RTC News Page

Tennis Club

AGM

The A.G.M. is on 3^rd of March in the old school house. The time has yet to be decided. It would be appreciated if everyone would take the time to attend as this is the most important meeting of the year.

Rathangan teams shine in Athy

The Athy Business League, sponsored by Albert Dunne Car Sales, took place over the last two weeks at Athy Tennis Club.   It was well supported with almost 80 players taking part. Twp rathangan teams took part and both reached the finals.

In the “B” Section, the team of Tom Gallagher, John Goff, Catherine Hackett & Claire Breen had to come through some very tough matches against Portarlington & two teams from Athy, to reach the final.   Rathangan played Abbeyleix in the final and after an hour & half of superb games of tennis, Rathangan came out victorious by 19 games to 15.

Special thanks must go to our two subs during the tournament – Richie Ryan & Ann Marie Hanlon.

In the “C” Section, the team of Padraig Doyle, Peter McDermott (Athy), Aine Doyle & Mary McCrann played some excellent tennis during the championship to reach the final. Unfortunately for them, they came up against a very strong Portlaoise team, who beat them by 21 games to 13.

Membership

Membership is now due for the coming year so please pay up early. Fees have remained the same as last year. Remember if you have not paid you should’nt be using the courts and you are not insured and a lock will be placed on the gate shortly with the code notified to members only.

Club Clothing

The new Rathangan Tennis Club polo top is now ready to purchase. The top features the new club crest, which is a stone bridge over water with crossed tennis rackets on top. The mens top is dark blue with light blue writing and the ladies top is light blue with dark blue writing on it. On the sleeve is the initials R.T.C. They are a very good quality garment and are being sold for €20.Initially only a few of the tops have been printed so as we can gauge the demand so first come first served. If demand is good we will then be checking out wet jackets,T-shirts and hats. If you want to see the top, there are photos of them on the club notice board. To buy one,ring 087/2937035 or 087/7530574 or call in to Hacketts foodstore.

RTC Singles Championships

for Rathangan Credit Union Trophies

result

Leonard Hanlon, the 2007 Singles Champion met the 2008 Champion, John Goff, for the second consecutive year. They both had to fight hard to make the final. John had beaten Ciaran Dempsey in the semi's while Leonard had to deal with Ciaran's father Ambrose.

On a dry but windy afternoon with both Leonard and John playing terrific shots and defending well, the rallies went on for an age. The writing was on the wall that it was going to be a long match when it took Leonard 20 minutes to claim the first game. At that rate the contest might have had to be played over two days, like last year when the second leg was played in Skerries. However the contest soon took a decisive turn and with John just gaining the upper hand winning the next six games to take the first set 6-1.

In the end it took all of 80 minutes of energy sapping end to end tennis to decide the contest. John eventually emerged the winner in 2 sets: 6-1, 6-2.   However, the bare result does not reflect the closeness of the contest nor the quality of the play. Both Leonard and John played superb tennis and used every inch of the court. The final is a good reflection on the level of tennis being played in the club.   Well done to everyone who took part in the competition. The full result is posted in the men's competition section.

PD   29th Nov 2009

Double Doubles Wins for Rathangan

Mary McCrann joined Ronnie Heffernan and Ritchie Ryan to win the Ladies and Mixed doubles sections at the Annual Abbeyleix Open Doubles Tournament.

Rathangan Tennis Club send down five teams to Abbeyleix to take part in their Annual Doubles Competition, which went on over the past two weeks.   This is a very special year for Abbeyleix Tennis Club, as they are celebrating their centenary year.

This proved to a fantastic tournament for Rathangan, with four of the teams reaching the finals.

On the first weekend Mary McCrann and Ronnie Heffernan not only surprised themselves by reaching the final but also won it 6-2, 6-1, against Abbeyleix in the C Section Ladies Doubles.

In the C Section Men’s’ Double, Tom Gallagher & Ritchie Ryan lost to a very strong team from Kilminchy.

On the second weekend in the Mixed Doubles C Section, Mary McCrann & Ritchie Ryan had a superb 2-1 win over Kilminchy. This was Mary’s second win over the two weekends, in what has been a terrific season for both her & Ritchie, who has won the Kevin Tiernan Cup in Rathangan.

In the B Section Final, Rathangan’s Catherine Hackett & John Goff came up against a very determined and skilful Abbeyleix team. In a match that lasted almost two hours, Abbeyleix deservedly just shaded it 2-1.

Well done to everyone who took part in what has to be the most successful tournament that a small club like Rathangan have taken part in. With two wins & 2 beaten finalists, we all look forward to seeing what will happen in early November when Abbeyleix continue their Centenary celebration with a Singles Championships.

John Goff