Qualifying day for the first Open Golden Girls drew to a close after nearly 11 constant hrs of handball. There some fascinating games, with a mixture of youth and experience. A lot of these girls were meeting for the first time and were keen to test each other out before Championship.
Action kicked off at 9am with 60x30 doubles partners Catriona Millane and Ella Donnellan facing off. Catriona proved sharper on the day and carried her form throughout the day as she went on to win 3 of her 4 matches.
Indeed one of the most interesting matches of the day was Catriona v Megan McCann. It was a dogfight all the way. Megan pulled away on numerous occasions but Catriona drew it level each time before Megan got the upper-hand and took the win 25-21. Megan also dominated all her games winning, 4 out of 4, but had to fight for each one of them.
Pauline Gallagher set her intentions out early as she took on youngster Mollie Dagg. Pauline was keen to prove her status as a senior player and keep the chasers at bay for another while. She and Eilise McCrory dominated their group with Eilise coming out on top in their head to head game, leaving Eilise topping her group and Pauline second.
Niamh Dunne also had a good day, taking out Clare players, Clodagh Nash and Ella Donnellan on route to taking 5th place on the day overall.
This sets up nicely for next Sunday when the girls team up with four of the top ranked players in the country to play the doubles semi finals. Catriona Millane teams up with top-ranked entrant Catriona Casey. Next up is Pauline Gallagher who teams up with Irish No.2 , Martina McMahon. Eilise McCrory teams up with long time rival Fiona Tully . Last but by no means least, Meagan McCann pairs up with Ciara Mahon.
They will head up the finals day next Sunday with the men who will be competing for the Bill Duggan tournament.
Results:
- Caitríona Millane dft Ella Donnellan 25-8
- Sinéad Meagher dft Ellen O'Connor 25-1
- Niamh Dunne dft Clodagh Nash 25-9
- Pauline Gallagher dft Mollie Dagg 25-9
- Megan McCann dft Catriona Millane 25-21
- Ella Donnellan dft Clodagh Nash 25-5
- Pauline Gallagher dft Ellen O'Connor 25-11
- Mollie Dagg dft Ellen O'Connor 25-10
- Catriona Millane dft Niamh Dunne 25-13
- Pauline Gallagher dft Sinead Meagher 25-14
- Megan McCann dft Ella Donnellan 25-7
- Eilise McCrory dft Ellen O'Connor 25-6
- Megan McCann dft Clodagh Nash 25-17
- Eilise McCrory dft Mollie Dagg 25-19
- Catriona Millane dft Clodagh Nash 25-13
- Mollie Dagg dft Sinead Meagher 25-10
- Niamh Dunne dft Ella Donnellan 25-16
- Pauline Gallagher dft Ellen O'Connor 25-11
- Megan McCann dft Niamh Dunne 25-13
- Eilise McCrory dft Pauline Gallagher 25-13