Area squads take a swing at state meet

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Birdies will be humming furiously over nets tonight when local high school badminton teams take to the court in sectional action.

The Fox Valley features some of the best talent in the state, and players will vie for one of four state berths in their individual sectionals. Girls who play both singles and doubles during the season can compete in only one event at sectionals.

The Neuqua Valley Sectional complex consists of four meets taking place at the same time in different locations. Beacon coverage area schools are split between playing at Naperville Central, Downers Grove North and Lincoln-Way Central.

East Aurora and Geneva will face the host Redhawks, Wheaton Warrenville South and Plainfield Central at 4:30 p.m. in the Naperville Central field house.

Although the Redhawks and Tigers are favored, the Tomcats are coming off a phenomenal singles showing in the Upstate Eight Conference tournament. East scored 36.5 points and won several titles.

"It will be interesting to see," Tomcats coach Rebecca Gabrys said. "We will be in the middle of the pack."

Daniela Martinez and Elizabeth Guerrero are slated for singles play, while the team of Blanca Zepeda and Alejandra Jaso is scheduled to play No. 1 doubles. Gabrys was still in the process of formulating her final team "depending on injuries and what happens with that."

Guerrero, who won the No. 4 singles title at the UEC meet and looked unstoppable with backhanded shots and net-clearing smashes, will face Geneva in her first match.

The Vikings will be led by Swedish exchange student Hanna Borjesson at No. 1 singles and senior Mary Pelling at No. 2.

Pelling competed in last year's sectional as an independent, before Geneva formed a team this spring. The veteran is no stranger to state competition and how to overcome its jitters. She has competed in the IHSA tennis tournament three years with teammate Krista Panko, who will team with Cassie Johnson at No. 1 doubles.

Claire Chlasta and Nicole Cisco will hold down the No. 2 doubles spot for the Vikings.

Coach Doug Ross is impressed with how well his team did this season, especially because it they did not have training facilities on a daily basis or any home matches.

"It was a good experience," he said. "We got our feet wet."

Oswego and Oswego East will travel to Downers Grove North to face the always tough Trojans, along with Neuqua Valley and Bolingbrook.

Downers Grove North and Neuqua Valley will be the teams to beat. Neuqua boasts two of the best singles players in state in Jackie Lai and Christina Hung.

"It's all about who shows up on sectionals day," Oswego coach Scott Freischlag said. "We've got a tough sectional."

The Panthers, who recently won the Southwest Suburban Prairie Conference title, are led by sophomore Breanne Vergonet at No. 1 and senior Jen Gilloffo at No. 2 singles.

Vergonet competed at sectionals as a freshman, and despite this being Gilloffo's first year playing badminton, she has competed in tennis for four seasons.

"They have been playing solid," Freischlag said.

Jessica Seeger and Natalie Jansen are scheduled to play No. 1 doubles and Chilsia Kliese and Pilar Guitierrez will play at No. 2.

Across town, Oswego East is looking to score its first state qualifier when it sends No. 1 doubles team Jill Jaskolski and Katie Horn, and No. 2 Rachelle Sulit and Bryanne Kalous into sectional action.

Sulit and Kalous recently won an SPC title while their teammates placed second.

Juniors Andrea Dyba and Katie McDonald are slated for singles play.

"They have really stepped it up lately," Wolves coach Marko Jurkovic said.

West Aurora and Waubonsie Valley will travel to Lincoln-Way Central. Also competing in that tournament are Glenbard South and Plainfield South.

Known for its excellent doubles program, the Blackhawks are led by the No. 1 team of Karina Diaz and Alexis Fox.

Earlier in the season, coach Ray Lopez predicted the seniors could crack a top 16 seed at state.

"They are exciting to watch," he said.

The No. 2 squad of Alicia Hizel and Emily Kuntzi will also vie for one of the four state spots. As of the DuPage Valley Conference meet last week, the Blackhawks' singles spots at the sectional were still up in the air.

Waubonsie is led by senior Faye Yao and sophomore Christine Liu, who will play singles. Heading up the doubles action will be Jessica Hsu and Tracy Lau, and Amirah Zaveri and Sheetal Gade.

"If they can keep executing shots, they can do that (qualify for state)," substitute coach Alyssa Battaglia said.