ROWING: Neptune have pulled their senior eight out of the big Athlone regatta tomorrow, robbing the event of what would have been a tasty clash between the Islandbridge club and UCD, their hottest rivals this season, writes Liam Gorman.
According to coach Neville Maxwell, Neptune feel the test available would not have helped the crew's preparation for Henley early next month. It has also emerged that the club's elite lightweights, Tony O'Connor, Gearóid Towey, Derek Holland and Neil Casey, will not be available for Henley as they are required for duty with the national squad, so Neptune will have only one senior eight at Henley, a Thames Cup crew.
Planning for Henley has prompted UCD to send four of their strongest oarsmen - James Mangan, Con Collis, Johnny Devitt and James McCullough - to Marlow regatta this weekend as a quadruple scull, with hopes of going on to Henley in the same formation.
The UCD eight at Athlone, and Galway regatta on Sunday, could thus be the crew to compete at Henley in the event for college eights, the Temple Challenge Cup. At Athlone they are set to face University of Limerick and a Queen's Tower crew from England. NUIG are also entered, although there is doubt about their participation.
RUGBY: Following coach Brian Hickey's "promotion" into the Munster structure to assist Alan Gaffney, All-Ireland League finalists Cork Constitution yesterday announced the appointment of Christy Cantillon as their new coach for the 2002-03 season.
Cantillon, who won an Irish A cap in 1982 and more famously scored the try for Munster when they defeated the touring All Blacks in Thomond Park back in 1978, successfully coached junior club Crosshaven for the past three seasons. Cantillon is joined by former Irish scrumhalf Michael Bradley as assistant and Pat O'Keeffe as manager.
Cantillon previously coached Cork Constitution when they won the inaugural AIL title in 1991.
TRANSPLANT GAMES: Ireland returned with four gold, four silver and two bronze medals from the European Heart and Lung Transplant Games last week in Germany. Marie Kennedy, Ernesto Antonio and Martin Burke each claimed gold and silver medals.
Burke, from Drogheda, won the 1,500 metres and came second in the 4k walk, while Dubliner Kennedy won the ladies doubles table tennis and claimed silver in the singles event. Antonio, from Galway, won two gold medals in the 50-metre and 100-metre breast stroke events and also picked up a silver in cycling. Golfers Terry Mangan and Pat Gunning each won bronze. Dublin will host the event next time around, in 2004.
TENNIS: Third seed Daniela Hantuchova, the teenage conquerer of Martina Navratilova in the second round, yesterday reached the semi-finals at Eastbourne with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 defeat of American Amy Frazier.
The 19-year-old Hantuchova benefited from a second-set collapse by Frazier. The victory puts the teenager into a match against Russian Anastasia Myskina, who beat Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 6-2, 7-5.
The second semi-final will be between American veteran Chanda Rubin and 19-year-old Czech Daja Bedanova.
Rubin crushed fourth seed Silvia Farina Elia 6-1, 6-0 while Bedanova, who put out top seed Jelena Dokic in the second round, stopped American Megann Shaughnessy 7-6 (8/6), 6-2.
