COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS EMBODY SMITHTOWN’S NEWLY FORMED ATHLETIC TRADITION
Article and Photos by Lance Pauker
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Smithtown is known for many things, historical splendor, excellent school systems, and…badminton?
Although many residents in the Town of Smithtown would be hard-pressed to explain the rules of this relatively obscure sport, badminton is quietly becoming one of the community’s sources of pride. The Town’s teams are an integral part of badminton at the interscholastic level, as Smithtown East, Smithtown West, and Commack are three of Suffolk County’s eight programs.
Notably, Smithtown Badminton has cemented itself in immortality. In 2005, Smithtown High School defeated Miller Place High School, ending the Panthers astounding 504 game winning streak, a run which dated back to the program’s inception in 1973. The 22-year undefeated stretch is far and away the longest winning streak in sports history.
In 2007, Smithtown continued the dismantling of the Panthers by earning its first ever league title, marking the first time Miller Place did not finish first in regular season play.
In 2008, the Smithtown West Girl’s team pushed the boundaries even further, displacing Miller Place from the Badminton throne when they earned the school’s first ever Badminton County Championship. The Smithtown East Boys squad has since carried the torch, appearing in the county finals each of the past two years, highlighted by a 14-0 regular season in 2009.
On Wednesday May 26th and Thursday May 27th, Smithtown West hosted the annual individual county championships. With recent successes fresh in their minds, the players challenged themselves with the hope of winning individual awards.
With eight schools in attendance, a thriving concession stand, and a rather extroverted crowd, the scene in the Smithtown High School West Gymnasium was one of sheer enthusiasm, as fans darted between courts to observe multiple games being played simultaneously. After a rather lengthy first day of competition, each bracket (boy’s singles, boy’s doubles, girl’s singles, and girl’s doubles) was whittled down sixteen initial entries to only four.
Many consider Badminton a “backyard sport,” or an activity that can be lazily enjoyed at a summer barbeque, with participants pausing intermittently to snag a hot dog. Anyone who was in attendance for the boy’s singles championship would consider that assumption an insult to an extremely competitive sport.
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After coasting through the season undefeated, Walt Whitman’s Matt Simone looked to cruise to the singles title. However, his road to county supremacy hit a major speed bump in the finals in the form of Smithtown West’s Justin Lin. Using a combination of rare power and incredible footwork, the sophomore Lin outplayed Simone in the first round of the best-of-three set, narrowly emerging victorious with a final score of 15-12.
As the match progressed however, the balmy gym seemed to gradually deflate Lin. After numerous water breaks, the thoroughly fatigued Lin was forced to temporarily pause the match due to cramping. Simone outlasted Lin and earned the boys singles crown. Despite losing after such a valiant effort, there is no doubt that the sophomore Lin will use this experience and have much success in the years to come.
On the doubles front, Smithtown proved their grit. After upsetting teammates Rich Ardizzone and Steve Kennedy in the earlier rounds of the tournament, the number two doubles squad headed by junior Derrick Ladeairous and junior Greg Mayer made an improbable run all the way to the championship. The closely contested championship match against Patchogue-Medford’s Andrew Quatrale and Chris Margolin went back and forth throughout, with the teams splitting the first two games. In the third game however, Ladeairous, the third year player, used his experience to take control of the game, hitting some beautifully placed shots to give the Bulls an early lead in the deciding match. Despite a rather furious late rally by Pat-Med, Ladeairous and Mayer were able to fend off the Raiders, en-route to capturing the Suffolk County Boys doubles championship crown.
On the female end, Commack’s doubles tandem of Carly Sadiker and Kelly Hall made it all the way to the finals, but were upended by a very talented Half Hallow Hills squad. Smithtown West senior Christina Fiore placed fourth in the Girls singles bracket, falling narrowly to Miller Place’s Liz Paturlaski.
In Boys singles, Smithtown East’s Eric Hirschfield placed fourth, losing to Miller Place’s Jesse Dietrichson by a score of 15-13, 15-3.