Fremd rolls to another title

Fremd badminton coach Bob Hanson would love to have this type of dilemma of who to root for every year in the sectional tournament.

The championship matches in singles and doubles belonged to Fremd. As a result, so did an 11th straight sectional crown and a trip with a full contingent of players to next weekend’s state tournament at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Angela Wu beat Annie Huang 21-11, 21-19 at singles and Julie Owens-Ji Young Seo d. Rina Seo and Mayu Sugikawa 21-12, 21-19 at doubles.

“The girls played really well,” Hanson said after Fremd outscored Hersey 18-14 for the crown. “They approached it as getting ready for state and making it to state. They’ve been here before.”

Hersey’s Jen Hall also clinched a rerun trip to state in singles as she lost the third-place match to Glenbrook South’s Olivia Nelson 28-30, 21-14, 21-18. The Huskies’ Alexi Cole and Steffi Antony also lost the third-place match 21-18, 21-18.

At Buffalo Grove: A singles title by Cindy Wong and a third-place finish by Brittani Gorski helped Maine West win its first sectional title in 20 years with 12½ points. Buffalo Grove took second with 11½ points.

Wong beat BG’s Eleanore Chan 22-20, 18-21, 21-11 to make repeat trip to Charleston. Gorski won her final match 21-11, 21-11.

Prospect’s dynamic doubles crew of Shea Gallus and Noreen Caporusso rebounded from losing their first games in the semifinals and finals. Gallus and Caporusso beat BG’s Jenny Krewer and Kelsey Henrikson 19-21, 21-15, 21-16.

“They were able to pull through and step up their games,” said Prospect coach Jean Rezny. “It’s almost like they know when to turn it on and when to step it up.’’

BG’s Julie Jambrone and Mary Zawlocki beat Prospect’s Allison Walsh and Kiley Walsh 21-12, 23-21 in the third-place doubles match.

At New Trier: Palatine senior Maggie Van Grondelle, last year’s state doubles champion and a singles title threat, had to forfeit the championship match because of a back injury, according to the IHSA website. Van Grondelle allowed only 24 total points in her first two matches.

Palatine’s doubles team of Jenni Tucker and Sai Bhalerno also qualified but had to forfeit the third-place match because of Bhalerno’s ankle injury, according to the IHSA website. New Trier won the team title 17-10 over the Pirates.

At York: Leyden’s Adrianna Schwarz beat teammate Samantha Dowiarz 21-16, 21-8 in the third-place match as both qualified for state.

At Glenbard East: Schaumburg’s Vrunda Patel finished fourth and qualified for state in singles.