JUNIOR GIRLS REPORT
TEAM LINDA O SULLIVAN, SABRINA CONWAY, NPC ARTHUR BRETT

HI FROM SUNNY ITALY. OUR TOURNAMENT GOT OFF TO A VERY POSITIVE START WITH A VERY EXCITING MATCH AGAINST CYPRUS. WHEN RAIN STOPPED PLAY WE WERE LEADING 2-1, BUT AFTER A HALF HOUR DELAY, WE CONTINUED AND FINALLY SUCCUMBED TO A 2-3, DEUCE IN THE THIRD, DEFEAT.

THIS GREAT MATCH WAS FOLLOWED BY 3-0 DEFEATS AGAINST BOSNIA AND LATVIA. BOTH GIRLS PERFORMED VERY WELL IN THE FIRST STAGES OF THIS GROUP, WITH THE OPPOSITION PROVING A LITTLE TOO STRONG.

THE SECOND GROUP STAGE CONSISTED OF MATCHES AGAINST TURKEY, FINLAND AND LUXEMBOURG. AGAIN, DESPITE THEIR BEST EFFORTS, THE OPPOSITION WERE A LITTLE MORE POLISHED IN TAKING THEIR OPPORTUNITIES, WITH THE GIRLS AGAIN SUFFERING 3-0 DEFEATS AGAINST ALL THREE TEAMS.

IN THE FINAL PLAYOFF STAGES, THE IRISH GIRLS BEAT ICELAND 3-1, WITH HONOURS EVEN ON THE TEAM WITH ONE SINGLES APIECE AND THEN A COMBINED EFFORT IN THE DOUBLES.

BOTH GIRLS PERFORMED TO A HIGH LEVEL IN ALL MATCHES, BUT WITH THE COMBINATION OF A TOUGH DRAW AND MATCH HARDENED OPPOSITION, THE GOING WAS VERY TOUGH.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SQUAD FOR THEIR EFFORTS IN MAKING THE TRIP SO ENJOYABLE. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY FELLOW NPCs FOR ALL THEIR HELP DURING THE PAST WEEK - Arthur

26/7/01
Just a quick mail - news almost as it happens!;
Individuals started this morning. Unfortunately, Sean, Colin & Conor all lost their first round matches, all of them starting sluggishly and playing well below their best.

The good news - John Murphy played a super match to beat his Bosnian opponent, coming from about 12 points behind in the last set to take the match 19 in the third. He qualifies for the 2nd round, where he will meet the Spanish No. 2. - R

CADET BOYS FINISHED 28th
The Cadet boys faced a tough day of matches at the hot and sunny Palace of Sport in Terni yesterday. First we played against Estonia and lost 3-0. Ross played excellent in this match against the strong Estonia No.1 but lost out in a tough match. Peter played a great match to run the Estonian No.2 to 19 in the third. Later on against Wales Peter beat Aled Rhys-Howell to put us one nil up. Then Ross played Welsh No.1 Liam Thomas and gave a great performance playing the best backhand of the tournament before losing 14,15 Eventually we lost 3-1 and had to play the 27/28 playoff against Norway. We lost 3-0 to finish up 28th.

The Junior Boys and Junior girls both won their first matches. The Boys beat Cyprus 4-2 with Conor Nolan being man of the match and winning his two singles. The girls beat Iceland 3-1 The singles start on thursday and the finals of the team events are on at 2pm today. But the real star of yesterday's play was Arthur's brillant throw to the bus driver's head with Peter's football.You had to be there!!!
Greetings from John at Terni

JUNIOR GIRLS 38-39th
IRELAND - ICELAND 3-1
O'SULLIVAN L. - HJALMARSDOTTIR K.: 21-10;15-21;16-21;
CONWAY S. - OLAFS H.: 21-14;21-23;21-9;
CONWAY S./O'SULLIVAN L. - HJALMARSDOTTIR K./LARUSDOTTIR A.: 21-18;23-21;
O'SULLIVAN L. - OLAFS H.: 21-12;17-21;21-17;

JUNIOR BOYS
IRELAND - FINLAND 2-4
BRADY S. - RAUVOLA M.: 21-15;8-21;21-10;
BYRNE C. - MALMSTROM T.: 15-21;20-22;
MURPHY J. - KANANEN M.: 19-21;16-21;
BRADY S./BYRNE C. - MALMSTROM T./RAUVOLA M.: 18-21;13-21;
BYRNE C. - RAUVOLA M.: 21-14;21-16;
BRADY S. - KANANEN M.: 21-10;13-21;13-21;

CADET BOYS
IRELAND - TURKEY 0-3
CULLEN R. - AVCI S.: 9-21;4-21;
GRAHAM P. - HACI H.: 10-21;17-21;
CULLEN R./GRAHAM P. - AVCI S./HACI H.: 19-21;6-21;
IRELAND TO PLAY NORWAY FOR 27-28th

22/07/01
Day 3: An early start for the Cadet Boys and Junior Girls as they get up at 6.30 to have breakfast and head for the hall to practice for their nine o'clock matches. Both teams had difficult matches. The junior girls lost 3-0 to Luxembourg and the Cadet boys lost 3-0 to Turkey, both teams played well aagainst a good class of opposition. The Junior boys played a little later against Bosnia and they lost 4-1 with Sean Brady again winning a singles

There was a lot of excitment in the hall today as the final rounds of the competition get underway. The Irish teams watched the last 16 of all age groups before hitting the practice hall again to prepare for tomorrow's matches

The quarter finals of the junior boys are on tonight with Poland playing surprise winners over Russia,Slovakia and Hungary facing the strong Germans. In the other half of the draw Sweden play Croatia and Shock quarter finalists England play France.

There was some slagging of the Cadet boys today when we discovered that their photo was on the official Euro Website. All the best from Hot and sunny Terni John O'Donoghue

22/07/01 Junior Boys Results:
Level 2, Stage 1
Ireland lost to Romania 0-4
Ireland lost to Estonia 1-4
Ireland lost to Wales 0-4

Level 3, Stage 1
Ireland lost to Finland 2-4
Ireland lost to Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-4

Level 3, Stage 2
Ireland bye
Ireland v. Cyprus/Iceland (37th/38th position)

Junior Boys had a really tough draw, facing the defending European Junior Champion, Constantin Cioti, on the Romanian Team, and also last years beaten singles finalist, Adam Robertson, playing for Wales, in the first round group. Estonia, the other team in the group, proved just a little too strong in depth, with Sean Brady taking the only point here.

In the second stage, we had another tough draw, facing Finland and Bosnia. We did have chances here, but we just werent firing on all cylinders. Colin and Sean took the points against Finland. Final group match against Bosnia, the team played their best yet, with Brady, Murphy & Byrne putting in excellent performances. Brady took the point here again. Final team playoff is tomorrow.

Regards from sunny Italy, Richard Butler

Saturday 21st July:
Update: Junior Boys lost to Wales 4-0. Junior boys lost to Finland 4-2, at 3-2 down Sean Brady who had already won one match lost 22-20 in the third set, while Colin Byrne won one match. Ireland lost 4-2.
Junior Girls lost to Latvia 3-0 and Turkey 3-0. Not such a good day for the teams. The Cadet Boys will play Turkey on Sunday 22nd and Estonia on 23rd. The weather has improved and was a gloriously sunny day.

Saturday 21st July:
Update: I have managed to get into the email here at the exciting press centre(one computer in a tent) Good news is that the weather is hot and sunny today. The junior boys are playing against Wales at 11.30 - Jon

Friday 20th July:
CADET BOYS REACH TOP 30.
A combination of good play and a little luck the Irish Cadets finished second in their group. Peter Graham has shown some excellent form at his first Europeans taking a singles victory in his first match against Switzerland and winning both singles against the Macedonians. Team-mate Ross Cullen combined well in the doubles to take a 3-1 victory over Macedonia. Ireland was then given a walk over against the Ukraine when they failed to show for their match. This puts Ireland into the 17-28th position play-offs. Even if they fail to win another match 28th position will be an excellent finish for the young Irish team with Peter Graham still eligible to play at U14 next year.

RAIN STOPS PLAY!
Not every thing is so sunny out in Italy. The Irish Junior Girls had to change tables during their cliff hanger of a match against Cyprus. This is not the first time rain has delayed play at a major tournament but for an indoor sport it ranks within the unusual. The two teams were neck and neck at two all in the fifth and they lost the final set 22-20. Bosnia proved to be too strong in their second match of the day, Ireland losing 3-0.The team play Latvia on Saturday.
The Junior Boys found things very tough against a strong Romanian team featuring Constantine Cioti the European No.1. A good performance saw Sean Brady take their first U17 win against Estonia but they were unable to take any more and lost the match 4-1. The Irish lads will now take on the Welsh team, including one of the tournament favourites Adam Robertson on Saturday.

"IT'S VERY SCENIC!"
John O'Donoghue described the accommodation at the Europeans as a farmhouse up on the side of a hill and when he says farm house he means it. Basic would be another description with very few amenities and the owners with no English between them. There was even a little panic in the voice when there was no TV to be found. The rain and the lightning has also added some colour to the trip, I left John sorting out whether the bus would actually get up the hill and whether the bus driver actually wanted to go that way anyway!


Teams
U14 Boys: R.Cullen, P.Graham NPC. John O'Donoghue.
U17 Girls: S.Conway, L.O'Sullivan NPC. Arthur Brett.
U17 Boys: S.Brady, C.Byrne, J.Murphy, C.Nolan. NPC Richard Butler.

JUNIOR BOYS RESULTS STAGE 1.

ROMANIA - IRELAND 4-0
SZILARD G. - BRADY S.: 21-18;21-12;
CIOTI C. - NOLAN C.: 21-10;21-13;
COROIAN G. - BYRNE C.: 21-15;21-12;
CIOTI C./SZILARD G. - BRADY S./BYRNE C.: 21-17;21-15;

ESTONIA - IRELAND 4-1
SMIRNOV A. - BRADY S.: 21-10;18-21;19-21;
SIREL A. - BYRNE C.: 21-18;21-17;
MAKAROV A. - MURPHY J.: 21-15;17-21;21-9;
SIREL A./SMIRNOV A. - BRADY S./BYRNE C.: 21-15;21-14;
SMIRNOV A. - BYRNE C.: 21-15;21-18;

WALES - IRELAND 4-0
ROBERTSON A. - BRADY S.: 21-17;21-12;
JONES G. - BYRNE C.: 21-11;22-20;
GRIFFITHS O. - NOLAN C.: 21-15;21-6;
GRIFFITHS O./ROBERTSON A. - BRADY S./BYRNE C.: 21-12;21-12;

JUNIOR GIRLS RESULTS STAGE 1

IRELAND - CYPRUS 2-3
O'SULLIVAN L. - MARI E.: 21-13;17-21;21-13;
CONWAY S. - KOUREA L.: 21-19;11-21;13-21;
CONWAY S./O'SULLIVAN L. - KOUREA L./MARI E.: 21-9;21-19;
O'SULLIVAN L. - KOUREA L.: 18-21;21-11;12-21;
CONWAY S. - MARI E.: 15-21;22-20;20-22;

IRELAND - BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 0-3
CONWAY S. - BAKIC L.: 8-21;10-21;
O'SULLIVAN L. - KLJAJEVIC S.: 21-18;16-21;10-21;
CONWAY S./O'SULLIVAN L. - BAKIC L./KLJAJEVIC S.: 16-21;14-21;

IRELAND - LATVIA 0-3
O'SULLIVAN L. - KOGANE E.: 16-21;14-21;
CONWAY S. - ILKENA A.: 16-21;14-21;
CONWAY S./O'SULLIVAN L. - ILKENA A./KOGANE E.: 15-21;13-21;

CADET BOYS RESULTS STAGE 1

SWITZERLAND - IRELAND 3-1
FUHRER A. - CULLEN R.: 21-13;21-15;
MOHLER N. - GRAHAM P.: 20-22;21-15;17-21;
FUHRER A./MOHLER N. - CULLEN R./GRAHAM P.: 21-17;21-11;
MOHLER N. - CULLEN R.: 21-9;24-22;

UKRAINE - IRELAND 0-3

IRELAND - MACEDONIA 3-1
GRAHAM P. - KARESKI D.: 21-19;12-21;21-9;
CULLEN R. - MITKOV P.: 18-21;19-21;
CULLEN R./GRAHAM P. - KARESKI D./MITKOV P.: 21-23;23-21;21-17;
GRAHAM P. - MITKOV P.: 21-18;23-21;