News: 2008-2009Ulster Schools' Novice CupOn Wednesday 29th April three teams took part in the Ulster Schools' Novice Cup. This tournament allows pupils who have not represented Ulster or Ireland to compete and enjoy meeting pupils from other schools who share their enthusiasm for the sport. As no other schools entered the U 17 section both senior teams played in the U 19 competition. Robert Cunningham, Robert Bennet and Ryan Latimer – all relative newcomers to the game played some extremely steady squash against much older and stronger competitors. Their determination to chase every ball meant that they were able to give their opponents a harder match than they might have anticipated. Stephen Hill, Niall Hodgins and Patrick Ferrity worked hard also in this U19 section and were unlucky to be placed fourth overall. The under 13 team consisted of James Piggot, Christopher Heath, both Yr 9 pupils, and George Piggot from P7 Junior School. Some very consistent and accurate serving proved too difficult for the opposing teams to return and the scores notched up in each game were impressive. We were delighted to return to school with the U13 trophy for the second year in a row. The most outstanding performance of the day came from George. In his semi final match he found himself 12-4 down in a match requiring 15 points to win. He stoically gathered himself and set about destroying his opponent to win 15 -13. Given that the scoring system was ‘point a rally’ this was indeed an achievement. George showed a maturity beyond his years and deserves our thanks and congratulations. Thanks also to Ben Craig for accompanying the teams and acting as team coach and mentor. |