Badminton smashes opponents

Varsity women’s badminton ended the season 8-0 in the IAAM B conference and 8-1 overall. The team’s only loss was to St. Paul’s School on March 25. JV’s in-conference record was 4-4.

“Our varsity was really good, and we had one undefeated team—[seniors] Fiona van der Steur and Bethany Boniface,” junior player Julia Lee said. Lee plays singles on JV, which had 17 first-year players out of 38 total on both varsity and JV.

“I think absolutely everybody improved their game,” badminton coach Tess Gauthier said.

However, the large team prevented everyone from getting as much “match-play,” according to Gauthier. “Looking back, that’s not how I would continue for the future,” she said.

During their April 22 game against St. Tim’s, the badminton teams were filmed by Harford Cable Network and featured in a Youtube video that will also be televised sometime in May, according to Gauthier.

“[The Network representatives] approached me,” Gauthier said. “They said they were looking for something a little different and decided to come over and shoot our match.”

IAAM championships are being held from April 30 to May 2 at Garrison Forest. Last year, JC won the tournament championship. At the time of publication, this year’s results were not yet determined.

“We have an excellent chance of winning the tournament championship,” Gauthier said.

 Kathy Deaver is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.

Wrestler visits Romania

After being declared a National Champion in his weight class for wrestling, junior Hunter Ritter decided that it was time to take his success to another level.

Over spring break, Ritter traveled with his wrestling coach Lau Plade and a few of his teammates to Romania to wrestle the top high school wrestlers in Europe, even competing and training with Olympians and members of the World Team.

“I went over to see a new country, but mostly to train and see how the wrestlers over there trained,” Ritter said.

“I wrestled well. They wrestle a totally different style overseas, but after having a week to get used to it, I was wrestling pretty well [too],” Ritter said.

Ritter said that he was pleased by his success on a global scale and that it was a productive trip and a great experience.

“It was a real eye-opener,” Ritter said. “I’m blessed that I had the opportunity to experience a different country.”

Eric Johnson is a Sports Writer for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.