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BY DANNY FRIEL

In print | Published March 19, 2009

For the second year in a row, it was all Swarthmore in the finals of the Pennsylvania State Open badminton tournament.

Last year, Kim Kramer ’10 defeated teammate Maithili Parikh ’10 in the finals of the tournament, which, as an ‘open’ tournament, features the most elite level of players in Pennsylvania, not just NCAA Division III athletes.

This year, Parikh turned the tables on Kramer, winning the title outright at Albright College’s Bollman Center Gymnasium. To boot, the talented pair also won the women’s doubles bracket.

It was a familiar outcome for the pair. In separate interviews, each admitted that the end result of one of a match between the two is often a function of whichever one of the two is “having a better day.” Such is the predicament for a team that boasts two champions.

The tournament took place within the span of a single day, with the first round of matches starting at 9:00 a.m.

“It was very tiring,” Kramer said, explaining that for those players entered in all three events — singles, doubles and mixed doubles — the event was especially taxing. Kramer estimated that matches usually last from about 20 minutes to an hour or more.

For players reaching the finals of multiple events, like Kramer and Parikh, this translates to many hours of competition; Kramer played a total of 12 matches by the end of the tournament.

Despite the standout performances by Parikh and Kramer, the Garnet was not able to come out on top of the team standings as it has done in years past. Drexel won the 2009 team title on the strength of its large membership and a new addition to the roster this year — a player from the Sri Lankan national team.

Parikh pointed out that the result is misleading largely because Drexel fields a full men’s team, which Swarthmore does not, and because the team standings are determined as a result of scores from all brackets, Swarthmore finished second despite a strong showing in the women’s events.

The Garnet also missed Celeste Abou Negm ’09, who was out of the country on the day of the tournament. Negm plays at fourth singles for the Garnet, and is one of three seniors — in addition to Rosanne Breckenridge ’09 and co-captain Karma Lama ’09 — that the squad will graduate this year.
“PA states was very bittersweet,” Lama said of her final collegiate appearance. Lama picked up the sport in high school for fun, but found herself immersed in a new competitive atmosphere when she matriculated at Swarthmore. “[Being on the team] really colored my experience at Swarthmore positively. And we have a great coach,” she said.

Despite the thin roster, Swarthmore was able to show some depth behind the standouts. The pair of Lama and Alice Xiang ’10 won the C bracket in the doubles competition. The tournament is organized in a double elimination format. So when a team loses its first round match, it moves into the C bracket. Lama and Xiang won the remainder of their matches to come out of top of the C bracket.

As the remainder of the squad sets its sights on the 2009-2010 season, Kramer points out that a particular goal is especially pressing: recruiting well. “We only have two sophomores and no freshmen, so we are going to be recruiting big time,” she said. Indeed, some breathing room would lend itself well to the Garnet, which will take a big hit when the class of 2010 graduates. “The main goal is to get a new generation of players,” Kramer added.

Parikh noted that it would be especially helpful “if we could recruit some players who are already experienced.” She went on to explain that the squad often is larger at the beginning of the season than it is at the end of the season, as players who decided to give the sport a try end up losing interest.

However, an influx of fresh talent will help the Garnet maintain its well-deserved reputation as a powerhouse, and ultimately “qualify some players for collegiate nationals,” Kramer predicted.
Kramer and Parikh look to return to the collegiate nationals next year, after they finished second in the doubles bracket when Swarthmore hosted the tournament in 2008.

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