In finals dominated by Dublin schools, Blackrock College boys and Mount Anville girls emerged as winners of the third Ballygowan All-Ireland Senior Schools' Cup at Sutton tennis club yesterday.
Over a long day during which the weather oscillated between cold downpours and warm sunshine, Blackrock College topped their four-team round-robin group by beating St Gerard's, Castlebar into second place before advancing to meet Gonzaga in the final.
Gonzaga, who won the trophy last year at the same venue and who nudged Belvedere College into second place in their group with 96 points to Belvedere's 90, finally lost out 27-12 in a one-sided final.
The most absorbing of the games was between Blackrock number one, Gareth Doran and Gonzaga's Irish under-18 number one, Barry King.
In a game played largely from the baseline, the two players rasped a variety of shots on the balcony court in front of an appreciative audience.
Despite Gonzaga finally taking the match 8-5, it was Blackrock's number two Andrew Hogan and the doubles partnership of Robbie Kernan and Killian Pender who secured 10 and 12 points respectively for Blackrock's 27-point tally.
The girls' competition also produced two Dublin finalists, holders Santa Sabina facing Mount Anville. Both teams had emerged from their respective groups comfortably, although Ursulines Sligo came close to breaking the Dublin monopoly by finishing just four points behind Mount Anville's 81-point total.
The final was not without incident, although the 28-11 scoreline reflected a one-sided contest for the south Dublin school. That scoreline was partly due to the Sutton school's number one Caroline McNulty pulling up injured with a damaged muscle when her match against Sandra Griffith had barely begun, Griffith leading 4-2.
After McNulty, despite some on-court attention, could not continue, the match and all of the remaining points were awarded to the Mount Anville player. As each match consisted of 13 games, Griffith was given an 11-2 scoreline.
The Mount Anville doubles team of Jenny Lawlor and Lisa Matthews, however, also stacked up the points in securing a 13-0 win over Leah Walsh and Kristina Lykkx, with Santa Sabina's Leigh Walsh beating Alexia Tierney 9-4 for an overall 28-point total.
FINALS: Boys: Blackrock College beat Gonzaga 27-12 ( G Doran 5, B King 8; A Hogan 10, G King 3; R Kernan and K Pender 12, C Kane and C Tobin 1). Girls: Mount Anville beat Santa Sabina 28-11 (S Griffith 11, C McNulty 2, McNulty retired injured; A Tierney 4, L Walsh 9; J Lawlor and L Matthews 13, L Walsh and K Lynxx 0)
