European U15/17 – U15’s Win a Silver Medal!!

  • The U15/17 European Championships take place in Eindhoven from May 9th to 12th.

Draw/Results 

U15 are in Pool C and U17’s are in Pool D

Live Streaming

Show Court Only

The Irish teams are as follows

Under 15

Denis Gilevskiy, Dylan Moran, Jack O’Flynn, Aimee McConnell, Sophie Thomas

Under 17

Jake Creaven, Brenda Li, Hannah McGugan, Omar Wahed, Sean White

Coaches: David Noone & Alex Fuller

_________________________________________________________________

U15&U17 European Junior Championships, Eindhoven, 2019

 
UNDER 15
IRELAND U15’S WIN A SILVER MEDAL
 

Day 4:

Finals day. 
It’s not often an Irish squash team get the chance to wake up on the Sunday of a major championships and have breakfast together looking forward to a final. Today was special. A really good feeling all morning long, not too stressed or panicked, a sense of belief in the air.
The English have won the 15/17 double for the past fifteen years! An extra incentive for us to try and stop their dominance. 
We arrived at the club as a team, draped our flags behind the court and began our practice. It was our first match on the unusual show court, the left side wall and back wall was all glass, allowing for a fairly big crowd in the gallery seating off the side wall. 
Warm ups complete and we were ready to rock, the announcer calling in both teams to motivational music being pumped from the giant speakers. The playing order today was boy2, boy1, girl1. Meaning Dylan, Denis and Sophie in that order. 
Dylan was up first, unusual that he got to play a match that wasn’t a decider. On paper, he was a major underdog. His form has been outstanding all week, so we felt that this could be something special, bearing in mind that Denis was a strong favourite in the following match.

It’s a struggle to explain the emotion of what followed. Dylan Moran was incredible. He executed the game plan to a tee. Played the big points like a boss, sent serious warning signs to the English camp and looked in total control. He won the first two games with conviction! The excitement of knowing it was in touching distance was palpable. Imagine having a front row seat to the Irish beating the all blacks a few months ago, a relatively similar feeling, in our beautiful minority sport.
The gallery was jammed, every country roaring for Dylan and the Irish. Game three saw him take the lead early, unfortunately he didn’t keep it and lost that game, close though. Confidence was still high! Game four, 4-0 lead. The habit of winning returning to his game.. he kept a lead right to the end but somehow it got away in the dying points, into a fifth it went. 
Great start again, still attacking in all the right areas, using his guile and court craft to perfection, got an 8-4 lead. Hearts in our mouths, it was looking good. A few clipped tins, millimetres away from victory.. all of a sudden it was 9-9. Big points ahead. Dylan played them well, some would say slightly passive but he was controlling the ball well. An unlucky call from the ref, stroke to England, match ball. A lengthy rally finished with a punishing forehand volley to give the match to England. Hearts sank to the floor in the Irish camp, and every other camp too – completely devastated. 
A truly special performance from the young Sutton player, he did himself, his team and his country extremely proud this week!

Denis was up next to try and level the tie. He played Jonah Bryant, one of the best U15 players in the world and a British Junior Open Champion. The stage was set for a big match and Denis was well up for the task. 
Jonah tried to slow Denis down, which he did well. It wasn’t like some of his other matches, much more skill based and the physicality was taken out of it by his opponents tactics. It really didn’t matter though, Denis showed his true class and beat him in that type of game too. It did get more physical towards the end, thankfully Denis got us over the line in three! We rely on Denis for these wins, sometimes take them for granted. He was a real leader this week and hats off to his world class attitude and work ethic. Such an incredible champion.

Sophie had a daunting task for the decider. The English girls are traditionally the best in Europe by some way. This year was no different. Emma Bartley towered over her opponents all week and brought her A game to the final. Sophie fought valiantly but was always up against it. She lost in three, meaning England were crowned champions… once again. 
An amazing team effort from Ireland to get so close, on the cusp of something really special! It was a pleasure to be part of and hopefully memories for life for the young players.

The U17’s had to try and motivate themselves to play Scotland in the playoff positions. A tough task after such an emotional match. They unfortunately lost 2-1, Hannah grabbing another win in what was a great week for her!

An early flight time meant that we missed the podium presentation but it was great to see the silver medals around the five team members necks. They will surely be proud of all their performances, 2nd place in a European team event is an inspiration to all young Irish players to follow.

A great week had by all in Eindhoven, memories made and the sense of team definitely played its role. A lot of great squash and lessons learned for all involved.

Thanks to all who supported, sent good luck messages to the team and those who flew over in support. It’s a magical event and would be hard beat in any other sport.

David Noone
Junior National Coach

 
 

EnglandENG – IRLIreland2-1

Time: Sun 12/05/2019 11:00
Draw: U15 – U15 – Pos. 1-8
Score: 2-1
Match overview
Order Event EnglandENG IRLIreland Score Points     Duration
1 BS2
Yusuf Sheikh England
Ireland Dylan Moran
8-11 8-11 11-9 11-7 11-9 1-0     0:40
2 BS1
Jonah Bryant England
Ireland Denis Gilevskiy
7-11 7-11 8-11 0-1     0:31
3 GS
Emma Bartley England
Ireland Sophie Thomas
11-4 11-4 11-0 1-0     0:12

UNDER 17

 
 

ScotlandSCO – IRLIreland2-1

Time: Sun 12/05/2019 12:00
Draw: U17 – U17 – Pos. 9-16
Score: 2-1

 

Match overview
Order Event ScotlandSCO IRLIreland Score Points     Duration
1 BS2
Ben Orr Scotland
Ireland Jake Creaven
7-11 11-7 11-9 11-8 1-0     2:01
2 BS1
Andrew Glen Scotland
Ireland Sean White
11-8 11-13 11-3 11-7 1-0      
3 GS
Lucy Murchie Scotland
Ireland Hannah Mcgugan
3-11 11-7 11-13 0-1
 
 
IRELAND INTO EURO U15s FINAL!!

 

Day 3:

Another day of mixed fortunes, luckily the highs far out weighed the lows and as a unit, we’re in a pretty good place! Emotions ran high in the U15 camp, both their matches coming down to a decider, both played by the man of the moment… Mr Dylan Moran. U17’s has a tough run, they will have learned a lot about playing squash at the top level and how much endurance is a crucial part of any high performance sport.

Our U15’s had their 1/4 final nice and early, taking on the Czechs, our nemesis in other age categories recently.. Denis was his usual menacing self, ripping his opponent from corner to corner, giving him zero chance to compete. To quote one of his 5 nations team mates, Maria Protsepova, “who in their right mind would step on the court with him”…. Denis won 3-0.
Sophie had a big ask in her match, she dug in but unfortunately couldn’t get any rhythm going, her loss putting it down to the deciding match. Dylan was the favourite, rightfully so, he was far superior in all departments and cruised to a victory, just one small hiccup in the 3rd game. His win brought us into pretty exciting territory, semifinals!!!

Without too much rest time, we took on the Welsh who had a massive win over the French – one of the noisiest junior ties I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. A true nail bitter, the girls match going to 13-13 in the 5th!!
Dan Lewis was the poor soul who had the misfortune of tackling Denis in the first game of semi. As expected, Denis won a quick three games and set the standard for the rest.. Sophie was up against Alyx Kelleher, hoping to better her 3-1 loss from the Five Nations in Dublin in early April. It may not have been Sophie’s best match today, nerves playing a heavy role in her performance. None the less, Sophie dug deep but came up short. Once again, Dylan Moran was stepping up to the plate for the decider.
He was on fire! Carrying on from his mega win against the Dutch yesterday, his rich vein of form continued and he controlled his angles, lobs and aggression perfectly. It was tense, very tense. The prize was big for both teams, a place in the final is a mammoth achievement. Serious pressure in the camp, but thankfully Dylan played it pretty cool and didn’t put a foot wrong. Winning it well in the end and earning us a shot at the title against the ever powerful English. That final will be live streamed for any supporters keen on watching.. It will also feature the past three British Open U13 winners, world class squash is a guarantee..

Our U17’s played Sweden and Israel. Sweden first in the afternoon, this was a physical one! Sean White was up first, the no.1 slot. The first two games were punishing, he worked so hard but fell just short in each. 2-0 down. All week Sean has been going deep into his well of grit and determination and never have I seen someone more deserved of a win! He battled in every point, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in 5. What a relief for him to get his win and he really did fight hard for it. 3-2 Sean, 1-0 Ireland. Brenda Li was up next, a tough competitor but unfortunately didn’t have what it took to take down the Swedish girl. Losing in 3 but we still had a chance with Jake Creaven playing the decider. He put in a hard shift, grinding out tough rally after tough rally. All three games going the distance, all three games also going to the Swedes..
A tough pill to swallow but hopefully lessons learned!!
No joy against Israel either, Hannah the sole victor in that tie. She pulverised her opponent but both Sean and Omar were unfortunately on the receiving end of 3/0 losses.
A barbecue and DJ party in the club for the juniors to enjoy before finals day tomorrow..
All going to plan it could be a historical day for Irish Junior Squash..
Best of luck guys!!!!!!

David Noone
Junior National Coach

 
SEMI FINAL
 

IrelandIRL – WALWales: 2-1

Time: Sat 11/05/2019 14:00
Draw: U15 – U15 – Pos. 1-8
Score: 2-1
Match overview
Order Event IrelandIRL WALWales Score Points     Duration
1 BS1
Denis Gilevskiy Ireland
Wales Daniel Lewis
11-6 11-0 11-6 1-0     0:19
2 GS
Sophie Thomas Ireland
Wales Alyx Kelleher
1-11 6-11 8-11 0-1     0:17
3 BS2
Dylan Moran Ireland
Wales Lewys Audsley
11-8 11-8 11-5 1-0     0:20
 
 
QUARTER FINAL
 

IrelandIRL – CZECzech Republic: 2-1

Time: Sat 11/05/2019 10:00
Draw: U15 – U15 – Pos. 1-8
Score: 2-1
Match overview
Order Event IrelandIRL CZECzech Republic Score Points     Duration
1 BS1
Denis Gilevskiy Ireland
Czech Republic Farid Farrag
11-1 11-2 11-4 1-0     0:17
2 GS
Sophie Thomas Ireland
Czech Republic Riana Alexova
6-11 4-11 2-11 0-1     0:16
3 BS2
Dylan Moran Ireland
Czech Republic Alex Kelar
11-9 11-2 9-11 11-6 1-0     0:27

UNDER 17’S 9-16th PLAY OFF

SwedenSWE – IRLIreland: 2-1

Time: Sat 11/05/2019 12:00
Draw: U17 – U17 – Pos. 9-16
Score: 2-1
Match overview
Order Event SwedenSWE IRLIreland Score Points     Duration
1 BS1
Fabian Stämneryd Sweden
Ireland Sean White
11-8 13-11 9-11 9-11 8-11 0-1     0:53
2 GS
Moa Bönnemark Sweden
Ireland Brenda Li
11-6 11-7 11-6 1-0     0:17
3 BS2
Neo Friberg Sweden
Ireland Jake Creaven
11-7 13-11 16-14 1-0     0:34

DAY 1 & 2

Mixed fortunes in the group stages for our talented young players. Our under 15’s played out of their skin, topping the group. Not so much joy for the under 17 team, finishing 3rd.

Over two long and arduous days of play the group stages were decided. Both age groups were in a pool of five, both looking to make the 1/4 final. Four matches in two days may not seem too hectic but when coupled with 10 hours in a squash club, supporting your team mates and listening to the thud of balls hitting the walls non stop, it can be fairly energy draining. All Irish players, to their credit, lined the back of the courts for all games, set up a stall with flags and were fully vocal in their support for each other. An amazing thing to be part of for any sports person.

The surroundings in ‘Squash Time’ Eindhoven are top notch, 15 courts, one with a full glass side wall with gallery seating to its side and at the back wall, a very nice bar for some refreshments. Amazingly, when international play stopped, all 15 courts would fill up with local club players, a pretty impressive sight!

Our Irish U15 team consists of Denis Gilevskiy, Dylan Moran, Jack O’Flynn, Sophie Thomas and Aimee McConnell. Each tie has two boys and one girl representing Ireland. The team got off to a flyer against Sweden, not tested too much and got out the gap winning 3-0. Greece were our second opponents and they suffered a similar fate, 3-0 Ireland and all five players contributing. 
Day two had us pitched against the hosts and 3rd seeded Netherlands. This was ultimately the deciding tie for the group and we were up against it. Sophie played well but lost the opener against former Mount Pleasant member Naomi Nohar. Denis put in a sublime performance against a top opponent and kept him below 5 points in each game, he’s playing some seriously good squash and is an inspiration to anyone watching him. Luckily Dylan was watching and was inspired, in the deciding match he came out of the blocks like lightening. The pressure was on and he dug deep, controlling his opponent with delicate front court work and exquisite lifts into the back corners. He kept a great level of consistency and showed great maturity to take the match in a tough 4 games in front of a packed house! Even the ESF referee had support, from his mother! my first time witnessing that!!
We finished off beating Germany 2-1, Denis and Jack seeing us over the line. 
That sees us safely into the 1/4 final, taking on our old squash foes the Czech Republic. Wish us luck..

The U17’s were up against it this year. A few new faces in the team for the boys, Sean White, Omar Wahed and Jake Creaven. Seasoned campaigners at this stage for the female contingent, Hannah McGuggan and Brenda Li.
A stern opening test against an ever improving Polish side, where we unfortunately lost 2-1. Hannah pulling of the win for us there!
Day one’s evening match was winnable, against the Germans. Sean played very well, strong in all departments and manged to get stuck into his extremely tall opponent. They went blow for blow to the end but Sean was unfortunate being on the end of a few outrageous winners and couldn’t get over the line. Omar battled hard and it could have went either way but it wasn’t to be, a little fatigue setting in towards the end of a tough match. 
Hannah lost the first game in her match, she mustn’t have like that feeling very much because she blew her opponent off the court for the next three games, a great performance. 
The U17’s also has Greece in their pool. Easing past them in the morning session, nice wins for Sean, Jake and Brenda.
Spain proved very difficult in the afternoon though. Hannah pushed the athletic Spanish girl, one of Europe’s finest players, in each game. Having multiple game balls but to no avail. Impressive performance non the less. Same for the boys, close but no cigar.. 
We play for 9-16 over the next two days in the U17. Sweden our first match in the morning.

David Noone, National Junior Coach

UNDER 15’s

Standings of U15 – Pool C
    Points Played Won Draws Lost Rubbers Games Points
1 IRLIreland 8 4 4 0 0 10 2 30 8 372 243
2 NEDNetherlands 6 4 3 0 1 10 2 31 6 380 215
3 GERGermany 4 4 2 0 2 7 5 21 19 318 342
4 SWESweden 2 4 1 0 3 2 10 10 30 288 378
5 GREGreece 0 4 0 0 4 1 11 4 33 212 392

Show draw…

Latest matches of U15 – Pool C
  Time Home Away Score Court
  Thu 09/05/2019 10:00 Germany [11]Germany GreeceGreece [19] 3-0 Squash Time – 05
  Thu 09/05/2019 12:00 Ireland [6]Ireland SwedenSweden [14] 3-0 Squash Time – 11
  Thu 09/05/2019 14:00 Netherlands [3]Netherlands GermanyGermany [11] 3-0 Squash Time – 04
  Thu 09/05/2019 16:00 Ireland [6]Ireland GreeceGreece [19] 3-0 Squash Time – 05
  Thu 09/05/2019 18:00 Netherlands [3]Netherlands SwedenSweden [14] 3-0 Squash Time – SC
  Fri 10/05/2019 10:00 Netherlands [3]Netherlands GreeceGreece [19] 3-0 Squash Time – 05
  Fri 10/05/2019 12:00 Germany [11]Germany SwedenSweden [14] 3-0 Squash Time – 06
  Fri 10/05/2019 14:00 Netherlands [3]Netherlands IrelandIreland [6] 1-2 Squash Time – 05
  Fri 10/05/2019 16:00 Sweden [14]Sweden GreeceGreece [19] 2-1 Squash Time – 05
  Fri 10/05/2019 18:00 Ireland [6]Ireland GermanyGermany [11] 2-1 Squash Time – 11

UNDER 17’s

Standings of U17 – Pool D
    Points Played Won Draws Lost Rubbers Games Points
1 ESPSpain 8 4 4 0 0 10 2 32 9 419 297
2 GERGermany 6 4 3 0 1 8 4 28 17 420 351
3 POLPoland 4 4 2 0 2 7 5 24 16 385 292
4 IRLIreland 2 4 1 0 3 5 7 16 22 312 327
5 GREGreece 0 4 0 0 4 0 12 0 36 130 399

Show draw…

Latest matches of U17 – Pool D
  Time Home Away Score Court
  Thu 09/05/2019 10:00 Poland [12]Poland GreeceGreece [20] 3-0 Squash Time – 06
  Thu 09/05/2019 12:00 Spain [5]Spain GermanyGermany [13] 2-1 Squash Time – 06
  Thu 09/05/2019 14:00 Ireland [4]Ireland PolandPoland [12] 1-2 Squash Time – 11
  Thu 09/05/2019 16:00 Spain [5]Spain GreeceGreece [20] 3-0 Squash Time – 04
  Thu 09/05/2019 18:00 Ireland [4]Ireland GermanyGermany [13] 1-2 Squash Time – 10
  Fri 10/05/2019 10:00 Ireland [4]Ireland GreeceGreece [20] 3-0 Squash Time – 06
  Fri 10/05/2019 12:00 Poland [12]Poland GermanyGermany [13] 1-2 Squash Time – 09
  Fri 10/05/2019 14:00 Ireland [4]Ireland SpainSpain [5] 0-3 Squash Time – 10
  Fri 10/05/2019 16:00 Germany [13]Germany GreeceGreece [20] 3-0 Squash Time – 06
  Fri 10/05/2019 18:00 Spain [5]Spain PolandPoland [12] 2-1 Squash Time – 06