West of Ireland Open

Galway Lawn Tennis Club will again be playing host to this year’s ‘Paddy Whack Walsh’ West of Ireland Open Squash Championships.  The club is preparing for what promises to be a really exciting tournament with some of the best professional squash players coming to Galway to compete for the coveted West of Ireland trophy.

Again the event will be streamed live on IRISH SQUASH TV HERE

The event is again sponsored by Garavan’s Bar. Our sole sponsor has supported the event for many years and is the only reason why the event can go ahead. It is one of only two events that sees professional squash players compete on these shores. GLTC is extremely grateful to Paul Garavan of Garavan’s Bar for his incredible support.

Round 1

Paddy Whack Walsh West of Ireland Squash Championships 2015

Main Draw First Round Results

Ali Farag bt Rui Soares 3-0 11-5 11-9 11-7 in 21 minutes

 James Earles bt Sanjay Singh Chal 3-1 11-13 15-13 11-8 11-6 in 46 minutes

Jan Van Den Herrewegen bt Jens Schoor 3-2 12-10 2-11 11-7 8-11 11-9 in 68 minutes

Carlos Cornes Rabadas bt Miachael Craig 3-1 11-8 5-11 11-9 19-17 in 70 minutes

Douglas Kempsell bt Ivan Yuen 3-1 11-7 7-11 11-9 11-9 in 69 minutes.

Shehab  Essam bt James Huang 3-1 11-7 4-11 16-14 11-7 in 34 minutes

Rex Hendrick bt Brian Byrne 3-1 9-11 11-3 11-7 11-2 51 minutes

Mohamed Elgawarthy bt Mahesh Mangaonkar 3-0 11-8 11-6 11-9 in 39 minutes

Qualfying

In the final qualifying 2 out of 3 irish players got through to the main draw – Michael Craig and Brian Byrne. Unfortunatly Sean Conroy lost out. Craig beat the no. 1 seed Robert Downer from England 3-2 and Byrne beat another Englishman Ashley Davies 3-2. Two great wins. Conroy lost 3-2 to Portugal’s Rui Soares.

[1] Robert Downer (ENG)

4-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 3-11 (2-3)
[L] Michael Craig (IRL) WON
[L] Brian Byrne (IRL) WON

11-5, 3-11, 7-11, 13-11, 12-10 (3-2)
[5] Ashley Davies (ENG)

[7] Rui Soares (POR) WON

13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 11-4 (3-2)
[4] Sean Conroy (IRL)

 MAIN DRAW – Thursday 16/4/15

[1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
19:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY)
19:00, 17 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
15:00, 18 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
15:00, 19 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
Shehab Essam (EGY)
18:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 6)
[6] James Huang (TPE)
[7] James Earles (ENG)
16:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 6)
Sanjay Singh Chal (MAS)
16:00, 17 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[Q] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (BEL)
16:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[3] Jens Schoor (GER)
[4] Ali Farag (EGY)
15:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[Q] Rui Soares (POR)
17:00, 17 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
16:00, 18 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
Douglas Kempsell (SCO)
17:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[5] Ivan Yuen (MAS)
[8] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP)
17:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 6)
[Q] Michael Craig (NIR)
18:00, 17 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[Q] Brian Byrne (IRL)
18:00, 16 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[2] Rex Hedrick (AUS)
Round 1

 

The qualifiers started on Tuesday 14th with great success for the Irish players with Michael Craig, Brian Byrne and Sean Conroy all winning their matches.  Sean actually beat local Galway player David Noone. The final round is on Wed 15th April.

Round 1 Final round
14 Apr 2015 15 Apr 2015
[1] Robert Downer (ENG)
16:00, 14 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[Bye]
[1] Robert Downer (ENG)
16:00, 15 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[L] Michael Craig (NIR)
[L] Michael Craig (NIR)
11-6, 11-2, 11-6 (3-0)
[8] Mike Lewis (USA)
[7] Rui Soares (POR)
11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (3-0)
Joeri Hapers (BEL)
[7] Rui Soares (POR)
17:00, 15 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[4] Sean Conroy (IRL)
[L] David Noone (IRL)
2-11, 4-11, 5-11 (0-3)
[4] Sean Conroy (IRL)
[3] Arthur Moineau (FRA)
4-11 retired (0-1)
[L] Brian Byrne (IRL)
[L] Brian Byrne (IRL)
18:00, 15 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[5] Ashley Davies (ENG)
Connor Sheen (ENG)
7-11, 7-11, 8-11 (0-3)
[5] Ashley Davies (ENG)
[6] Micah Franklin (BER)
11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (3-0)
[L] Keith Moran (IRL)
[6] Micah Franklin (BER)
19:00, 15 Apr 2015 (ct. 1)
[2] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (BEL)
[Bye]
16:00, 14 Apr 2015 (ct. 6)
[2] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (BEL)
Round 1 Final round

 

This year is going to be particularly exciting. As the event continues to grow we are seeing players with higher and higher rankings come to play the event which is a huge compliment to us at GLTC. This year’s number 1 seed is Mahesh Mangaonkar  from India who has a world ranking of 45! He is scheduled to meet Rex Hedrick in the final if all goes to plan. Hedrick, the number 2 seed from Australia is world ranked no. 52. All in all it should be a really exciting event.

The first round of qualification kicks off on Tuesday 14th April.  Please try and get down to the event to give John your support.

As far as other Irish contenders are concerned we have  Sean Conroy from Dublin who is training and playing full time as a PSA player now, has made the qualification draw so hopefully he can do well and qualify for the main draw too. We also have Keith Moran from Sligo, Michael Craig from Belfast and Brian Byrne from Claremorris competing in the ‘local spot’ positions so good luck to them too!

The schedule for the event is as follows:   Tuesday 14th April: first round qualification, Wednesday 15th April: final round qualification, Thursday 16th April: main draw first round, Friday 17th April: PSA quarter finals and first round for the graded events Saturday 18th April: PSA semi finals with second day for the graded events Sunday 19th April: PSA and graded finals day.

For tournament entry and information see HERE 

LINKS

Www.gltc.ie

Www.garavansbar.ie

Www.psaworldtour.com

Andre Davies West of Ireland Tournament Director.