A Far from Mixed League for Leixlip's Finest

It started like any other league campaign. As always, the teams were picked by the LTC Tournament Committee. Four teams were selected for this campaign instead of the usual three due to the introduction of a new Class 4 category targeted at Class 7 and 8 Summer League players. Plus, the fact that we had greater than usual interest. The teams that were entered looked strong on paper, as they always do, but the concern in Mixed League is that teams will be decimated with people going on holidays - more on this later.

All four teams had an excellent campaign. Laoise did a great job of captaining Team 4, and together with her dad Pat, who's relatively new to the tennis league scene, they won all their matches and finished a healthy third place in a tough group.

Team 3, or Team Craic as they prefer to be known, had a great campaign and was still in it until the final group match. A 2-1 win against Claremont Railway Union was required to progress into the playoffs, but alas they came out on the wrong side of a 2-1 score line on a balmy evening in Sandymount. Kudos to Don and Annie for getting the point against strong opponents.

Team 2 had a great campaign, ably led by Team Captain Aaron Ashmore, and they ended up second in their group progressing into the playoffs. They would have topped the group but for coming out on the wrong side of a few tough 3-setters along the way. However, the aim was to come in the top two and that was achieved.

Team 1 was solid and had a settled team throughout the group stages. They dispatched their opponents pretty comprehensively along the way and ended up topping the group. This resulted in them having a home advantage in the Last 16 playoff matches, as well as the quarter-final against Dunboyne.

In the Last 16, Team 1 played Sutton at home while Team 2 made the trip out to Donabate Tennis Club in the beautiful environs of the Donabate Golf Club. Team 1 had a solid win whereas Team 2 just fell short in what turned out to be a bit of an arm wrestle. The team had nothing to be ashamed of though, they gave it everything.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. In the quarter-finals, Team 1 was down three players, namely Aoife, Richard and Dearbhla. With Team 2 being eliminated, Nicola was able to call on Emma, Des and Brenda for the quarter-final match against our close neighbours Dunboyne.

The match against Dunboyne is probably one of the most exciting nights we've had at the club in a long time. Nicola and Graham had a comfortable win at number 1 whereas Stan and Emma succumbed to a strong pairing in what turned out to be an incredibly tough and physical encounter.

The match hung in the balance as Des and Brenda got embroiled in a slug-fest. They started like a steam train, winning the first set 6-0, but the tide turned in the second set as their opponents settled into the match and started to play error-free tennis. In no time it was one set all and they were into a final set decider to see who would progress to the semis.

Dunboyne had the momentum and this continued into the third. Des and Brenda were on the ropes and, just like a boxer who has taken a battering, they were hanging on for dear life. At 4-2 down, a small group of supporters gathered behind the court to give them some encouragement.

Liam Cassidy says that when you play a match, you play it with two personas, you as the tennis player and you as the competitor. Sometimes you as the tennis player may not be having your best day, but you as the competitor should always turn up and leave everything out on the court.

In the seventh game of the third set, Des put away a couple of volleys at the net and suddenly you could sense a slight swing. Even though Des and Brenda may not have been playing their best, winning that game to make it 4-3 seemed to give them the impetus to crack on. Once they made it 4-4, there was well and truly a momentum shift and their opponents seemed to retreat into their shells and became less aggressive. They also started making mistakes they hadn't been making in a set and a half.

In ten more minutes, Des and Brenda had match points and they took the first of these for an incredible win that didn't look likely half an hour earlier. Cue great excitement and jubilation amongst the supporters. Getting to the final of any league campaign is never easy and there will always be matches like this one that you can look back on with pride and say "how did we win that match".

The semi was away against Shankill on a Wednesday evening. This turned out to be a regular day at the office for Team 1 as they came away with a convincing win. A special mention to the four supporters who made the trip out to support the team in Shankill.

Once the scores came through from the other semi, it turned out that we were playing Meadowvale in the final, with the venue being Templeogue Tennis Club.

I sent each player a text on the Friday of the final to wish them well. Graham's reply made me smile as he said that he was already focused on the match and that very little work was getting done today. This reminded me of how I am on the day of a playoff match, literally giddy with excitement. If I made to a final, I'd probably have to take the day off work!

The night of the final was a beautiful evening, with all four Mixed League finals taking up all twelve courts. Leixlip supporters easily outnumbered supporters from any of the other clubs. The eleven-year wait since the Club's last final on March 24th, 2013 just shows that these days do not come around very often. I can still recall that last final, which was the Winter League campaign. Enzo Dowling's team ended up playing Glasnevin on a bitterly cold day due to a Siberian wind across Europe that week. Unfortunately, the team came up short on that occasion.

Leixlip Tennis Club has changed a lot since that last final. Back in 2013, the membership of the club was 244. It now stands at well over twice that. The Club also has two additional courts, installed in October 2013, as well as a much longed-for clubhouse erected in 2019.

The Club has been knocking on the door of a final in the last two years and this summer we finally made that breakthrough. For those who have been around since the last final, this means a lot, hence the huge excitement and anticipation.

Enough reminiscing for now and back to the excitement. The one great thing about the final is that the entire named team was available to play, which means that we had the strongest possible line-up.

Some of the Leixlip supporters made their way to a small piece of ground that gave them the best chance of watching all three matches. Being a spectator on these occasions can be much more taxing and draining than actually playing.

Dearbhla and Richard got off to a bit of a shaky start and struggled to settle. By the time they found their feet, the first set got away on them. Nicola and Graham were having more success and they won their first set 6-1. With Aoife and Stan taking the first set 6-4, there was much for the Leixlip supporters to be cheerful about.

Nicola and Graham played a solid second set and ended up with a comprehensive win. Dearbhla and Richard were up against a very strong pairing and they needed to use all their guile and experience to win the second set to force the match into a final set decider.

Unfortunately, Dearbhla and Richard got off to the worst possible start in the third set. They lost the first three games, which meant that their backs were well and truly up against the wall. With the supporters' anxiety growing, they turned their attention to Aoife and Stan's match. The hope was that they could repeat what they did in the first set and save a huge amount of angst amongst the band of loyal supporters. The amount of pacing that was been done, up and down, over and back, was wearing out good shoe leather.

Richard and Dearbhla dug in and won the fourth game to make it 3-1. They then broke serve in the next to make it 3-2. Things were looking up. The next game got away on them, but they produced some great tennis to make it 4-3 and then 4-4. While this was happening, Aoife and Stan's opponents were producing their best tennis to force the second set into a tie-breaker. Meadowvale played a great tie-breaker to take the second set.

Leixlip supporters were suddenly looking quite glum. Aoife and Stan looked a little down after losing the second set, but they had a lengthy chat before the third set, a reset if you like. While this was happening, Dearbhla and Richard's opponents were fighting back. They played great tennis to take the ninth game, making it 5-4. In the next game, Leixlip was two match points down. Dearbhla served two brilliant second serves and Richard played really aggressively at the net. The game was suddenly deuce and before you knew it, it was 5-5. They could never get ahead in the third set though and Meadowvale won the next two games to take it. Dearbhla and Richard were visibly exhausted when they came off court. They had given it absolutely everything.

All attention turned to Aoife and Stan's match. It was a match that seemed to go on forever. The rallies were very long and you could cut the tension with a knife. There was also a sense that everyone was afraid to make a mistake. It was an odd set as everyone struggled to hold their serve. Leixlip got a breakthrough though and won the fourth game to lead 3-1. There was a sense amongst the Leixlip faithful that if Aoife and Stan could just keep some daylight between them and Meadowvale that victory would be theirs.

Meadowvale took the next game to make it 3-2 and then Leixlip hit back to lead 4-2. Suddenly it was 4-3, but again Leixlip hit back to lead 5-3. Meadowvale were going to die with their boots on though if they were to lose this match. They took the next game to make it 5-4. However, scoreboard pressure is a funny thing and it began to tell in the tenth game. Meadowvale's male player, who was so solid all night, was suddenly 0-30 down on his serve with the second point coming from a rare double fault. A great volley from Meadowvale made it 15-30, but a brilliant forehand from Stan gave Leixlip two championship points. A mistake from Aoife made it 30-40 and the Leixlip supporters, who were literally on tenterhooks at this point, just gasped. It was to be Leixlip's night though and a volley into the net on the next point gave Leixlip the win. The outpouring of emotion and shouts of joy from the Leixlip supporters could be heard for miles around. The rest of the supporters who had been watching from the clubhouse balcony came down to join in the celebrations. The 11-year wait was finally over.

After much hugging and congratulating of the winning team, not to mention photos of the team and supporters, everyone made their way to the clubhouse for the presentations. There was a great buzz around the place and it was great to see the joy on the players' faces as they collected the cup, the pennant and their prizes. Everyone from Leixlip was walking on air with what the Club had just achieved. Just like Armagh's celebrations a couple of weeks ago after winning the All-Ireland Football Final for only a second time, these moments mean a lot more to teams and clubs that don't find themselves in this position very often.

One has to spare a thought for Meadowvale for coming up just short on the night. On another night, they could easily have won. There was nothing between the two teams.

So finally, a huge thanks to Dearbhla, Richard, Nicola, Graham, Aoife and Stan for a magnificent win. It will live long in the memory and will undoubtedly make it into the Club's annals. Thanks too to all those who subbed along the way, in particular, Des and Brenda for the great quarter-final match against Dunboyne. And, of course, every team needs its supporters and these were plentiful along the way, particularly in the final.

Hopefully, this win will be a huge shot in the arm and it won't be another eleven years before we make it into another final. I'm pretty sure that won't be the case given the size of the Club, the calibre of players we have, and the commitment we have from our membership.

Onwards and upwards we go.

Vincent Mulhall

Men's Captain