After two defeats since winning the World title in August, Killian Carroll bounced back to claim the Milwaukee Open Classic which has become the region's premier event, hosted by the Wisconsin Athletic Club, on the US Tour with Ciana Ní Churraoin making it an Irish double.
Carroll maintained the edge that’s kept him at the top of the Pro rankings for the past three years. With the next R48Pro Stop No 3 in Portland at the end of the month, the Milwaukee Classic made for an interesting preview.
A Round of 16 win over Michael Gaulton from Newfoundland, at 9 and 20, set Corkonion Carroll on his way and he followed with 5 and 6 demolition of Max Langmack (Kansas). It got mthen a little tougher for Carroll as he ran into Mexicans Daniel and Luis Cordova.
The former took Carrtoll to a tie-breaker in the semi-final, which the Irish man won 11-2, and it was the same story in the final. Luis, junior, won the second game 21-8 but Carroll polished off the Mexican in the shootout 11-4.
Although Cordova pushed Carroll for a tiebreaker, the last rally of the match was a mere indicator of how Carroll mastered his opponents the entire weekend: A four-shot exchange that ended with Carroll passing a diving Cordova down the left wall for match point ended the contest.
In the Women’s Open division, Ciana Ni Churraoin continued her “Revenge Tour” by defeating Roscommon's Hilary Rushe, now based in Illinois, in the final, 21-6, 21-5. Ni Churraoin won the Women’s Collegiate title in 2016. As a graduate student now attending Minnesota State, Mankato, Ni Churraoin looked unstoppable all weekend.
Seeded No 2 behind Rushe, Galway girl Ní Churraoin trounced Mary Toullier (Minnesota) 21-2, 21-1 in the quarter-finals and thrn got a walkover in the semis when Taylor Rumping (Missouri) was forced to pullout.
Meanwhile, Rushe demolished Meghan Mudd 21-1. 21-6 and then dismissed Mikaili Mitchell (Missouri), in a tighter contest, at 15 and 10 to book her place in the all-Irish final agaist Ní Churraoin.
