Saturday sees the semi finals of the MyClubShop.ie Ladies Senior Doubles take place in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Two tight games are expected with all four teams harbouring genuine ambitions to reach the final on the 21st September in the Croke Park Handball centre.
In the first semi final in Mullingar five-time winners Catriona Casey and Aishling O’Keeffe of Cork play Mayo’s Pauline Gallagher and Amy Corrigan – who won it twice themselves at the start of this decade - in what should be an interesting clash. Casey and O'Keefe are going for an incredible seventh title in a row in big alley doubles since losing the 2012 final to their semi final opponents. Since that defeat they have firmly established themselves as the dominant pairing in Ladies Doubles Handball and will be aiming to make their 8th straight final on Saturday.
Gallagher and Corrigan reached four consecutive finals between 2010 and 2013 winning titles in 2011 and 2012 so the experienced Mayo duo knows what it takes to reach the pinnacle and succeed. It promises to be a close encounter with the reigning champions the favourites to progress.
In the second semi-final, Kildare youngsters Leah Doyle and Mollie Dagg take on Kilkenny’s Ciara Mahon and Aoife Holden. An excellent game is in store here too – the Leixlip teenagers are the strongest partnership to emerge in quite some time while the Kilkenny pair are experienced and talented in their own right and will be determined to return to the final for the third time. Runners up in 2017 and 2018 the Kilkenny duo will be eager to make the final once more in a bid to capture their first Softball Doubles title and a first for Kilkenny.
The exciting duo of Doyle and Dagg have had glittering underage careers and have made the transition to Senior level and look to be extremely comfortable with the step up. They will fear no one on their day and will be quietly confident of causing an upset and reaching their first Softball Senior Final. The Kilkenny duo of Mahon and Holden however will be able to call on the experience of the past number of years and a close encounter looks to be on the cards.
Action commences at 11.30 am in Mullingar with two close encounters predicted as the race to be the last ever Ladies Senior Doubles champions in the Croke Park Handball centre reaches the penultimate stage.
