European girls' team championship at Murcar Links

Top seeds England march on but

Ireland miss out on semi-finals

One consolation for Scotland, without a match today, was that they did not have to play in horrendous conditions of wind and rain which swept the Murcar Links nonstop from dawn to dusk.
Top seeds England marched on with a 4-1 win over Denmark and in Friday's semi-finals will play Netherlands, 3-2 winners over the Czech Republic. The other semi-final will be between Sweden, winners of this Under-16s title for the past two years, and Switzerland.
England could only share the foursomes 1-1 with the Danes but they made no mistake in the singles, winning all three ties. English women's champion Hannah Barwood beat Daisy Nielsen by 2 and 1; Alexandra Peters was a 7 and 6 winner over Nicole Larsen and Rachel Connor, daughter of the Scots-born Manchester club pro, Brian Connor, won by 5 and 4 over Charlotte Lorentzen.
But there was disappointment for Ireland's young team. They lost 3-2 to third seeds Switzerland in a tie which was decided by Anais Maggetti's two-hole win over Lisa Maguire whose 13-year-old twin Leona had lost at the 19th in the top singles tie to Rebecca Huber.
The foursomes had been shared 1-1, the Maguire twins winning by 3 and 2 against Huber and Sherlyn Popelka.
Victoria Bradshaw was Ireland's only singles winner. She beat Popelka 3 and 2.
The Friday semi-finals line-up is:
England v Netherlands.
Switzerland v Sweden.
The other top flight ties will be:
Denmark v Czech Republic.
Ireland v Germany.
Wales, wooden spoonists last year, lost 5-0 to France in Flight 2 which means the best they can achieve now is 13th place.
Scotland's opponents in the play-off for 17th place on Friday will be Iceland, 3-1 winners over Latvia.

Today's results:

CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
Quarter-finals
GERMANY 1 1/2, SWEDEN 3 1/2.

IRELAND 2, SWITZERLAND 3
Foursomes: Leona & Lisa Maguire bt R Huber & S Popelka 3 and 2; S Cunningham & V Bradshaw lost to A Maggetti & F Vuignier 1 hole (1-1).
Singles: Leona Maguire lost to Huber at 19th, Lisa Maguire lost to Maggetti 2 holes, Bradshaw bt Popelka 3 and 2 (1-2).

CZECH REPUBLIC 2, NETHERLANDS 3

DENMARK 1, ENGLAND 4
Foursomes: D Nielsen & M Schidt bt H Barwood & R Connor 1 hole; C Lorentzen & N Larsen lost to A Peters & K Tidy 2 and 1 (1-1).
Singles: Nielsen lost to Barwood 2 and 1, Larsen lost to Peters 7 and 6, Lorentzen lost to Connor 5 and 4 (0-3).

FLIGHT TWO
FRANCE 5, WALES 0
Foursomes: A Goumard & A Bonetti bt K O'Connor & N Gobey 5 and 4; E Alonso & R Crepiat bt A Boulden & K Miller 5 and 4 (2-0).
Singles: Goumard bt Boulden 2 and 1, Bonetti bt Miller 2 holes, Alonso bt O'Connor 5 and 4.

BELGIUM 2, ITALY 3.

AUSTRIA 1/2, FINLAND 4 1/2

NORWAY 1, SPAIN 4

FLIGHT THREE

ICELAND 3, LATVIA 1


England played "amazing golf," says team captain

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH WOMEN'S GOLF ASSOCIATION
England battled brilliantly through torrential rain and gale force winds to beat Denmark 4-1 and reach the semi-finals of the European girls’ team championship at Murcar Links, near Aberdeen in the North-east of Scotland.
Team captain Julie Brown said: “They have played amazing golf. I haven’t seen weather like this for a very long time. They are soaked through to the skin, and they have just been brilliant. I am very, very proud of them.”
The girls shared the morning foursomes points with Denmark but swept the board in the three afternoon singles. “They came out under pressure and didwhat they needed to do, “ said Julie. “They hit some of the most amazing golf shots and holed some great putts. It was good to see all their hard work pay off.”
Despite the conditions the girls scored well. Rachel Connor and English women's champion Hannah Barwood each dropped one shot. Alex Peters – who had KellyTidy as her caddy - was just two over par.
In the semi-finals, England will meet the Netherlands.