The badminton IHSA state championship takes place at Hinsdale South where Stevenson clinches the team state title. This highlight is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
The IHSA badminton state championship finals are here at Hinsdale South. Day three of the tournament begins with the quarterfinals and we will start with the doubles bracket.
Doubles Consolation Quarterfinals
Naperville Central’s top pairing of Hanna An and Michelle Hu looking to stay alive in the consolation quarterfinals against Ellie Ouyang and Nancy Zhang from Stevenson. The Redhawks fell to Anjana Viswanathan & Riya Alwala from Metea Valley in round three, but earned two more wins in the consolation bracket to advance to this point.
Stevenson competing with the defending state champions Naperville North, Fremd and Neuqua Valley at the top of the standings. After two sets, Ouyang and Zhang pick up a key half point and a victory for the Patriots. A great season comes to an end for An and Hu.
Over to a different quarterfinal, Sophia Wang and Vivian Kok, sectional champions from Metea Valley facing familiar foes Rosana Liang and Connie Lu, the Naperville North sectional champs.
The Huskies get off to a great start as Liang and Lu look to pull off the upset after a 21-17 first set win.
But the Mustangs regroup and show off the special chemistry to win sets two and three 21-9, 21-15. They also go on to defeat Ouyang and Zhang to advance to the 5th place match.
3rd Place Doubles
The third place doubles match is between Sasha Neidigh & Lindsey White from York, who sent Kok and Wang to the consolation bracket earlier in the day, against Yejee Lee & Maggie Wu from Fremd. A great three set match that in the end, is won by York, denying Fremd a key half point.
5th Place Doubles
Vivian Kok and Sophia Wang now in the 5th place match against Carla Martinez & Paige Drewno from Thornton Fractional South. But at this point, the Mustangs have shaken off the loss from the quarterfinals. The longtime duo goes off on a high note with a two set victory 21-14, 21-6. Back to back top 5 finishes for this Metea duo.
The championship match is between Sachi Tillu & Jesyln Venttikatt from Fremd and Ema Akutsu & Katherine Li from Stevenson. Akutsu and Li were completely dominant all tournamnet long, including the championship match. For the second straight season, Stevenson produces the doubles state champ.
Singles Semifinals
Now over to the singles bracket, starting with the championship semifinals. Sophomore Andrea Li from University High School in Urbana is back after finishing as the state runner up last year. She faces the always entertaining Shannon Xu.
Xu doing what she does best, getting to every difficult return she can. The junior eventually takes this point with a nice drop shot.
However Li did not make the long trip north for nothing, eventually seizing control and advancing to the singles championship for the second year in a row 21-8, 21-11.
In the other semifinal, Neuqua Valley freshman Hannah George playing beyond her years this season against senior Amanda Ng from Naperville North.
George is not intimidated at all by her first state tournament, pushing her fellow sectional champion with everything she has.
This is actually the first state badminton tournament for Amanda Ng as well. The Huskies are thrilled she joined the roster this year as she takes the semifinal win in two sets and advances to the singles state championship match. That gives North a point in the team standings to keep pace with Stevenson and Fremd.
Singles Consolation Semifinals
Another top DVC freshman is Carissa Chen from Waubonsie Valley. She is able to make it into the 5th place match after this consolation bracket win against Maya Przebirowski from Wheeling.
5th Place Singles
The Warrior moving into the medal round to take on Maggie Chen from Hinsdale South, who fell to Hannah George in the quarterfinals.
In the opening set, Carissa Chen holds her own, pushing her opponent to the back and then dropping a quick shot just over the net.
However, Maggie Chen flips the script from there and goes on to win the 5th place medal in straight sets. A great inaugural season for Carissa Chen in the green and gold.
3rd Place Singles
A fun third place matchup between Shannon Xu and Hannah George. Naperville North one point behind Stevenson in the team standings and a half point behind Fremd for second place, while Neuqua sits in 4th.
With the temperature outside over 90 degrees, the fieldhouse is warm and humid so most players are feeling the effects at this point in the day. However, you see everyone giving their all as Xu comes away with this point before hitting the deck.
But Hannah George once again shows she is no ordinary freshman. Despite a trademark full extension dive from Shannon Xu, George gets the point on a smash and takes third place in two sets 24-22, 22-20 in a fantastic match. A great showing for both players who know each other well.
Singles Championship
For the second year in a row, it’s Andrea Li against a Naperville North Huskie for the singles state title. Amanda Ng and North head coach Heather Schild hope for a win that could earn a share of the team state title.
Ng, who until this spring was known mostly as one of the area’s top swimmers, shows that she is certainly more than comfortable out of the water as well, smashing home this first set point.
But Andrea Li has learned a lot over the past year. She is able to cover a ton of ground efficiently and shows off the power and finesse, eventually earning a 21-17 first set win thanks to drop shots like this.
The Huskie senior regroups in the second set, looking to force a third. Some great returns from Li, but Ng just taps one over with a light backhand for the point. A 17-13 lead in set two.
However, Li fights back to take a 21-20 lead late in the set. Championship point now as both players leaving everything they have on the court. In the end, Li drops one just over the net and out of the reach of Ng. Andrea Li is the 2022 state singles champion. What a season for all these players. Stevenson clinches the team state title after back-to-back runner-up seasons, while Fremd ends up in second place. Naperville North brings state trophy number eight for the program after securing third place. Neuqua Valley in 4th, Hinsdale South 5th and Metea Valley in 6th.
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