The first stop of the 2016 European WallBall Tour took place last weekend in London, and Down's Lorraine Havern was Ireland's highest placed players, falling short at the final hurdle in the Ladies Open Final.
Havern was one of three Irish Ladies in the Open QF's, with Maeve McElduff (Tyrone) & Sinead Hanley (Galway) alling to Dutch opposition in their respective QF matches. Havern though cruised to the final defeating Anne Monfils (Ned) & Harmke Siegersma (Ned) to set up a showdown with European #1 Miranda Scheffer (Ned) in the final. Havern had Scheffers number the last time they met at the 2014 Irish Nationals, but this time round fell just short 21-16 to the powerful Dutch woman.
In the Men's Open, Ireland had only one representative in the QF stages as Armagh's James Doyle fell 15-8 to eventual winner Daniel Tristao (UK). Tristao claimed his maiden success on the European Tour by defeating Michael Ngai (USA) 21-17 in an entertaining final.
Ladies Open Results:
QF
- Miranda Scheffer (Ned) dft Sinead Hanley (Ire) 15-3
- Marrti Zeinstra (Ned) dft Kathleen Briedenhann (UK) 15-7
- Lorraine Havern (Ire) dft Anne Monfils (Ned) 15-5
- Harmke Siegersma (Ned) dft Maeve McElduff (Ire) 15-5
SF
- Miranda Scheffer (Ned) dft Marrti Zeinstra (Ned) 21-8
- Lorraine Havern (Ire) dft Harmke Siegersma (Ned) 21-11
Final
- Miranda Scheffer (Ned) dft Lorraine Havern (Ire) 21-16
Men's Open Results:
QF
- Dan Grant (UK) dft James Liana (USA) 15-6
- Daniel Tristao (UK) dft James Doyle (Ire) 15-8
- Michael Ngai (USA) dft Luke Thompson (UK) 15-9
- Danny Torres (USA) dft Luke Stradwick (UK) 15-3
SF
- Daniel Tristao (UK) dft Dan Grant (UK) 21-14
- Michael Ngai (USA) dft Danny Torres (USA) 21-12
Final
- Daniel Tristao (UK) dft Michael Ngai (USA) 21-17