Pictured above: SVRSS Badminton Provincials Players
Submitted by: Craig Zamzow | |The SVRSS Badminton team participated in zone play downs in Gilbert Plains on April 25, 2018
Boys Singles
Jackson Kurtz went 3-0 in round robin to finish first in his pool. He won his quarterfinal match and then sadly had to play teammate Austin Mosiondz. Jackson won a hard fought battle in the semi-final guaranteeing Jackson a spot in provincials. Jackson went on to beat Johnny Kohan from Dauphin in the final to claim the zone title.
Austin Mosiondz went 2-1 in his round robin with his only loss being a game that went back and forth all the way to 25-23. Austin bounced back in his quarterfinal winning a tight match in 3 sets. Austin came up short vs teammate Jackson Kurtz in the semi-final and then lost the third place game in a meaningless game after being eliminated from provincial’s contention.
Girls Singles
Rachel Negrave went 3-0 in her round robin, won her quarterfinal and then faced teammate Presley Sagert in the semi-final. Rachel pulled through earning a spot at Provincials. Rachel then went on to lose to Avery Thacker from Dauphin in the final to claim 2nd place. This will be Rachel’s 2nd trip to Provincials and her game has really improved this year with her goal of making it to day two (championship round) at provincials.
Presley Sagert went 2-1 in her round robin. She proceeded to win her quarter-final match to earn a spot in a semi-final match and within one win of earning a provincial berth. However, an unlucky draw led to a match vs her teammate Rachel Negrave. The veteran Negrave used her experience to earn the provincials spot. Presley demonstrated her mettle and future promise by bouncing back and earning third place in zones as a grade 9 athlete.
Pictured above: SVRSS Badminton 2018 Team
Girls Doubles
Emily Mayuk and Kiana Halkett went 3-0 in the round robin, won their quarter final and semi-final to earn a spot in provincials as grade nine students. It was all-SVRSS final vs. Erica Sembaluk-Hart and Bryn Zamzow and Emily/Kiana won to claim 1st place in our zone. A very impressive result for two grade nine students. This pair practiced all winter as members of Team West for the Manitoba Games in Thompson. The coaches were proud and pleased to see this pair rewarded for their training and commitment this winter. Provincials will be a great experience and the experience will position them well for the future, and they might use their momentum to sneak up on some experienced doubles pairs.
Erica Sembaluk-Hart and Bryn Zamzow have only been playing as a pair for 5 weeks. They went 3-0 in the round robin winning their pool. They won their quarterfinal match and then added an impressive semi-final win to earn their spot in provincials. They played the other SVRSS team (Emily Mayuk and Kiana Halkett) in the final and settled for 2nd place against their more experienced teammates.
Pictured above: SVRSS Badminton in Flin Flon
Boys Doubles
Sean Kirkpatrick and Ethan Campbell went 3-0 in the round robin to win their pool. They won their quarterfinal and semi-final matches to stamp their tickets to return to provincials. They finished the day 6-0 by winning the A final to claim 1st place in our zone. This is their 3rd consecutive trip to provincials as a team. The pair reached the championship round last year and will surely be setting some ambitious goals in their third provincials’ experience.
Cory Sorrell and Austin Homeniuk went 3-0 in the round robin to win their pool. They won their quarterfinal match to earn a one game playoff for a spot at provincials. They played a Gilbert Plains pair in the semi-final. The SVRSS boys forced the match to 3 sets but ultimately came up just a bit short. This pair of grade 10s returned to the court with an opportunity to claim 3rd place in our zone and showed great character and competitiveness earning bronze.
Mixed Doubles
David Muller and Coral Zamzow went 3-0 in the round robin. They won their quarterfinal and semi-final games quite convincingly earning their provincials spots. They played a Gilbert Plains team in the final and won claiming 1st place in our zone with a 6-0 record. This will be a 4th consecutive trip to provincials for both players. David has previously earned a 4th and 5th place finish (out of 32 teams) in boys doubles and Coral finished 5th at provincials last year in mixed doubles.
After a Gimli tournament title a week ago, followed by a zone win this week, these 2 have high expectations at provincials and goal setting will certainly include a medal this year.
Pictured above SVRSS Badminton in Gimli
Badminton Provincials are in Brandon on May 4-5, 2018
The team will get some much-needed rest this weekend and then get back at it next week with practices to prepare. Our badminton program is very fortunate to have co-coach Larry Kooistra whose unmatched combination of commitment, knowledge, skill, and patience is an incredible resource for the team. In addition, community volunteer coaches Larry Henderson and Kyle Lylyk provide competition and coaching all winter long at practices for this group and have been integral to building the program to its recent successes. There are 14 schools in our zone and our team earned 10 of the 16 spots in provincials. With only 2 of the 10 students in grade 12 the future of the SVRSS badminton program looks bright.
