tennis for Sunday reaching the Women’s open final only to lose to Nigerian Commonwealth player Atisi Owoh.

Sara Dolan won the Women’s Band 1 event beating the very experienced Audrey Cowan 3 V 0 to compliment her runner's up spot in last months Irish ranking Junior event in Belfast.

Other players competing over the weekend from ALSAA included:

Orla Byrne, Niamh Treacy, Linda Cashen, Kerry Phoenix, Nicole Brady, Stephen Keenen, Ian Ritchie, Eoin Byrne, Sam Logue, Andy Cambell and Ciaron Kelly.

There were a lot of great performances from our young players over the weekend. I hope it encourages more of them to put that little bit more effort in training and realise their full potential.

Paul Dolan.

Results:
Mens Open Singles
Quarter Finals
Na Ning bt David Hayes , Dan Keenan bt Philip Wallace, Leo Stynen (Germany) bt Conor Nolan,
Peter Graham bt Brian Fitzgerald.

Semifinals
Ning bt Keenan, Stynen bt Graham

Final
Ning bt Stynen 11-9, 11-8, 11-3.

Ladies Open Singles:
Quarter Finals
Atisi Owoh (Nigeria) bt Rebecca Kenny, Clodagh Mc Cullagh bt Sara Dolan, Teresa Devaney bt Aisling Healy, Sarah Kenny bt Sabina Kazimagomedova

Semifinals
Owoh bt Mc Cullagh, Kenny bt Devaney

Final
Owoh bt Kenny 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3

Under 21 Men
Semifinals
Dan Keenan bt David Hayes, Lukasz Zareba (Hungary) bt Corey ORourke

Final
Keenan bt Zareba 11-7, 11-5, 11-13, 11-5

Under 21 Ladies
Semifinals
Sabina Kazimagomedova bt Kerrie Pheonix, Rebecca Kenny bt Aisling Healy

Final
Kazimagomedova bt Kenny 11-8,11-8, 11-9.

Restricted Singles

Semifinals Robert Gavin bt Brian Devereaux, Philip Wallace bt David Nolan
Final Robert Gavin bt Philip Wallace 11-8, 11-4, 11-7

Vets Final

Semifinals: Kevin Devanney bt Peter Koval, Kevin Mackey bt Julian Gittens
Final: Kevin Mackey bt Kevin Devanney 11-4,11-6, 11-2.
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SATURDAYS PLAY

Band 1 Men
Robert Gavin bt Dan Keenan before playing Leo Stynen in one semifinal.
Arther Sobel (Germany) bt Marcus McDonnell before playing Tibor Pofok (Hungary) in the other semifinal.

Sobel and Stynan came through to contest the final which Sobel won 11-9, 11-7, 2-11, 11-9

Women Band 1
Sara Dolan bt Deirdre Murphy before playing wheelchair player Kathleen Reynolds in one semifinal.
Rebecca Kenny bt her sister Sarah before playing Audrey Cowan in the other semifinal.

Dolan and Cowan came through to contest the final which Dolan won 11-8, 11-9, 11-9

Men Band 2
Semifinals
Tibor Pofok(Hungary) bt Brian Devereaux, Dan Keenan bt Attila Kovacs (Hungary)

Final
Pofok bt Keenan 12-10, 11-8, 11-8

Ladies Band 2
Semifinals
Sarah Kenny bt Niamh Buttimer, Rebecca Kenny bt Sara Dolan

Final
Rebecca Kenny bt Sarah Kenny 9-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-8

Men Band 3
Semifinals
Karl OCallaghan bt Dave Butler, Attila Kovacs bt Maciek Szymanski

Final
Kovacs bt OCallaghan 6-11, 11-1, 6-11, 12-10, 14-12

Men Band 4
Semifinals
Dave Butler bt James Herley, Attila Mandler bt Maciek Szymanski

Final
Butler bt Mandler 11-9, 11-5, 11-8

First Irish Tournament of the Season 07/08

The first tournament of the season took place over this weekend in the IWA, Clontarf. ALSAA had good results (as usual!) with Kerry Phoenix, Sara Dolan, Sarah Kenny and Rebecca Kenny all making it to the quarters in the Girls U17. They finished 8th, 7th, 5th and 3rd, respectively. Claire Nelson (eventual winner) beat Sara Dolan 3-1 and Becca lost to Clodagh McCullagh in the semi-final. Well done to all of you. More results to follow but feel free to fill in the rest yourselves by leaving a comment!

Catch-up!

Well, it’s been a while since any news has been posted here. Being out of the loop means I rely on people to e-mail me anything that is relevant to ALSAA table tennis club. It can be anything from someone’s birthday to winning the Worlds! Make this site yours! The onus lies not just on one person but everyone- everybody knows how to use e-mail so don’t be afraid to send information to alsaatt@gmail.com. Please, I need something to do!
Right, what I’ve heard is that the ALSAA cadet boys’ team won the Elite competition in Hasselt. A magnificent feat, this is truly a positive result and illustrates the progress Irish table tennis has made in the past few years. Well done lads, you’ll have to go one step further next year to win the Junior title!
The European Youth Championships are now over. Three ALSAA players attended this prestigious competition held in Bratislava, Slovak Republic from the 13th to the 19th of July; Daniel Keenan, Sam Hanley and Rebecca Kenny. I’m unaware of any results but maybe someone would like to tell us a bit about it or leave a quick comment if you know anything concerning it. This competition is renowned for its unbelievably high standards but hopefully each year progress is made as I think is a prime aim of the ITTA.Two ALSAA players, Sarah Dolan and Andrew Campbell, spent two weeks in Sweden at a camp. Care to tell us a bit about it…?