Gold for local ladies at the German Open Racquetball finals
The local area was very well-represented on the international stage at last weekend’s German Open Racquetball tournament, where players from Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Araglin clubs all travelled to Hamburg and came home with no fewer than five gold medals and seven silver.
Ireland’s women’s national team was made up of three ladies from Fermoy: Ciara Noonan, Hannah Noonan and Abbie O’Meara, who were joined by Caylee Hogan from Mitchelstown. Other players on the Irish team were Castlebar duo Sarah Heneghan and Aoibheann Hanrahan with their captain Cara Delaney, hailing from Galmoy in Co. Kilkenny.
The tournament finished with a doubles final between two local teams, with the two Fermoy girls Abbie O’Meara and Hannah Noonan victorious after defeating their compatriots Cara Delaney and Mitchelstown’s Caylee Hogan 3-1 in the Women’s Open Doubles final.
That wasn’t the only success, as Fermoy’s Brendan Noonan, Ciara’s father, came home from the tournament with a gold medal as well, after winning the Men’s C singles final defeating another Irish man, Brendan Delaney, from Kilkenny.
Meanwhile, the men’s national team included Keelan O’Gorman and Ben Carey (team captain) from Araglin, as well as Mitchelstown’s Dara McNamara and Arklow’s Elliot Young.
Both teams were joined by their coaches Johnny O’Keeney (Fermoy), Mick Cunningham (Araglin) and Majella Havery (Castlebar), while some of the players’ parents also made their way to Germany to compete: Brendan Noonan (as mentioned above), as well as Leah O’Meara, Abbie’s mother; Mary Hogan, the mother of Caylee; Cara’s father Brendan; and Colm Noonan, Hannah’s father.
There were more medals secured, this time of the silver variety, as the doubles team of Ben Carey and Johnny O’Keeney brought home silver in the Men’s Open Doubles, as did Mr O’Keeney again when he was paired with Ciara Noonan for the Mixed Doubles.
Speaking with TheAvondhu on Wednesday this week, coach and selector, Mr O’Keeney, said how even though the tournament was an adults’ one, he had made the decision to bring over the relatively young players to give them a chance and to avail of the experience.
The German Open was held in Hamburg last weekend and the Irish Open will be hosted in early May in Arklow.