Irish racquetball victories

THE Irish men’s and ladies’ teams were crowned European Racquetball champions in Zootemeer, Holland yesterday.

Following their victories over the German and English teams earlier in the week, the men’s team secured the title by beating Belgium 3-0 and following with a 2-1 victory over Holland. The team was: J. Gannon (Arklow), A. Butler (Clones), S. O’Loan (Belfast), L. Hughes (Fermoy) and T. Hickey (Touraneena-Waterford).

The ladies’ team beat Germany 2-1 in the final. With the game balanced at 1-1, national U-18 champion Niamh Coffey (Touraneena) and U-21 champion Elma Gibney (Moyla-Meath) secured the title with victory in the final doubles in straight games. The team was: J. Kennedy (Dolla-Tipperary), S. Neary (Arklow), H. Shanahan (Templederry-Tipperary), N. Coffey (Waterford), and E. Gibney (Meath).