A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Stakes high for battle of rivals Demons and Neptune
BASKETBALL:The meeting of fierce rivals UCC Demons and Bord Gais Neptune tonight marks the resumption of the Nivea For Men's SuperLeague following the Christmas break.
Demons have already enjoyed success in the derby this season, courtesy of a narrow four-point win on the opening weekend of November, and a similar outcome would see them close the gap on second-placed Neptune.
“It’s been a long time since Shane Coughlan and Marcus Van have played so they have had to work harder than everybody else but they have put the time in and they will be ready to play,” said Demons coach Paul Kelleher.
“Niall Murphy isn’t quite fully fit yet but he is making progress and hopefully he will be able to give us some time during the game.”
11890 Killester will be favourites to continue their surge towards the defence of their title against DCU Saints on Saturday but a previous encounter this season suggests that won’t be easy.
The Saints almost claimed maximum points from their Dublin rivals in October before a late rally saw Killester claim a 79-74 win.
“You never know what can happen in the game after Christmas,” said Killester coach Mark Keenan. “We played them earlier in the season and were probably a bit lucky to come away with the win.”
Elsewhere, Neptune and UCC Demons complete a busy weekend against Ulster Elks and UCD Marian respectively. Enda Byrt’s Moycullen side, who have recorded just one win this season, have a difficult assignment at home to Southern Conference leaders UL Eagles.
TODAY: Men’s SuperLeague: UCC Demons (Cork) v Bord Gais Neptune (Cork), Mardyke Arena, 20:00. Sunday: Men’s SuperLeague: Bord Gais Neptune (Cork) v Ulster Elks (Belfast), Neptune Stadium, 15:00; Moycullen (Galway) v UL Eagles (Limerick), Kingfisher Club NUIG, 15:00; DCU Saints (Dublin) v 11890 Killester (Dublin), DCU Sports Complex, 15:30. Monday: Men’s SuperLeague: UCC Demons (Cork) v UCD Marian (Dublin), Mardyke Arena, 15:15.
Fitzgerald dominates tie-break to progress
TENNIS:Greystones' Niall Fitzgerald captured the main headlines in the quarter-finals of the National Indoor Championships at Riverview last night when he ended the title hopes of former Wimbledon participant Edward Seator.
Britain’s Seator received a wild card into the Wimbledon qualifying round in 2009, where he lost to Ireland Davis Cup ace Louk Sorensen. He has played extensively on the ITF Futures circuit, and he attained a career-high world ranking position of 494 in May, 2008.
Seator looked on course for a place in the semi-finals when he took the first set thanks to one break of serve. But Fitzgerald, a tennis scholarship student at Indiana’s Notre Dame University, didn’t drop a game in the second set, and overwhelmed his opponent in the champions’ tie-break to emerge with a 4-6, 6-0 (10-0) victory after an hour and 28 minutes. Ironically, 20-year-old Fitzgerald now faces a semi-final joust against his 18-year-old brother Ciarán who demolished Donnybrook’s Mike Johnston 6-1, 6-1 after an hour and 11 minutes.
The other men’s semi-final will be contested by last year’s runner-up Lazare Kukhalashvili, a Dublin-based Georgia native, and number two seed John Morrissey.
Kukhalashvili accounted for Carlow’s Tommy Murphy 6-1, 6-2 after an hour and 15 minutes, and Morrissey, ranked 30th in the ITF Under-18 rankings, overcame fellow Donnybrook member David O’Hare 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 44 minutes.
Wild Oats X1 confirmed as winner
SAILING: Wild Oats XI was confirmed as the line winner of the 2010 Sydney to Hobart blue water classic yesterday after a protest was dismissed by the race committee.
The maxi yacht crossed the line first in the Tasmanian capital for the fifth time in six years on Tuesday evening but was declared only provisional winner.
A protest had been launched after it was alleged that the crew had failed to alert their position by high frequency radio before entering the stormy Bass Strait.
“Wild Oats XI has been confirmed as line honours winner of the 2010 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, for the fifth time, after the Race Committee radio protest was dismissed,” read an official statement. The radio rule was introduced after a major storm sank five boats and killed six sailors in the race 12 years ago.
