Cavan Lawn Tennis Club Closed Week 2022
Last week many of our junior members at the tennis club enjoyed some sport and competition at our annual closed week. From U8s to U18s, there were opportunities for all the juniors to show off their skills and to let their competitive flare run free. Sportsmanship was at an all-time high, as cheers and applause weren’t only heard from partners and spectators, but also from the opposition.
The event was organised by Conall Ruddy and Ciara McMillan, but neither this, nor the summer supervision would have been possible without the help of our committee and the juniors’ parents.
For the youngsters, the competition for U8’s, U9’s and U10’s ran on Thursday morning. We were amazed by our up-and-coming stars that each of them proved themselves to be. Our U8 boys’ winner was Timur Socnevs, U8 girls’ – Alannah Nevin, U9 boys’ – Peter Duignan, U9 girls’ – Tessa Hilton, U10 boys’ – Max McWilliams, U10 girls’ – Áine Burns.
But of course, a prize-giving ceremony could never be complete without a medal, a Mr. Freeze and Haribo’s for everyone in the audience.
As for the rest of our events, Friday was our final’s day. It marked the height of excitement and anticipation in both the players and parents. We had some especially captivating matches and some excruciatingly close scores.
Our U12 boys’ singles winner was Filipe Pinheiro, and runner up, Ryan McWilliams, and our doubles winners being Filipe Pinheiro and Rhys Williams. Our U12 girls’ singles winner was Aoife Lyons, with runner up, Zlata Alexsandrova, with our doubles winners being Cora Hilton and Ava Baker. The U12 mixed doubles winners were Zlata Alexsandrova and Emmet Burns.
For the U14’s, the boys’ singles winner was Henry Clarke and runner up Eoin Burns. The pair then went on to become U14 doubles winners. Our U14 girls’ singles winner was Gabriella Pinheiro with Grace McCusker as runner up. The girls’ doubles winners were Aoife Lyons and Zlata Alexsandrova. The mixed doubles winners were brother and sister, Filipe and Gabriella Pinheiro.
Our U16 boys’ singles winner was Arsen Sakala with runner up Oisin Hilton. The boys’ doubles winners were Oisin Hilton and Daragh Donohoe.
Caitlin Hilton took home the U18 girls’ singles trophy, and Ciara McMillan was the runner up. Our doubles winners were Gabriella Pinheiro and Ciara McMillan. Once again it was a brother-sister duo who took home the gold from the mixed doubles, Oisin and Caitlin Hilton.
The standard of tennis amongst our junior members is always high, but always aided by our summer supervision. This is an amazing facility that the club runs annually that allows kids and teens to play tennis and see their friends every weekday. It trades the competitive atmosphere of closed week for a more relaxed one, allowing them to consistently improve on their skills in a low-pressure environment. It is great to see the juniors enjoying themselves and getting their exercise while the sun beams down on them, however this isn’t always a guarantee in our Isle of Green, so occasionally we had to whip out the chess board and buckaroo. It’s especially rewarding to see their improvement come the end of summer, just in time for closed week. This summer, our supervisors were Conall Ruddy, Ciara McMillan, Maeve Young, Paul Surlis, Andrew Williams and Mark McDwyer.
Lastly, I’d like to thank our junior members for wowing us all this summer, and we are all looking forward to see what you bring next year! With stars like you we know the future of our club is bright.