The Ancient Persians could relate; you are led into a sense of security, victory is in sight. Then, as you confidently send on the last of your men, you look up to see your opponents send on the equivalent of the Spartan army, few in number, but indestructible.
The Trinity men playing at the Squash Colours must have felt this way when, after three of the four men’s teams secured confident triumphs, the crucial A-team had to face University College Dublin’s strongest force. Ultimately, Trinity had to watch the trophy slip away.
Last year was the first time in 11 years that the colours trophy had made it to Belfield, so naturally, on January 22nd this year, Trinity was determined to return the trophy to where it belonged. The day began with Men’s C team walking away with a 5-0 win, an encouraging score for a team of which three out of the five players are new to Trinity this year, Louis Weeks, Daniel Collins and Mark Donnelly-Orr. Trinity Men’s D team, who achieved a 3-2 victory, also reflect the high number of new players in this year’s colours giving evidence of the club’s escalating membership numbers, great news for the reputation of Trinity and squash overall.
Edward Miles, Trinity Squash Captain, led four new talents on the scene, Kevin Kerrigan, Adrian Maraj, Anthony Simpson and Harry Gilbertson to victory. Each took a confident 3-0 win promising a strong future for the club. David Lowry showed his usual precise style alongside admirable court etiquette against UCD’s second ranked player, Fergal Field. Lowry lost 11-13 on the fifth match after an exhaustingly close game, including a split ball at a match point. Nicholas Cano, playing at number one for Trinity, had an equally challenging game against Danny McInerney. Danny was playing in his record 8th Colours tie, qualifying through undergraduate degree followed by postgraduate research and PhD. Nicolas and Trinity will be glad to know it will be his last time playing for UCD as he beat Nicolas in a close 3-1 encounter.
Struggling to put together an experienced women’s team, UCD demonstrated great encouragement for beginners by recruiting a number of female players who were new to the game that year. It was great to see so many novices experiencing the game at a competitive level
. I can only hope the high standards of our ladies Premier Team have not put them off furthering their interests in the sport. Last year the ladies A-team consisting of Trish Ryan, Trish Burns, Sarah Corcorcan and Catherine Graham, soared to the top of Division 1 of the Leinster League, earning a place in the Premier Division this year along side World Ranked players such as Ciara Moloney. Inspired by this success, Trinity expanded to a second ladies’ team in this year’s Leinster Squash League, raising the profile and interest in ladies’ squash in Trinity.
It must be said; UCD made a fantastic effort in bringing a whole host of supporters from Belfield who lined the balcony offering cheers of encouragement to both their own players and Trinity’s. Friendly banter continued at the prize giving which took place in the new Pav alongside a delicious selection of Pav delicacies. The usual evening antics followed with Trinity showing their standard enthusiasm on the dance floor, highlighted by the Club Captain attempting the Russian “Preesyadka-dance”, more informally known as the Russian “knee bendy leg sticky outy” dance. Who would have thought those squash lunges would give you the ideal thigh strength…
