Jakob Mrozewski | Phoenix Staff

Kim Kramer gets ready to smash the shuttlecock on Feb. 8.

BY VICTOR BRADY

In print | Published February 11, 2010

On Monday night, the Swarthmore Garnet badminton squad defeated visiting Bryn Athyn 8-1, completing a sweep of the home — and — home series with the Lions. With the two victories, the Garnet improves to 3-1 on the season, with upcoming matches against Bryn Mawr and Penn.

Leading the way for the Garnet in Monday’s victory and in last Thursday’s 7-2 win at Bryn Athyn was Kim Kramer ’10, who won both of her singles and doubles matches.

Kramer recognizes the importance of picking up the two early wins in the winter season. “It’s definitely a confidence booster … At the same time, it’s important that we don’t get cocky and that we stay focused during training.”

Though Kramer has been a leader on the team since her first year, she continues to improve and lead her teammates by example. “In terms of my own play, I’ve noticed a big improvement in my game since the semester started. [Coach Parikh] has been focusing on squats and jumps, [and it is] really paying off,” Kramer said.

Badminton is a varsity sport at Swarthmore College, and Coach Bahvin Parikh, now in his fourth season as head coach for badminton at Swarthmore, has continued the Garnet tradition of badminton excellence. Swarthmore finished last season as the third-ranked women’s team in the nation, behind NYU and Penn.

Under intercollegiate rules, each team member is limited to one singles match and one doubles match. Teams are ranked at the end of each season based on their overall record with a minimum of two match results against Intercollegiate Badminton Association teams.

Prior to entering Swarthmore, Kramer competed at a high level in regional badminton tournaments. In 2008, Kramer finished second in the nation in the under-22 age group.

In her four years at Swarthmore, Kramer has watched the badminton team become a cohesive unit, and Kramer values the experience of being part of a collegiate varsity team. “The time commitment has meant that I haven’t been able to try as many new activities as I would have liked to, but I don’t regret my devotion to badminton for a second. Being part of a team has also been a fantastic experience — competitive badminton is usually an individual sport, so before coming to college I wasn’t aware of the huge impact that the support of teammates can have on your game.” Kramer’s hard work at Swarthmore has led to strong results in all four of her years competing with the team.

The badminton team will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 18, when it hosts Bryn Mawr. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

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