Lady Golden Tornadoes net 10 wins

Behind a senior-laden roster, Lawrence girls’ badminton team reached double digits in wins and finished second behind Garden City in the Nassau Conference V standings.

The Lady Golden Tornadoes closed with a four-match winning streak, capped by a 6-1 victory at Valley Stream North May 6. It was their 10th triumph in 14 tries and placed them ahead of seven conference rivals.

“Of our 16 seniors, most of them picked up the sport as freshmen and it’s been great to see them develop over the years,” Lawrence coach Patrick Leary said. “I sensed it could be a nice year based on our experience. It’s a great group of girls. They do extremely well in the classroom, and their work ethic carries over to the court.”

Leary said more than 50 girls tried out for the team this spring as interest in badminton continues to grow across the county. The final roster consisted of 40 players. “The girls realize it’s a cool, competitive sport,” he said. “Watching some of the veteran players is something that will benefit the younger girls as they advance through the program.”

Lawrence’s top doubles tandem went undefeated. Senior captains and twin sisters Mehak and Shafak Ilyas formed a talented duo for a fourth year in a row and advanced to the county championships at Bellmore-JFK on the strength of a 14-0 record. “They have a keen sense of where each other is going to be,” Leary explained. “Their chemistry is unique, and neither one of them has a real weakness.”

Senior captain Reyna Castillo, a three-year team member, also qualified for the county championships after finishing 9-5 at first singles. She played doubles in previous seasons. “She’s athletic and quick,” Leary said.

In the second singles spot, senior captain Kiran Tariq wore down many an opponent and went 10-4. “She has a defensive style and forces opponents into mistakes,” Leary said. Tariq made the difference in a narrow victory over East Rockaway May 4, edging Angela Serra 21-19, 21-19. 

Next spring, the Lady Golden Tornadoes will rely heavily on junior Zena Ballas. She’ll be one of the most experienced returnee after posting six wins at third singles. In the season opener, Ballas rallied from a set down to beat Oceanside’s Sara Chin in the decisive match.

At fourth doubles, seniors Alicia Bedward and Victoria Speziale developed a flare for the dramatic. One of their six wins was the highlight of the year, according to Leary. It came April 8 against East Rockaway’s Stephanie Ortiz and Alex Cosap. Bedward and Speziale scored just 11 points in the first set but rallied to take the next two, 21-18, 22-20. “It was one of those days when all the other matches were done for a while,” Leary said. “Everyone on both teams was watching, and it was exciting to pull it out.”

Senior Paris Garyfallis and junior Julie Rosen won six of eight matches at second doubles, while senior Ivana Malvoni and freshman Lucia Malvoni, another sister tandem, were solid at third doubles.

“What made our season even better was the girls all got along tremendously well,” Leary said.