Trio of Hatters medal at high school badminton provincials

By Sean Rooney on May 8, 2018.

Medicine Hat News

Nobody from Medicine Hat and area high schools brought home banners from badminton provincials, but a couple did come close.

At Grimshaw on Saturday, the Hat High senior mixed doubles team of Phoebe Gamao and Irvin Magwali made a run in their half of the playoffs. Playing in the Category B side of the 16-team draw, Gamao and Magwali won their first two games to reach the B final against the Northeast zone’s Justin Pasitney and Tanielle Yacey.

In badminton, you’re a provincial champ whether you win the A or B side. But it was Pasitney and Yacey who emerged victorious, winning 2-0 (21-18, 21-16).

The Hat High intermediate boys doubles team of Sam Nygaard and Tony Nguyen also had a couple wins in their Saturday playoffs. One got them to the Category B semifinals, where they lost, but the other —a 2-0 (21-11, 21-13) over Holy Trinity’s Aldrich Abuda and Justin Silva — earned them third place.

McCoy’s Jordyn Fournier was back after taking second a year ago in junior girls singles. This time she wound up with a bronze finish, winning her final two matches of the weekend in intermediate girls singles to claim the podium spot in Category B. Her third-place win was 2-0 (21-18, 22-20) over Chinook’s Nicole Madore —a rematch of the previous week’s zone final won by Madore.

Only one local-area player advanced from Friday’s initial round robin to contend for a Category A banner. But Hat High’s James Nguyen fell in his lone senior boys singles playoff game to finish essentially tied for fifth.

Eagle Butte had two junior doubles teams at Grimshaw. The mixed team of Triston Duchscherer and Lexie Waldbauer went 1-2, with one of those losses coming to the eventual A-side champs and the other two needing three sets. In girls doubles, Jessica Balfour and Azlin Ferguson went 0-3.

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