Badminton: Long wait doesn't faze Glenbard West's Qureshi

Glenbard West senior Maha Qureshi's badminton season of new experiences continued Friday at St. Charles East.

Because her usual doubles partner wasn't there, Qureshi didn't play until the final match put on the court for No. 1 singles.

"We warmed up (as a team) together and then I sat for a good hour and a half," Qureshi said. "You're not as warm if you played right away, but it wasn't as bad as I thought because this was my first time waiting."

Qureshi persevered for a three-game victory that completed the Hilltoppers' 13-2 nonconference victory - their first dual victory this season.

Glenbard West (1-3) swept the doubles matches with junior Emma Harrington and sophomore Molly Rueth at No. 1, senior Veronica Kneifel and junior Gaby Evans at No. 2, sophomores Gina Gorcsos and Kelly Hall at No. 3, juniors Cate Fanning and Jenna Thompson at No. 4 and seniors Sasan Cing and Elaine Chen at No. 5.

Other singles winners were Rueth, Evans, Kneifel and Chen at Nos. 3-6 and Gorcsos, Thompson and Hall at Nos. 8-10.

Senior Hiral Patel and sophomore Megan Spencer won at Nos. 2 and 7 singles, respectively, for the Saints (2-6).

Both teams are rebuilding after graduating their entire sectional lineups. They each used four seniors, although Harrington is the lone varsity returnee for the Hilltoppers, who sent three to state in 2015.

Qureshi prevailed 21-10, 19-21, 21-13 over Emma Hardy, one of five sophomores in the Saints' lineup.

Qureshi not only has improved immensely from being on junior varsity last year. She began the season at No. 3 singles but has since earned the No. 1 spot.

"I think my (shot) placement has gotten better. (Coach Amanda Meyer's) drills help a lot with that. And with all of the conditioning that we do, my speed has improved as well," Qureshi said. "Before I used to miss a lot of the front and back stuff, and now I'm actually getting the bird."

Meyer is a new head coach, but she's coached most varsity Hilltoppers the previous two seasons with the JV. She hopes her further experience as a psychologist at the school has helped them adjust to varsity pressure.

"I've done some things with stress management and to learn just to take on some of that stress, especially with coming from JV and playing up high on varsity," Meyer said. "We have a very tough conference and it's really tough because a lot of the schools have players that play year-round. We always just work on staying positive and giving our best effort every time."

The Saints were minus junior No. 1 singles player Jiya Patel, pushing their regular lineup up one spot each. Even with the switching, they lost four matches in three games and scored double digits in 21 of the 26 games they lost.

"Actually it wasn't horribly frustrating because the girls did well," St. Charles East coach Trisha DeNorio said. "They all tried really well. They didn't give up. We have a young team. Every day we play matches like this, it's good experience for them. They're going to be great next year."

Hardy already has been impressive at No. 2 singles after being in the middle of last year's JV lineup. Friday's debut at No. 1 was only her second singles loss this season. Hardy, who usually plays No. 3 doubles with Jiya Patel, played No. 5 with Spencer.

"I'm actually really proud of how I did," Hardy said. "Suddenly I just moved up to varsity on the top so it's crazy. But I've put a lot of work into it. I took lessons before the season so that really helped me improve and just playing all of these games against people who are older than me."

"She did some off-season conditioning at Midwest Badminton. She does the badminton open gyms here. She's put in the time and she's getting better," DeNorio said.

Even Harrington is adjusting. Doubles partner Rueth was a state tennis qualifier in doubles in October but is a newcomer to badminton. The fact that Harrington is left-handed also gives them an edge at covering the court.

"I like helping teach her new stuff. I feel like next year I have even higher hopes and we can improve even more," Harrington said.

"I like having harder competition since I moved up a little in the lineup but I also like my new teammates, too. I like to support them when they're playing the spot that I used to be play."