Byar advances, raises hopes at L-W Central

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Kelly Byar is on the verge of making school history and so is her team.

The Lincoln-Way Central junior is one victory away from becoming the first badminton player from the New Lenox school to earn a state medal. Byar (55-1) advanced to Saturday's quarterfinals by beating West Aurora’s Lauren Henry 21-10, 21-18 in the third round Friday at Eastern Illinois in Charleston.

“Kelly is playing great,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Donna Thompson said. “She has a tough match (Saturday). It’s going to be a battle but I think she’ll be up for it.”

Byar, a 3-4 seed, will face Naperville North sophomore Melissa Chang, a 9-12 seed. The two have never played each other.

“She’s a good player,” Byar said. “I need to focus throughout the match and not get distracted. If I stay calm and don’t get nervous I’ll be fine.”

Byar, who lost in the third round last year, said being a year older and wiser has made all the difference for her, although she didn’t expect to have such a great record.

“Experience is everything,” she said. “There is only so much you can do in practice. To be in real games is 10 times better. My footwork is 10 times better. I move through the court more fluidly.”

The Knights are counting on Byar in their quest to win their first trophy. They are tied for first place in the team standings with Hinsdale Central and Andrew at 9.0 points, but Byar is their only entrant still alive. Senior singles player Ellen Sawin and the doubles teams of juniors Samantha Chevalier and Nikki Pelletier and Meghan Chevalier and Stephanie Farina all earned two points each.

“The kids played great (Friday),” Thompson said. “I’m very, very proud of them.”

“I’m excited about it,” Byar added. “It’s cool that we can get a trophy.”

The other quarterfinals have top-seeded Hinsdale Central senior Karishma Kollipara (44-0), a two-time champ, taking on Fremd’s Erica Lee, while Hinsdale Central senior Alexis Ward (33-4) faces No. 2 seed Jenna Langhorst (42-1) of Fremd and Lincoln-Way East junior Carrie Miarecki meets Naperville North senior Stephanie Chang.

In the doubles, top-seeded Deepa Ramadurai and Anjylla Foster (27-5) of Hinsdale South advanced, but in the biggest upset of the day, the 3-4 seeded team of Downers Grove North’s Rose Binder and Shannon LaVallie lost in the first round to Sandburg’s Stephanie Biedron and Brooke O’Brien.