WOMEN'S HOCKEY:IT'S BEEN 58 years since UCD's one and only success in the Irish Senior Cup, but tomorrow they have the chance to move closer to bridging that gap when they take on fellow students Ulster Elks in the semi-finals of the competition at Belfield.
Cup holders Pegasus, meanwhile, host Ballymoney at Queens in a repeat of last year's final, the Belfast side seeking the first Irish Senior Cup three-in-a-row since Pembroke Wanderers achieved the feat in the 1940s.
The game at Belfield will be UCD's first home tie in this season's competition having been drawn away in all three previous rounds, winning two of those games, against cup specialists Hermes and Loreto, on penalty strokes.
The Elks, from the University of Ulster, got past Ards, Lisnagarvey and Corinthians en route to the last four, but will be without Philippine Berly, one of the driving forces behind that run and their recent promotion to the Ulster Premier League.
The French international will miss the rest of the season after dislocating her elbow earlier this month.
Ballymoney are the competition's top scorers so far, with 15 goals in three games, five of them scored by Nikki Parke, but they will need to be at their very sharpest if they are to overcome Pegasus tomorrow.
They have, though, got past opposition of real quality to date, scoring six against Munster champions Cork Harlequins and five last weekend against Railway Union.
Having led the Leinster first division all season Railway were overtaken by Loreto during the week after their victory over Bray, but with three games in hand they remain firm favourites to win the title.
Loreto play third-placed Hermes tomorrow - anything but a win would all but end both side's already slim hopes of pipping Railway at the finishing line.
It's a similar story in Munster where Church of Ireland dropped to third place, behind Cork Harlequins and UCC, after drawing with Bandon last week, only the second time this season they dropped points in a league game. Church of Ireland can, though, still win the title if they take maximum points from their three remaining games, the first which is against defending champions Harlequins tomorrow.
TOMORROW: Irish Senior Cup - semi-finals:UCD v Ulster Elks, Belfield, 3.15; Pegasus v Ballymoney, Queens, 4.00. Irish Junior Cup - semi-finals: Railway Union II v Loreto II, Park Avenue, 3.00; Hermes II v Old Alexandra II, St Andrews, 3.30.
Irish Challenge Final:Fermoy v YMCA, Belfield, 11.00.
Leinster League - Division One:Corinthian v Trinity, Whitechurch, 2.00; Loreto v Hermes, Beaufort, 12.45; Glenanne v Pembroke Wanderers, Tallaght, 12.00.
Munster League - Division One:Church of Ireland v Cork Harlequins, Garryduff, 2.00; Univ of Limerick v Belvedere, UL, 1.15.
SUNDAY: Irish Trophy final:Ulster Elks v Catholic Institute, 3.00.
