The Oak Park and River Forest High School badminton team won its first sectional championship since 1999 on Thursday night. The Huskies took first place with 15 points, finishing ahead of sectional host Hersey (11.5), Maine West (9), Addison Trail and Libertyville (3.5 each) and Zion-Benton (3).
OPRF advances to the state finals, which will be held May 13-14 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
“We’ve been getting better each year,” OPRF senior captain Rei Uemaki said. “This has been one of the best seasons for OPRF badminton in a long time. It’s very exciting to be part of the badminton program’s growth and success.”
The Huskies’ Rei Uemaki, a foreign exchange student from Japan, finished first in singles followed by Trinka.
Uemaki didn’t drop a game en route to winning the title. She defeated Trinka 21-12, 21-6 in the championship match. In earlier matches, Uemaki beat Mary Grace Mutia (Addison Trail) 21-3, 21-14 and Sammi Lee (Hersey) 21-11, 21-14.
Prior to her meeting against Uemaki, Trinka cruised past Zion Benton’s Lizzette Hernandez 21-10, 21-10 and Libertyville’s Katherine Liu 21-13, 21-13.
The doubles teams of Maria Krunic and Jennifer Eisner and Catherine Heyboer and Joey Oldach placed third and fourth, respectively, for OPRF.
Krunic and Risner went 3-1 at the sectional, including a 21-15, 21-7 victory over Heyboer and Oldach. Heyboer and Oldach won three of five matches at the sectional to qualify for the state finals.
“This sectional is tough so we’re excited to get everybody to state,” said Trinka, who also plays tennis at OPRF. “A lot of our seniors came up to the varsity level together so we have experience and depth in the lineup.
OPRF is coached by head coach Paul Wright, assistants Liz Maxwell and Jim Webster and consultant Jane Graham.
For more about OPRF badminton, click the link below.
http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/5-3-2016/OPRF-becoming-a-brand-name-in-badminton/