Kawartha high school badminton champions crowned
The Adam Scott Lions mixed doubles and Crestwood Mustangs boys doubles badminton teams are trying to make the most of their last year of high school.
Winning their first Kawartha seniorchampionshipsWednesdayafternoon was a good first step for the Grade 12 students – Hannah Wood and Will Ebisuzaki-Mackay of the Lions and Mustangs Evan Pula and Jayden Patterson of the Mustangs. Their victories at Crestwood Secondary School advanced them to the COSSA tournament Tuesday at Kenner Collegiate.
Wood and Ebisuzaki-Mackay were teammates in Grade 9 and barely made it to Kawartha finishing sixth. They played apart the past two years before coming together again this year. Wood joined him at the Peterborough Badminton Club this year and it’s helped their game.
“Personally, it’s a matter of controlling your frustration or emotion while you’re playing,” Wood said. “We were down 15-9 in our match and I thought, take a breath, we’re fine.”
They rallied to win 21-17, 21-18 over Holy Cross Hurricanes Melissa Duong and Anthony Nguyen in the final.
Neither has been to OFSAA and it’s definitely their goal.
“I’ve never been to OFSAA for any of the sports I play in high school so I’m determined this is the year,” Wood said. “I’d really like to go to OFSAA to make my last stand in high school.”
Ebisuzaki-Mackay won an OFSAA bronze in Nordic skiing and was a reserve in volleyball but he’s hoping for a first in badminton.
“It would be just as big for me,” he said. “That’s all we’ve been thinking about all year. Our goal is to get there. Winning Kawartha wasn’t something we were expecting so that’s even better. We had a really strong Holy Cross team I wasn’t sure we were going to beat.”
It’s a similar story for Pula and Patterson who decided to team up in their final year of high school. They were undefeated on Wednesday. Pula was once third in singles at Kawartha and Patterson had never made it that far but together they were unstoppable.
“We just thought we didn’t have a chance on any other part of the team so we thought we’d team up as doubles,” said Pula.
They beat Norwood’s Steven Wilson and Taylor Grattan 21-4, 21-10 in the final.
“He’s better at the net and I’m better at the back and it kind of just works,” Patterson said.
Now they’re hoping to take their success to OFSAA.
“It would mean a lot. It’s our last year,” said Pula.
OFSAA wouldn’t be new for Holy Cross’ Michelle Duong who won the girls’ singles title beating Kenner Rams’ Aisha Abdella in the final. Duong is seeking a third straight trip to OFSAA. She went as a doubles team in 2015 and in singles last year.
“I’m hoping to do my best,” Duong said. “I’d really like to go to OFSAA again. My little sister (Melissa) is on the team and our friend Anthony and we’ve all played badminton together for years. I hope we all make it.”
In boys’ singles Haliburton’s Ben Schmidt beat Norwood’s Hayden Baptie in the final. In the girls’ doubles final, Kenner’s Payton Tummon and Tyler Hinchcliffe defeated Port Hope.
The top four in each event advanced to COSSA. The junior Kawartha tournament is Thursday at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School with COSSA in Belleville on April 27.