Fox and Sheridan show up well in Arizona

Young Meath handballers Robert Fox and Evan Sheridan, both from the Kells club, were in action last week at the 56th annual USHA Junior Nationals in Tuscon, Arizona. They were kept busy in the USA as they contested the 15 and under singles and then teamed up for the 15 and under doubles. The youngsters showed great promise in the early rounds with Fox overcoming Javier Mota (California) 21-0, 21-0 and Javier Burgara (California) 21-5, 21-4 while Sheridan negotiated Jamie Joyce (Waterford) 21-1, 21-7. However, Fox ran out of steam against eventual runner-up Tyler Stoffel (Minnesota) 11-21, 7-21 while Sheridan suffered a tie break defeat to Luis Bustos (California) winning the first 21-19 but then losing 7-21 and 7-11 in the tie break. The pair fared better in the doubles where they were the number one seeds and they got themselves off to a flying start. They accounted for Richie Forsey and Jamie Joyce (both Waterford) 21-11, 21-11 in the quarter-finals and Angel Marquez (Texas) and Dylan Key (Arizona) 21-11, 21-14 in the semi-finals. In the final, played on Friday morning, the pair faced Tyrone duo Johnny Woods and Colin Corbett in what turned out to be a thrilling showdown. Corbett, who earlier had picked up the 15 and Under singles crown was in sensational form and the Ulster boys won the first game 21-6. The Royal County duo composed themselves at the interval and went ace for ace with their Tyrone counterparts until at 16-16 Corbett once again found some winning form for a 21-16 win. Meath's Tom Sheridan, a stalwart of the local handball scene also made the trip to Arizona as manager of the official Irish team where his hard work of training the team over the last few months paid off. Each of the six team members collected their respective singles title: Colin Corbett (Clare) Boys 15 and under, Colin Crehan (Clare) Boys 17 and under, Killian Carroll (Cork) Boys 19 and under, Ciana Ni Churraoin (Galway) Girls 15 and under, Lauren O'Riordan (Roscommon) Girls 17 and under and Catriona Casey (Cork) Girls 19 and under. The USA competition was the last major international juniors event to be staged pre-World Championships 2012 and from an Irish perspective it certainly augurs well for the challenge for gold medals on home soil next October. This week the Leinster Championship gets underway on Saturday with action in the Junior and Junior B singles grades. In a new format this year, a player winning his first match will play the second round later the same day. Peter Reilly, Stephen Quinn and John Leahy will represent Meath in the Junior grade while Michael Sheridan, Eugene O'Reilly and Peter Flanagan will be in action in the Junior B grade.