It was a lovely dry and calm evening in Shankill for the U12 boys stars & stripes tennis tournament.

Court 1 – Showcourt
Cathal Smyth & James Sherry were on Showcourt. A big service game for Shankill was met with an equally strong counter service game from Cathal. James ran for every ball…with Cathal and James pushing Shankill to 13-15 in the tie break…however lost 3-10 overall to a very strong Shankill pairing.

Court 2
On Court 2, the 2 Charlie’s – Charlie Hughes and Charlie Doyle were playing some lovely tennis against an even more stylish Shankill team…unfortunately losing 6-7 after picking up the invaluable tie break!

Court 3
On Court 3, it was a first ever competitive match for both Fionn Reynolds and Leo Boucher against an experienced Shankill U12 boys pairing! Fionn covered the back of the court while Leo had the reactions of a cat at the net! Some great tennis was played by our newcomers, however the debutantes lost out 3-10 overall.

So, not the results we hoped for, but the boys enjoyed their games and are getting used to playing competitive tennis and matches!

The Girls arrived in Shankill nice and early to get some practice in and familiarise themselves with the courts. At No. 1 Nia and Molly played with great character and attitude but came up against a strong pairing who took the match 12-1, the score did not reflect the closeness of the battle. At 2nd doubles Saffron and Catherine gelled quickly and kept their focus to win 12-1 and our 3rd pairing of Emma and Maya played some super tennis overcoming a tricky pairing to win 10-3. The girls delivered again this week winning 23-16 overall. Well played to all involved.

Shankill sealed the deal and walked away with a win overall. Better luck next time Sandycove.
We play at home on February 25th v Blackrock. All support welcomed. Hopefully we will see many supporters there to cheer on our juniors.

Junior Committee.