Eleven county titles on offer as Tyrone’s young talent is showcased…

Wednesday 03.04.2013

Club

The 2013 Tyrone juvenile handball championship finals will take place this Sunday in Carrickmore, with eleven county singles titles up for grabs in what is guaranteed to be a thrilling programme of games.
There has been some great action served up in all competitions in recent weeks and there will be no shortage of talent on display when the titles are being decided this weekend.
The under-10 boys and girls competitions were both played down to the final inside the last week, with Dearbhail Farley and Clodagh Munroe qualifying for the girls final last Saturday afternoon in Beragh, and cousins Lorcan McGarrity and Ruairi Canavan winning through to meet in the boys final thanks to Tuesday night’s semi-final wins over Eoin McElholm and Jack Darcy in Loughmacrory .
The under-12 boys and girls county finals will both be quality affairs, with boys finalists Lorcan McBride and Dara Curran having already made a big name for themselves in their short handball careers to date, not least in the world championships in Dublin last October. Lorcan, the world under-11 singles champion, will be the favourite to prevail but an exciting contest is certainly in store.
And the girls under-12 singles final will see Elizabeth McGarvey up against Caitlin Conway, two players who have already won several Ulster titles between them this year. Elizabeth is the Ulster under-12 singles champion for 2013 and Caitlin is the under-12 doubles champion along with her Loughmacrory clubmate Mairead Fox.
The under-13 boys and girls finals are also set to be superb encounters featuring four recent Ulster title winners. The boys final will see Ulster under-13 singles champion Cormac Munroe taking on provincial doubles winner Antoin Fox, two young players who have been racking up plenty of big victories in the last couple of seasons.
The same two players recently came up against each other in an all-Tyrone national Gael Linn final which produced a narrow win for Carrickmore’s Munroe, whose partner in that historic under-13 success, Ciara Mullan, will feature in Sunday’s girls final against her Ulster winning under-13 doubles partner, Michaela McCartan. This should turn out to be another cracking game between two talented young girls.
The under-14 boys decider on Sunday will feature recently crowned Ulster under-14 singles champion Turlough Clarke and provincial doubles runner-up Ciaran Cuddy, with Breacach and Carrickmore also set to contest the under-15 singles final courtesy of Tiernan McCrystal and Ciaran Daly, who both represented the county in this year’s Ulster championships.
There are four quality players still in contention for the Tyrone under-16 title, with the semi-finals due to be wrapped up by the weekend. Ulster under-16 doubles champions, Sean Kerr and Jack Campbell, are involved in one semi-final and Niall Allison and Aaron Owens will clash in the other semi-final. The quality in this grade can be summed up by the fact that either Jack or Sean, two players who starred and triumphed at the highest level in 2012, will not make the county final.
In the under-14 girls singles event, Eve Loughran and Maeve McElroy will meet in an all-Carrickmore final, while Eilise McCrory will take on one of the Ulster under-15 doubles winners, Sinead Donnelly or Aoibhinn McAnespie, in the county under-15 girls final. Eilise will have an even bigger game on Saturday as she goes for glory in Belfast in the All-Ireland under-15 singles final, so she will be hoping to arrive in Carrickmore on Sunday as both the Ulster and All-Ireland champion in this age group.
Overall there will be lots of provincial, national and even international medalists on show in Carrickmore this Sunday for an afternoon of handball that will showcase the outstanding young talent that is emerging in Tyrone.

TYRONE JUVENILE HANDBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013

COUNTY SINGLES FINALS – Sunday 7th April in Carrickmore

UNDER-10 BOYS
Lorcan McGarrity v Ruairi Canavan
UNDER-10 GIRLS
Dervla Farley v Cloideach Munroe
UNDER-12 BOYS
Lorcan McBride v Dara Curran
UNDER-12 GIRLS
Elizabeth McGarvey v Caitlin Conway
UNDER-13 BOYS
Cormac Munroe v Antoin Fox
UNDER-13 GIRLS
Ciara Mullan v Michaela McCartan
UNDER-14 BOYS
Ciaran Cuddy v Turlough Clarke
UNDER-14 GIRLS
Eve Loughran v Maeve McElroy
UNDER-15 BOYS
Tiernan McCrystal v Ciaran Daly
UNDER-15 GIRLS
Eilise McCrory v Sinead Donnelly or Aoibhinn McAnespie
UNDER-16 BOYS
Sean Kerr v Niall Allison