NATIONAL DOUBLE
One wall victories for Wexford duo
LAST WEEKEND the handball folks of the country headed to Breaffy House Hotel in Sligo for the GAA Handball one wall nationals.
It proved to be quite a memorable weekend for Keith Armstrong and Daniel Kavanagh as they collected the 17 and under singles and 19 and under singles titles respectively.
In the 19 and under singles, Armstrong from Kilmyshall began on Friday with a nice 31-11 win over Cathal O’Connor from Roscommon in the one wall form of the game which is rapidly becoming the most played global form of handball.
That win set Armstrong up for the semi-finals and he crushed Westmeath’s Darren Carter by 24 points to 5.
The final was played on Sunday afternoon and Keith met the challenge of the talented Niall Joyce from Mayo.
On this occasion the talent was dished out on a silver plate by Armstrong as he was near flawless in a 23-12 win to secure the 19 and under singles title.
Following that success was another fantastic win on the national stage for Daniel Kavanagh as he proved the master of a very hot 17 and under singles grade.
On the opening day of the competition Kavanagh got two wins as he defeated Conor Walsh from Cork 31-7 before securing a quarter-final victory on a 23-11 scoreline over Ciarán Cuddy from Tyrone.
With the momentum building for the Wexford man, he faced the tough challenge of Tadgh O’Neill from Cork.
These two players have played together on the international scene and against each other in all the grades, so a close game was expected.
It came down to fitness and power and Kavanagh got over the end line with a 16-14 win.
Another familiar foe awaited Daniel in the final as Seán Kerr from Tyrone was his opponent.
Once again a fantastic game of handball ensued and Kavanagh delivered another amazing performance to beat the Tyrone man on a 14-11 scoreline.
In the 13 and under grade, both Mark Doyle and Josh Kavanagh performed well before losing out in the semi-final and final respectively to eventual winner Billy Drennan from Kilkenny.
There was a couple of wins in plate competitions also for Wexford players.
Jimmy Dunne savoured success in the Emerald Masters, while Laurence Dunne was a winner in the B/C doubles as he combined with Daniel Breen from Kilkenny.