Local junior squash player Claire Hanley claimed her first Irish squash junior tour title at the weekend.
One of the Galway junior squad that travelled to Cork for the Munster Junior Open, the 16-years-old from Barna played outstandingly throughout the weekend to claim the title.
She faced some stiff competition en route. Her semi-final opponent was Elaine Ware from Carlow, the current Ulster open champion, and Hanley was forced to fight back from two games down to emerge the eventual victor after five close games.
Her opponent in the final was clubmate Jennifer Hegarty from Bushypark, the current Connacht champion. These two local rivals have faced each other on several occasions, but this was Hanley’s first win against the Connacht champion. Hanley controlled the match from the start, emerging a 3-0 winner to claim the u-17 Munster title.
Another first time winner at the weekend was 11-years-old Roisin O’Shea from Salthill. She claimed the u-13 title after overcoming her opposition in style, only dropping one game on her way to victory. She defeated Aoife Turley from Dublin 3-1 in the final.
Meanwhile in the boys’u-17 section Conor O’Shea, also from Salthill, reached the semi-final, narrowly losing out to Brian Dunbar from Waterford, 3-2. In the third and fourth place play-off he defeated Adam McCreevey from Dublin 3-2.
