Fremd, Hersey tie for MSL tourney title
Fremd swept the top four singles matches Saturday on day two of the Mid-Suburban League badminton championships.
Turns out the Vikings needed each of those victories to catch Hersey.
The Huskies and Fremd wound up sharing the MSL tournament crown, each totaling 53 points as Vikings Jenna Langhorst (No. 1 singles), Erica Lee (2), Marie Kanai (3) and Alice Liu (4) all won titles.
Hersey's Jackie Black (No. 6 singles) and Jillian Cabrera (9) both won to help lead Hersey to a shore of the top spot.
The Huskies started the day in second place after Friday's doubles competition, while Fremd climbed all the way up from sixth position.
"I'm very happy, very satisfied," said Kanai, who learned the sport in her native Japan before taking it to the next level after emigrating to the United State three years ago.
"I usually cry when I lose in the last match (of a tourney)" added the senior, "so today -- no tears."
Langhorst and Lee both improved to 36-1 in singles. Each of their losses, ironically, have come to players from Hinsdale Central.
"This is a huge step," said Langhorst, who won the No. 2 position MSL crown last year as a sophomore. "I really feel that I can compete with the best competition in the state."
"I'm very proud," said Lee, "that my team was able to come out on top."
Meet host Wheeling began the day in first place with 18½ points but wound up finishing tied for third with Buffalo Grove, which got singles titles from Heather Nisbet (No. 5) and Michelle Byjos (No. 8).
Fremd's Jackie Tiangco won at No. 10 while Hersey junior Sonal Patel scored an impressive 21-17, 21-12 victory at No. 7.
"This is amazing," said Patel. "I wanted to win this -- I set it as a goal -- and I realized it. I took it 1 point and 1 game at a time. But this wasn't about me, this was about our team. We wanted to win the tournament and we did it."
Hersey coach Jeanine Konkolewski couldn't agree more.
"They fought through this tournament," said Konkolewski. "They started today in second place but they rose to the occasion. It took a total team effort."