Hopes of a “three-peat” by Hooke & MacDonald at the annual Irish Times/Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCSI) tennis tournament were dashed by the emergence of a new winner this year, with Independent Valuations claiming the title.
The 35th year of the event was marked by good weather and high-quality tennis as leading property professionals donned their whites and did battle for the prestigious trophy at Donnybrook Lawn Tennis Club last Thursday.
After a highly competitive afternoon of seeding matches, 10 teams composed of men’s and women’s doubles, including Sherry FitzGerald, Savills, de Veres, and MyHome.ie took to the courts.
The first semi-final saw CBRE go down to Independent Valuations. It took a tie-break decider to separate Hooke & MacDonald and The Irish Times, with the former emerging the victor.
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But after a closely fought final, it was Patrick Sheehan’s Independent Valuations who came out on top.
Myles Fleeton, captain of the winning Independent Valuations team, said: “It was a great feeling to win the tournament as we have spent 15 years competing and got to the final a few times but never won. There was high-quality tennis on the night, with several teams who had previously won this tournament competing. Conor Steen and his Hooke & MacDonald team gave us and those watching a great final. It’s a competitive tournament, but the best bit is always the barbecue and catch-up with colleagues.”
Marcus O’Connor of MFO The Property Professionals and the SCSI’s organising committee said: “This is a great opportunity to meet up with colleagues – it’s become our ‘back-to-school’ event for the property industry, which is why it’s been so successful for so long.”
