Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Long Beach boys badminton came up just short of an undefeated fall campaign, with two losses down the stretch costing the Marines the Conference 2 championship to Valley Stream District. But though they were denied at the very end, head coach Michelle LaBarbera takes nothing away from one of the most competitive rosters of her coaching career.
Undefeated in their first 10 matches, the Marines needed to sweep four meets in October in order to complete their undefeated run to the conference title. A 4-3 upset defeat against Wheatley on Oct. 6 made things more difficult, however, and Valley Stream District slammed the door with a 6-1 victory on Oct. 8, winning the conference with a 13-1 record. Long Beach went 12-2.
“They wanted to really end their career, especially the seniors, on a high note, and I think we did that,” LaBarbera said. “We started off undefeated and then once we realized the conference was in our grasp, it made it a little harder to lose those two games towards the end, But even in those two losses, I can't say that we didn't play our absolute best.”
Despite the unfortunate late skid in the standings, seniors Aaron Turbek and Andrew Doyle were awarded as individual players when they earned honorable mentions at the Nassau County Individual Championships last Saturday.
Turbek, Long Beach’s first singles, took on the toughest competition in the conference at each meet, earning a 7-5 record. In a 4-3 Long Beach victory over Bellmore JFK on Oct. 13, the senior nearly went to 30 in a losing second set against Nikko Vergara, only to come back and defeat him 24-22 in the match decider.
“His record doesn't speak to the level of play that he had to face, because he's playing the top kid on every single team,” LaBarbera said. “So his games were the most demanding.”
From the second singles position, Doyle went undefeated in his first 12 matches before falling to Valley Stream’s Muhammad Shayan in Long Beach’s season-deciding defeat.
“That was a match that also went to three games and he fought so hard,” LaBarbera said. “His love of badminton has just grown exponentially. He started in exhibitions as a freshman, and then each year, he earned a spot on the starting lineup. He’s just so invested in the sport and has become a true leader. For him, that really was a devastating loss, but once again, he left absolutely everything on the court.”
Senior Maxfield Turbek, Aaron’s brother, earned a 12-2 record in third singles, again proving Long Beach’s deep well of talent in comparison to most of its conference rivals.
In doubles, LaBarbera said it is always a challenge to match equally skilled players who share strong chemistry. Long Beach succeeded in this discipline as well, however, as first doubles Ian Olivo and Cameron Leflein and fourth doubles Lucas Greenberg and Julian Diamond both went 12-2.
At second doubles, LaBarbera paired up sophomores Patrick Maguire and James Poppito, leaving seniors Ayden Farish and Jordy Perez in third doubles. These two groups often played later on during meets and were occasionally competing with team victories on the line. LaBarbera said she considered not telling them the stakes, but they always wanted to know.
