BG’s Krewer, Zawlocki

Buffalo Grove’s Alanna Zawlocki and Jenny Krewer were unseeded and relatively unknown going into Friday’s first day of the state badminton tournament at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

But Zawlocki and Krewer made it known they are ready to compete for a state medal. They came back to win their last two matches in three sets and advanced to today’s championship bracket quarterfinals.

Zawlocki, a senior, and Krewer, a junior, are making their first state tourney appearances.

“We always knew it was possible and it’s nice that we played our best,” Krewer said.

“It feels really great,” Zawlocki said. “We didn’t get seeded but we knew we could play well and beat the teams seeded above us.”

BG’s unbeaten and top-seeded duo of seniors Nell Boyd and Michelle Byjos (34-0) won their three matches. So did Palatine’s second-seeded Maggie Van Grondelle and Tomoyo Tsurumi, who face Zawlocki-Krewer in today’s quarterfinals.

Fremd is currently third with 8.5 points as freshman 3-4 seed Angela Wu won her three matches. Hinsdale South (9.5) and Sandburg (9.0) lead the team race.

Krewer and Zawlocki had to fight off two match points in the second round to beat 5-8 seed Wendy Tian and Rebecca Weng of Naperville North 19-21, 21-18, 25-23.

“We relied on each other and trusted each other,” Zawlocki said.

“It was definitely nerve-racking,” Krewer said. “It’s nice because Alanna is really competitive and I’m good at staying calm.”

Boyd and Byjos, who finished fourth last year, didn’t have much trouble as they advanced to face 9-12 seed Melissa Carrington and Theresa Lacek of Reavis in the quarterfinals. r

“We played pretty well,” Boyd said. “Our third match was the toughest (21-18, 21-15) but we stayed calm and beat them without too much trouble.”

One of the biggest challenges is Byjos’ battle with back problems that have plagued her all season. She hurt it again in last weekend’s sectional.

“I’ll play the games and worry about it later,” Byjos said. “It definitely hurst a lot but I don’t let it bother me.

“We’re looking forward to (today) and we have to be ready for everything. Everyone is going to want to beat us so we just have to be ready.”

Van Grondelle is a two-time state placewinner and Tsurumi is making her first state appearance. Their toughest match was a 21-18, 21-16 third-round win.

“I’m glad we had a good game like that to prepare us for (today) because it will be so much more intense,” Van Grondelle said.

“We did awesome,” Tsurumi said. “It’s going to be more amazing with the teams coming up (today). We have to be more prepared.”

Fremd is in the hunt for its third straight state atrophy in five years. Wu won all three matches in two sets and will face 5-8 seed Jessica Glennon of Lincoln-Way Central in the quarters.

Wu is the only Fremd player still alive as Annie Huang won her first two matches but was knocked out in the consolation fourth round. The doubles teams of Kelly Owens and Ji Young Seo and Shannon Fitzgerald and Mayu Sugikawa were knocked out in the consolation bracket.

Prospect’s Shea Gallus and Noreen Caporusso won their first match and stayed alive in today’s back draw with consolation-round victories. Maine West’s Cindy Wong, Hersey’s Jenn Hall and Wheeling’s Hannah Park won first-round matches but were eliminated in the consolation bracket.