Nenagh LTC’s Gr 4 ladies team is Munster Winter League champions for 2020.  Kim O’Meara (Capt), Siobhan Corcoran, Jennifer Lynch and Angela McDermott combined to defeat Sunday’s Well in the final at sun drenched Cobh on Sunday last.

Nenagh’s two mens’ teams were out of luck in their respective finals.  In each final the outcome(s) could have gone to the ‘reverse doubles’ deciders.  The Gr 3 team (Willie Gleeson, Aidan Delaney, Martin McNicholas, Kieran Slattery) lost to a good Ballinlough team, while the Gr 5 men (Mark Ryan, Brendan Ryan, Colin Ryan and Thomas Coughlan) had to be content with the r-up position to Monkstown.

It was tough luck on regular team member, Pat Hough, who had to pull out earlier in the week due to a calf strain.  It’s 51 years since the veteran Templederry man first played in a tennis final.  He has played in numerous finals since then of course, and as of now we say, in cricket parlance, 51 not out.

Meanwhile, Killaloe-Ballina (Helen Purtill, Maeve Ryan, Maeve McEvoy, Marie O’Brien) were runners-up to Lakewood in the Gr 5 ladies final.

It was strange playing Winter League finals in high summer but this is a year unlike any other.  The Munster Branch very efficiently organised the 16 finals over 2 days in the wonderful setting of the Rushbrooke club.  The finals had been ready to run in March pre-lockdown.  Given the current Covid crisis, regardless of the results, it was great for players and clubs to actually get to play competitive tennis again, bringing some form of normalcy to life.