Huron Park Huskies capture TVRA South East Senior badminton team title

Huron Park Huskie Egan McDonald extends for a backhand during TVRA South East mixed doubles championship play. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

To be clear, Emma MacDonald - M-A-C - and Egan McDonald - M-C - are not related.

“Not at all,” said Emma.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Egan added.

“Hopefully not,” Emma concluded with a laugh.

While not related, the phonetically linked Woodstock Huron Park Huskies senior doubles partners are however in what might be termed a ‘badminton relationship,' developing a strategy for individual and shared on-court responsibilities within boundaries most likely to lead to success.

“You just kind of figure it out as you play,” said MacDonald, who competed in girls’ singles last year.

“For her especially,” added McDonald, who played boys’ doubles last year. “The lines are different.”

Positionally, as is typical for mixed doubles pairings, Emma gravitates to the rapid-fire exchanges in the front court, Egan normally taking responsibility for deep clears and an expanded zone of coverage at the back. Philosophically, they strive to maintain communication and a positive attitude regardless of the score, related factors towards success.

“Keeping the energy up is good,” said Emma.

The Huskies duo needed all of their energy through a six-match Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) South East badminton championship tournament Thursday April 17 at Woodstock College Avenue (CASS), opening with wins over St. Thomas St. Joes and CASS before losing to Jocelyn Pollard and Ramjot Singh from Lord Dorchester. MacDonald and McDonald won their way back into the mixed doubles final with a win over Tillsonburg Glendale’s Roxanne McDonald and Caleb Racz, setting up a finals rematch with Pollard and Singh.

The Huskies opened with a 21-14, 21-16 win (unofficially) before dropping the second match against the previously undefeated Dorchester duo, again unofficially by scores of 21-17, 22-20. As well as locking up a top four finish Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association (WOSSAA) berth, MacDonald and McDonald’s silver-medal success contributed to Huron Park’s overall TVRA South East team victory, going along with Peyton Cowan’s gold in girls’ singles, Gavin Jansen and Parker McLeod’s silver in boys’ doubles and Mansi Desai and Prinal Shah’s fourth-place finish in girls’ doubles.

Kathy Worrall co-coaches a strong Huron Park team with Elaine Back, a collective which says Worrall enjoyed success in junior as well, taking last year’s team title at that level.

“They are a joy to coach.”

Pleased to qualify for WOSSAA, the Mc-Mac-Donalds are preparing for tough competition in that regional draw Thursday, April 24 at London Saunders.

“There’s going to be a lot of good teams there,” said Egan. “But I’m sure there’s some teams we can beat too.”

The multi-sport athlete Cowan cruised undefeated through a four-match draw, defeating Tillsonburg Glendale’s Liv Heleniak, Barton from St. Thomas St. Joe’s and St. Thomas Central Elgin’s Reina Walters back-to-back in the semis and finals, after the latter won her way back for an ultimately unsuccessful rematch.

The Grade 12 Cowan did not lose a TVRA match in her high school career credits coach Worrall, racking up four consecutive girls’ singles titles along with a fourth-place finish at WOSSAA junior competition during her Grade 10 season.

Jansen and McLeod opened with wins over St. Thomas Parkside and Lord Dorchester before dropping a match to eventual champions Brandon Dews and Brady Hunter from Central Elgin. The Huskies tandem won their way back into the final with a win over Maeus Fontuna and Maxwell Odemodu from Woodstock St. Mary’s. The Huskies took the first match of the double-knockout final before dropping the second.

The Grade 11 squad features Jansen’s quickness with McLeod’s considerable reach says coach Worrall, heading to their third WOSSAA in as many years.

“They’re an excellent combination.”

Coach Worrall also credited Desai and Prinhal with ‘underdog’ tenacity, dropping their opening match to Parkside, defeating a Woodstock CI pairing and then a second Parkside entry to garner the final girls’ doubles WOSSAA berth.

Along with Fontuna and Odemodu’s third-place finish in boys’ doubles, the Warriors’ Tommy Walker qualified for WOSSAA with a second-place finish in boys’ singles. Walker opened the draw with wins over Glendale and Ingersoll DCI opponents, before dropping his third match to eventual champion Tyler Michiels from Dorchester. Walker won his way back into the final with a semi-final victory over Callum Besley from St. Joe’s.

Two CASS Knights teams rounded Woodstock-Ingersoll WOSSAA qualifications, Ryan Atkinson and Devon Fordham earning a fourth-place finish in boys’ doubles. They opened with a win over Parkside, dropping their second match to Central Elgin before downing a St. Joe’s squad and exiting the draw against Fontuna and Odemodu.

Both in Grade 12, neither Atkinson nor Fordham have extensive badminton experience says coach Julia Stadnisky.

“But they make up for it with athletic ability.”

The Knights’ highlight of the day came in girls’ doubles where Chloe Jones and Arianna Pastoor ran the table undefeated through four matches to earn gold medals. They opened with a win over Central Elgin, downing Blair Dawdy and Addy Martin from Parkside before back-to-back wins over St. Joe’s Mara Kemmerling and Taliah Shaw in the semis and finals, respectively.

“They are really good friends so they don’t really need to communicate, they have a pretty good idea what they’re going to do,” said their coach.

Typically, Pastoor plays at the net and Jones deep, although they can also play sides when necessary. Stadinsky has high hopes for the Knights duo as they head into WOSSAA, although also an appreciation for its elevated level of play.

“Next week will be the competition,” she concluded.

TVRA South East Senior Badminton Championships

Boys Singles

1. Tyler Michiels (LDSS), 2. Tommy Walker (SMHS), 3. Callum Besley (SJHS), 4. Bennett Thomas (LDSS).

Girls Singles

1. Peyton Cowan (HPSS), 2. Reina Walters (CECI), 3. Lily Woitas (SMHS), 4. Liv Heleniak (GHS).

Boys Doubles

1. Brandon Dews/Brady Hunter (CECI), 2. Gavin Jansen/Parker McLeod (HPSS), 3. Maeus Fontuna/Maxwell Odemodu (SMHS), 4. Ryan Atkinson/Devon Fordham (CASS).

Girls Doubles

1. Chloe Jones/Arianna Pastoor (CASS), 2. Mara Kemmerling/Taliah Shaw (SJHS), 3. Blaire Dawdy/Addy Martin (PCI), 4. Mansi Desai/Prinal Shah (HPSS).

Mixed Doubles

1. Jocelyn Pollard/Ramjot Singh (LDSS), 2. Emma MacDonald/Egan McDonald (HPSS), 3. Roxanne McDonald/Caleb Racz (GHS), 4. Cody Johnson/Elise Donaghy (SJHS).