BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published November 16, 2006

Though many of the experienced players from last year’s Swarthmore badminton team have graduated, a core group of returning players may be able to keep the Garnet in the hunt for the lead in the Philadelphia Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (PAIAW). With Bhavin Parikh returning for his second season as the head coach, the team hopes to build off a core group of older players while injecting fresh talent throughout the roster.

The team hopes to have strong performances from returning players Candice Cherk ’07, Mu Yang ’07, Patricia Kelly ’08 and Kannie Chim ’07. Their experience will help to educate and to provide experience to those players on the team who have never played competitive badminton before.

Coach Parikh calls this group “the most dedicated individuals that the team has seen for a long time.” Even though the team is young and somewhat inexperienced, coach Parikh remains “positive that the team will do well against [its] opponents.”

One of the main season goals is to bring all of the newer players to a point where they have the ability to compete at the intermediate level in tournaments. Also, there is optimism that the young players will build sufficient experience to comprise a strong base for the 2007-08 season. “Right now we’re training really hard for our matches in the spring,” Jake Zucker ‘07 said. "We’re trying to build team unity through commitment and fun." “We’re trying to integrate our team into a cohesive unit,” Yang added.

The Tide opens its season with the Mid-Atlantic Classic on Dec. 2 and 3.

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