NEXT UP IN 2023:
AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
OPEN, COLLEGIATE, SENIOR: Singles, Doubles, Mixed
APRIL 22-23, 2023!!!
Here is the link to the Tournament Software entry form...
https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/tournament/EE06DE71-8125-490A-9CF4-11B497855B38
Completed tournaments and event summaries below...
2023 JIM POOLE CLASSIC...
Sat, Feb 11, 2023, Mesa...The 2023 Jim Poole Classic was held at the Arizona Badminton Center with 40 plus entries covering Open and Senior Singles, Doubles and Mixed events. Anthony Phillips won the Open Men Singles in all straight set matches, while Samiya Bodhankar won the Open Women Singles with a thrilling final 3-gamer over Neha Shakir, 21-16, 16-21, 21-19. Bodhankar also teamed with Nihira Sane to win the Open Women Doubles, while Chinmai Basavaraj and Jugal Patel won the Open Men Doubles. Patel also teamed with Lily Ren to win the Open Mixed Doubles. Naren Koka won both the Senior Men Doubles with Seigo Hashimoto and the Senior Mixed Doubles with Wey Lyn Lee. The complete final results are below:
OPEN WOMEN SINGLES: Samiya Bodhankar def. Neha Shakir, 21-16, 16-21, 21-19
OPEN WOMEN SINGLES CONSOLATION: Ashley Rodarte def. Shreya Deshpande, 21-6
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Samiya Bodhankar/Nihira Sane def. Alexis Mee/Jordyn Mee, 21-19, 19-21, 21-11
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Jolene Liu/Katheryn Yi def. Sue Min Kwon/Lily Ren, 21-16
OPEN MEN SINGLES: Anthony Phillips def. Chinmai Basavaraj, 21-10, 21-9
OPEN MEN SINGLES CONSOLATION: Sandeep Sane def. Alex Ji, 21-7
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Chinmai Basavaraj/Jugal Sanjaybhai Patel def. Seigo Hashimoto/Anthony Phillips, 21-14, 21-18
OPEN MEN DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Dylan Abidin/Junfeng Xu def. Naren Koka/Aaron Romualdez, 21-17
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES: Jugal Sanjaybhai Patel/Lily Ren def. Seigo Hashimoto/Samiya Bodhankar, 21-19, 17-21, 21-16
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Sue Min Kwon/Junfeng Xu def. Karthik Raman/Nihira Sane, 21-13
SENIOR MEN DOUBLES: Seigo Hashimoto/Naren Koka def. Sandeep Sane/Mark Yi, 21-15, 21-19
SENIOR MIXED DOUBLES: Naren Koka/Wey Lyn Lee def. Jolene Liu/Mark Yi, 21-11, 21-8
Sat, Feb 11, 2023, Mesa...The 2023 Jim Poole Classic was held at the Arizona Badminton Center with 40 plus entries covering Open and Senior Singles, Doubles and Mixed events. Anthony Phillips won the Open Men Singles in all straight set matches, while Samiya Bodhankar won the Open Women Singles with a thrilling final 3-gamer over Neha Shakir, 21-16, 16-21, 21-19. Bodhankar also teamed with Nihira Sane to win the Open Women Doubles, while Chinmai Basavaraj and Jugal Patel won the Open Men Doubles. Patel also teamed with Lily Ren to win the Open Mixed Doubles. Naren Koka won both the Senior Men Doubles with Seigo Hashimoto and the Senior Mixed Doubles with Wey Lyn Lee. The complete final results are below:
OPEN WOMEN SINGLES: Samiya Bodhankar def. Neha Shakir, 21-16, 16-21, 21-19
OPEN WOMEN SINGLES CONSOLATION: Ashley Rodarte def. Shreya Deshpande, 21-6
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Samiya Bodhankar/Nihira Sane def. Alexis Mee/Jordyn Mee, 21-19, 19-21, 21-11
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Jolene Liu/Katheryn Yi def. Sue Min Kwon/Lily Ren, 21-16
OPEN MEN SINGLES: Anthony Phillips def. Chinmai Basavaraj, 21-10, 21-9
OPEN MEN SINGLES CONSOLATION: Sandeep Sane def. Alex Ji, 21-7
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Chinmai Basavaraj/Jugal Sanjaybhai Patel def. Seigo Hashimoto/Anthony Phillips, 21-14, 21-18
OPEN MEN DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Dylan Abidin/Junfeng Xu def. Naren Koka/Aaron Romualdez, 21-17
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES: Jugal Sanjaybhai Patel/Lily Ren def. Seigo Hashimoto/Samiya Bodhankar, 21-19, 17-21, 21-16
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES CONSOLATION: Sue Min Kwon/Junfeng Xu def. Karthik Raman/Nihira Sane, 21-13
SENIOR MEN DOUBLES: Seigo Hashimoto/Naren Koka def. Sandeep Sane/Mark Yi, 21-15, 21-19
SENIOR MIXED DOUBLES: Naren Koka/Wey Lyn Lee def. Jolene Liu/Mark Yi, 21-11, 21-8
2022 AZBC HOLIDAY FUN BOWL...
Sat, Dec 10, 2022, Mesa... The 10th Annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL saw 50 fun-loving competitors burning up the courts all day Saturday. Starting with a "warm-up" half-court mini-tournament separated into boys and girls draws, playing 7-point games, IJ Curilan won the boys' division, and Neha Shakir won the girls' division. The rest of the action was divided into 5 doubles events: KIDS, HS/COLLEGE, OPEN WOMEN, OPEN MEN, SENIOR, each with consolation. The biggest divisions this year were the KIDS and HS/COLLEGE. The match of the tournament was the OPEN MEN's Finals ending with a 25-23 final game see-saw battle with very high level play between the eventual Champions, Anthony Phillips and Aaron Romualdez edging Seigo and Steve Hashimoto. All the winners are as follows:
KIDS DOUBLES: Shreya Deshpande/Ishaan Pawar def. Aarohi & Aarav Deshmane; 22-20, 21-19
CONS: Prapanj Suresh/Aditya Ghatigar def. Madison Sue/Sunan Zang; 21-8, 21-11
HS/COLLEGE DOUBLES: Nihira Sane/Karthik Raman def. Athish Mahesh/Shaayaan Soni; 21-16, 21-19
CONS: Lin Yi-Chen/Tsai Lilun def. Shreya Deshpande/Aarohi Deshmane; 13-21, 21-12, 21-17
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Mai Le/Jolene Liu def. Fion Huang/Sherry Yuan; 17-21, 15-11 w/o
CONS: Carol Liu/Nihira Sane def. Samyuktha Kandala/Shreya Deshpande; 21-4, 21-2
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Anthony Phillips/Aaron Romualdez def. Seigo & Steve Hashimoto; 21-14, 25-23
CONS: Chacko Kuruvilla/Thinh Nguyen def. Athish Mahesh/Shaayaan Soni; 21-14, 21-16
SENIOR DOUBLES: Anthony Phillips/Steve Hashimoto // Guy Chadwick/Seigo Hashimoto CO-CHAMPIONS
CONS: Chacko Kuruvilla/SiddKavuri def. Carol Liu/Jolene Liu; 21-7, 21-9
Sat, Dec 10, 2022, Mesa... The 10th Annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL saw 50 fun-loving competitors burning up the courts all day Saturday. Starting with a "warm-up" half-court mini-tournament separated into boys and girls draws, playing 7-point games, IJ Curilan won the boys' division, and Neha Shakir won the girls' division. The rest of the action was divided into 5 doubles events: KIDS, HS/COLLEGE, OPEN WOMEN, OPEN MEN, SENIOR, each with consolation. The biggest divisions this year were the KIDS and HS/COLLEGE. The match of the tournament was the OPEN MEN's Finals ending with a 25-23 final game see-saw battle with very high level play between the eventual Champions, Anthony Phillips and Aaron Romualdez edging Seigo and Steve Hashimoto. All the winners are as follows:
KIDS DOUBLES: Shreya Deshpande/Ishaan Pawar def. Aarohi & Aarav Deshmane; 22-20, 21-19
CONS: Prapanj Suresh/Aditya Ghatigar def. Madison Sue/Sunan Zang; 21-8, 21-11
HS/COLLEGE DOUBLES: Nihira Sane/Karthik Raman def. Athish Mahesh/Shaayaan Soni; 21-16, 21-19
CONS: Lin Yi-Chen/Tsai Lilun def. Shreya Deshpande/Aarohi Deshmane; 13-21, 21-12, 21-17
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Mai Le/Jolene Liu def. Fion Huang/Sherry Yuan; 17-21, 15-11 w/o
CONS: Carol Liu/Nihira Sane def. Samyuktha Kandala/Shreya Deshpande; 21-4, 21-2
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Anthony Phillips/Aaron Romualdez def. Seigo & Steve Hashimoto; 21-14, 25-23
CONS: Chacko Kuruvilla/Thinh Nguyen def. Athish Mahesh/Shaayaan Soni; 21-14, 21-16
SENIOR DOUBLES: Anthony Phillips/Steve Hashimoto // Guy Chadwick/Seigo Hashimoto CO-CHAMPIONS
CONS: Chacko Kuruvilla/SiddKavuri def. Carol Liu/Jolene Liu; 21-7, 21-9
2022 AZBC SMASH BASH...
Sat, Sep 10, 2022, Mesa... The 30th Annual Smash Bash brought 75 competitors into 8 doubles events, including Kids, High School (Girls & Boys), Collegiate (Women & Men), Open and Senior (Men). As always, there were lots of hard-fought matches highlighted by the Collegiate Women's Doubles final with Kate Macpherson and Ashley Rodarte of Arizona Christian University defeating Sue Kwon and Jessica Read of the University of Arizona, 23-21, 18-21, 21-18. The Open Women Doubles also went three, with Neha and Saba Shakir revenging an earlier Collegiate Women Doubles semi-final loss to Kate and Ashley, this time winning 10-21, 21-10, 21-14. The Open Men Doubles also featured 3-game matches in both semis and the finals, with Frank Xu and Jimmy Yao surviving against Anthony Phillips and Ricky Pan, 11-21, 21-19, 21-12 in the championship match.
The event results are as follows:
KIDS DOUBLES: Divyam Gupta/Shreya Deshpande won in a round robin format beating Arjun Raman/Shrihan Soni and Javier Hansen/Alex Ji
HS GIRLS DOUBLES: Tricia DeSpain/Jordyn Mee def. Merilyn Li/Shreya Deshpande, 24-22, 21-17
HS BOYS DOUBLES: Karthik Raman/Athish Mahesh def. Arya Bhat/Shaayaan Soni, 21-9, 23-21
COLLEGIATE WOMEN DOUBLES: Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte (ACU) def. Sue Kwon/Jessica Read (UofA), 23-21, 18-21, 21-18
COLLEGIATE MEN DOUBLES: Dylan Abidin/Chen He (ASU) def. YuanJea Hew/Frank Xu (UofA), 21-11, 21-15
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Neha Shakir/Saba Shakir def. Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte, 10-21, 21-10, 21-14
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Frank Xu/Jimmy Yao def. Anthony Phillips/Ricky Pan, 11-21, 21-19, 21-12
SENIOR MEN DOUBLES: Sean Lai/Walter Li def. Chacko Kuruvilla/Siby James, 21-18, 21-16
Sat, Sep 10, 2022, Mesa... The 30th Annual Smash Bash brought 75 competitors into 8 doubles events, including Kids, High School (Girls & Boys), Collegiate (Women & Men), Open and Senior (Men). As always, there were lots of hard-fought matches highlighted by the Collegiate Women's Doubles final with Kate Macpherson and Ashley Rodarte of Arizona Christian University defeating Sue Kwon and Jessica Read of the University of Arizona, 23-21, 18-21, 21-18. The Open Women Doubles also went three, with Neha and Saba Shakir revenging an earlier Collegiate Women Doubles semi-final loss to Kate and Ashley, this time winning 10-21, 21-10, 21-14. The Open Men Doubles also featured 3-game matches in both semis and the finals, with Frank Xu and Jimmy Yao surviving against Anthony Phillips and Ricky Pan, 11-21, 21-19, 21-12 in the championship match.
The event results are as follows:
KIDS DOUBLES: Divyam Gupta/Shreya Deshpande won in a round robin format beating Arjun Raman/Shrihan Soni and Javier Hansen/Alex Ji
HS GIRLS DOUBLES: Tricia DeSpain/Jordyn Mee def. Merilyn Li/Shreya Deshpande, 24-22, 21-17
HS BOYS DOUBLES: Karthik Raman/Athish Mahesh def. Arya Bhat/Shaayaan Soni, 21-9, 23-21
COLLEGIATE WOMEN DOUBLES: Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte (ACU) def. Sue Kwon/Jessica Read (UofA), 23-21, 18-21, 21-18
COLLEGIATE MEN DOUBLES: Dylan Abidin/Chen He (ASU) def. YuanJea Hew/Frank Xu (UofA), 21-11, 21-15
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Neha Shakir/Saba Shakir def. Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte, 10-21, 21-10, 21-14
OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Frank Xu/Jimmy Yao def. Anthony Phillips/Ricky Pan, 11-21, 21-19, 21-12
SENIOR MEN DOUBLES: Sean Lai/Walter Li def. Chacko Kuruvilla/Siby James, 21-18, 21-16
YuanJea Hew and Chinmai Basavaraj- Open Men Doubles Champions; Siwei Yan and Yuni Yeoh- Open Women Doubles Champions
2022 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Sat, April 23 & Sat, April 30, 2022, Mesa... A ferocious two consecutive Saturdays of competition revealed this year's Arizona Champions in Junior, Collegiate, Open and Senior divisions for Women & Men Singles, Women & Men Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The second Saturday of Singles and Mixed Doubles play was particular tough with 12 hours of matches, including 17 three-game battles!
Highlights include Karthik Raman winning the Junior triple crown-- Jr Boys Singles, Doubles, and Mixed; Katheryn Yi winning the Jr Girls Singles and Doubles; Neha Shakir winning the Collegiate and Open Women Singles; Sue Kwon winning the Collegiate Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles; Siwei Yan and Yuni Yeoh winning the Open Women Doubles; Chinmai Basavaraj winning the Open Men Singles and Open Men Doubles with YuanJea Hew; and Seigo Hashimoto and Mai Le winning the Open Mixed Doubles. The Open Champions have their names etched on the perpetual plaque displayed in the AZBC lobby. The complete results are as follows:
JUNIOR: Girls Singles- Katheryn Yi def. Aarohi Deshmane; Girls Doubles- Nihira Sane/Katheryn Yi def. Jordyn Mee/Piper Peraza; Boys Singles- Karthik Raman def. Ishaan Pawar; Boys Doubles- Karthik Raman/Divyam Gupta def. Ishaan Pawar/Hayden Ma; Jr Mixed- Karthik Raman/Aarohi Deshmane def. Hayden Ma/Nihira Sane
COLLEGIATE: Women Singles- Neha Shakir def. Samiya Bodhankar; Women Doubles- Sue Kwon/Lily Ren def. Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte; Men Singles- Adrien Caffiers def. Phuc Ly; Men Doubles- Khanh Bui/Tung Nguyen def. Shijie Li/Jerry Wang; Mixed Doubles- Frank Xu/Sue Kwon def. Jerry Wang/Yuze Wu
OPEN: Women Singles- Neha Shakir def. Kate Macpherson; Women Doubles- Siwei Yan/Yuni Yeoh def. My Ta/Wey Lyn Lee; Men Singles- Chinmai Basavaraj def. YuanJea Hew; Men Doubles- Chinmai Basavaraj/YuanJea Hew def. Steve Hashimoto/Seigo Hashimoto; Seigo Hashimoto/Mai Le def. Duc Dinh/My Ta
SENIOR: Men Singles- Chacko Kuruvilla def. Mark Yi; Men Doubles- Steve Hashimoto/Arvind Renukaradhya def. Naren Koka/Doug Towne; Doug Towne/Carol Liu def. Chacko Kuruvilla/My Ta.
Sat, April 23 & Sat, April 30, 2022, Mesa... A ferocious two consecutive Saturdays of competition revealed this year's Arizona Champions in Junior, Collegiate, Open and Senior divisions for Women & Men Singles, Women & Men Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The second Saturday of Singles and Mixed Doubles play was particular tough with 12 hours of matches, including 17 three-game battles!
Highlights include Karthik Raman winning the Junior triple crown-- Jr Boys Singles, Doubles, and Mixed; Katheryn Yi winning the Jr Girls Singles and Doubles; Neha Shakir winning the Collegiate and Open Women Singles; Sue Kwon winning the Collegiate Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles; Siwei Yan and Yuni Yeoh winning the Open Women Doubles; Chinmai Basavaraj winning the Open Men Singles and Open Men Doubles with YuanJea Hew; and Seigo Hashimoto and Mai Le winning the Open Mixed Doubles. The Open Champions have their names etched on the perpetual plaque displayed in the AZBC lobby. The complete results are as follows:
JUNIOR: Girls Singles- Katheryn Yi def. Aarohi Deshmane; Girls Doubles- Nihira Sane/Katheryn Yi def. Jordyn Mee/Piper Peraza; Boys Singles- Karthik Raman def. Ishaan Pawar; Boys Doubles- Karthik Raman/Divyam Gupta def. Ishaan Pawar/Hayden Ma; Jr Mixed- Karthik Raman/Aarohi Deshmane def. Hayden Ma/Nihira Sane
COLLEGIATE: Women Singles- Neha Shakir def. Samiya Bodhankar; Women Doubles- Sue Kwon/Lily Ren def. Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte; Men Singles- Adrien Caffiers def. Phuc Ly; Men Doubles- Khanh Bui/Tung Nguyen def. Shijie Li/Jerry Wang; Mixed Doubles- Frank Xu/Sue Kwon def. Jerry Wang/Yuze Wu
OPEN: Women Singles- Neha Shakir def. Kate Macpherson; Women Doubles- Siwei Yan/Yuni Yeoh def. My Ta/Wey Lyn Lee; Men Singles- Chinmai Basavaraj def. YuanJea Hew; Men Doubles- Chinmai Basavaraj/YuanJea Hew def. Steve Hashimoto/Seigo Hashimoto; Seigo Hashimoto/Mai Le def. Duc Dinh/My Ta
SENIOR: Men Singles- Chacko Kuruvilla def. Mark Yi; Men Doubles- Steve Hashimoto/Arvind Renukaradhya def. Naren Koka/Doug Towne; Doug Towne/Carol Liu def. Chacko Kuruvilla/My Ta.
2022 JIM POOLE CLASSIC TOURNAMENT...
Sat-Sun, Feb 12-13, 2022, Mesa... Celebrating AZBC's 10th Anniversary with our annual Jim Poole Classic badminton tournament... Jim Poole passed away this past November at the age of 89. He had retired to Arizona after one of the most decorated careers in US Badminton history. He earned more than 60 national titles in open and senior events, numerous international wins, and was part of several US Thomas Cup teams. He was an honorary member of the AZBC providing extensive coaching expertise for all ages.
This year's tournament showcased 80 participants and nearly 200 matches in Kids, Collegiate, Open and Senior events in two full days of action. The Sunday play of semi-finals and finals saw a ridiculous 17 tough 3-game matches being played! There were several multiple event champions, including Nihira Sane earning the Kids Singles and Doubles titles, Neha Shakir winning the Collegiate and Open Women Singles, Anthony Phillips winning the Open Men Singles and Open Mixed Doubles, Yuni Yeoh winning the Open Women Doubles and Open Mixed Doubles, Karina Defago winning the Senior Women Doubles and Senior Mixed Doubles, and Aaron Schneider winning the Senior Men Singles and Senior Mixed Doubles. The complete champion results follow:
SINGLES: Kids- Nihira Sane; Collegiate Women- Neha Shakir; Open Women- Neha Shakir; Senior Women- Jacky Myers; Collegiate Men- Jerry Liou (ASU); Open Men- Anthony Phillips; Senior Men- Aaron Schneider
DOUBLES: Kids- Shreya Deshpande/Nihira Sane; Collegiate Women- Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte (ACU); Open Women- My Ta/Yuni Yeoh; Senior Women- Karina Defago/Sherry Yuan; Collegiate Men- Zhi Yu Bui/Xingyu Gu; Open Men- Wells Chen/Duc Dinh; Senior Men- Richard Alcaraz/Steve Hashimoto
MIXED DOUBLES: Kids- Arya Bhat/Shreya Deshpande; Collegiate- Rohan Dhawan/Lara Espina; Open- Anthony Phillips/Yuni Yeoh; Senior- Aaron Schneider/Karina Defago
Sat-Sun, Feb 12-13, 2022, Mesa... Celebrating AZBC's 10th Anniversary with our annual Jim Poole Classic badminton tournament... Jim Poole passed away this past November at the age of 89. He had retired to Arizona after one of the most decorated careers in US Badminton history. He earned more than 60 national titles in open and senior events, numerous international wins, and was part of several US Thomas Cup teams. He was an honorary member of the AZBC providing extensive coaching expertise for all ages.
This year's tournament showcased 80 participants and nearly 200 matches in Kids, Collegiate, Open and Senior events in two full days of action. The Sunday play of semi-finals and finals saw a ridiculous 17 tough 3-game matches being played! There were several multiple event champions, including Nihira Sane earning the Kids Singles and Doubles titles, Neha Shakir winning the Collegiate and Open Women Singles, Anthony Phillips winning the Open Men Singles and Open Mixed Doubles, Yuni Yeoh winning the Open Women Doubles and Open Mixed Doubles, Karina Defago winning the Senior Women Doubles and Senior Mixed Doubles, and Aaron Schneider winning the Senior Men Singles and Senior Mixed Doubles. The complete champion results follow:
SINGLES: Kids- Nihira Sane; Collegiate Women- Neha Shakir; Open Women- Neha Shakir; Senior Women- Jacky Myers; Collegiate Men- Jerry Liou (ASU); Open Men- Anthony Phillips; Senior Men- Aaron Schneider
DOUBLES: Kids- Shreya Deshpande/Nihira Sane; Collegiate Women- Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte (ACU); Open Women- My Ta/Yuni Yeoh; Senior Women- Karina Defago/Sherry Yuan; Collegiate Men- Zhi Yu Bui/Xingyu Gu; Open Men- Wells Chen/Duc Dinh; Senior Men- Richard Alcaraz/Steve Hashimoto
MIXED DOUBLES: Kids- Arya Bhat/Shreya Deshpande; Collegiate- Rohan Dhawan/Lara Espina; Open- Anthony Phillips/Yuni Yeoh; Senior- Aaron Schneider/Karina Defago
The Team from Tucson came and conquered at this year's HOLIDAY SMASH BASH!
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2021 AZBC HOLIDAY SMASH BASH TOURNAMENT...
Sat, Dec 18, 2021, Mesa... This year we combined the annual SMASH BASH that usually occurs in September, but was canceled, and the annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL to host the HOLIDAY SMASH BASH. More than 60 entrants battled, from ages under 10 to over 60 in 10 doubles events including KIDS, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGIATE, OPEN and SENIOR levels! The group from Tucson made their presence known by winning the OPEN MEN DOUBLES (Frank Xu & Jimmy Yao) and COLLEGIATE MEN DOUBLES (Chinmai Basavaraj & Frank Xu). Arizona Christian University's team of Kate Macpherson & Ashley Rodarte won the Collegiate Women Doubles. Of special note, this was the first collegiate badminton scholarship team to compete in Arizona in more than 25 years! Congratulations to ACU! |
FINAL RESULTS WINNERS: KIDS GIRLS DBLS: Shreya Deshpande/Samyuktha Kandala; KIDS BOYS DBLS: Joseph Greco/Shrihan Soni; HS GIRLS DBLS: Mia Aronsohn/Jordyn Mee; HS BOYS DBLS: Maxwell Johnson/Noah Aronsohn; COLLEGIATE WOMEN DBLS: Kate Macpherson/Ashley Rodarte (ACU); OPEN WOMEN DBLS: Alexis Mee/Jordyn Mee; B WOMEN DBLS: Jessica Jablonski/Elle Swol; COLLEGIATE MEN DBLS: Chinmai Basavaraj/Frank Xu (UofA); OPEN MEN DBLS: Frank Xu/Jimmy Yao; B MEN DBLS: Jeffrey Liang/Albert Sue; SENIOR MEN DBLS: Sandeep Sane/Mark Yi; MIXED UP DBLS: Aarya Bhat/Carol Liu
2021 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
May 22 & 29, 2021, Mesa... Moving back to a more regularly scheduled tournament season, we were able to host the 10th Annual 2021 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS within one month of our normal annual dates. It was fantastic to have such great participation from Tucson and throughout the valley. About 60 entrants battled mightily in the Open, B & C, Kids, and Senior divisions over two consecutive Saturdays. As usual for this tournament, all the doubles events were held the first Saturday, and the Singles and Mixed events were held the second Saturday.
On an individual level, the tournament celebrated the 3-year residency of Hiroki and Hitomi Sato from Japan who returned to their home country a few days after the tournament. They are both in the medical field, outstanding badminton players, and impeccable sports. Hiroki is a renowned surgeon who was on loan to the Mayo Clinic. They will be greatly missed as a regular part of our badminton family. Not only are they leaving Arizona in style with multiple state championship titles between them, but they were both instrumental in saving a visitor's life who suffered a heart attack about a year and a half ago at the club! Together, the Satos collected the 2021 Open Women Singles, Open Men Singles, Open Men Doubles (Hiroki with Eldwin Sanding), and Open Mixed Doubles together as a team. They just missed the perfect 5-for-5 sweep when Hitomi, teamed with Siwei Yan, lost the Open Women Doubles by only 3 points in a hard fought three-game final.
Here are the final results:
Open Women Singles: Hitomi Sato def. Yuni Yeoh; 21-23,21-14,21-14
Open Men Singles: Hiroki Sato def. Chinmai Basavaraj; 21-17,22-20
Open Women Doubles: Fion Huang/Yuni Yeoh def. Hitomi Sato/Siwei Yan; 15-21,21-17,21-18
Open Men Doubles: Eldwin Sanding/Hiroki Sato def. Chinmai Basavaraj/YuanJea Hew; 21-18,17-21,21-16
Open Mixed Doubles: Hiroki Sato/Hitomi Sato def. Eldwin Sanding/Yuni Yeoh; 21-16,26-24
Other winners (not including the consolation events): SINGLES-- BWS: Neha Shakir; CWS: Charity Mattingly; SWS: Lin Zhang; BMS: Aaron Schneider; SMS: Albert Sue; DOUBLES-- BWD: Nihira Sane/Rujuta Sane; BMD: Siby James/Cameron Ohoro; JrD: Nihira Sane/Katheryn Yi; SWD: Karina Defago/Sherry Yuan; SMD: Guy Chadwick/Jasper Lim; MIXED-- BMX: Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan; SMX: Chirag Ghoudhary/Karina Defago
May 22 & 29, 2021, Mesa... Moving back to a more regularly scheduled tournament season, we were able to host the 10th Annual 2021 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS within one month of our normal annual dates. It was fantastic to have such great participation from Tucson and throughout the valley. About 60 entrants battled mightily in the Open, B & C, Kids, and Senior divisions over two consecutive Saturdays. As usual for this tournament, all the doubles events were held the first Saturday, and the Singles and Mixed events were held the second Saturday.
On an individual level, the tournament celebrated the 3-year residency of Hiroki and Hitomi Sato from Japan who returned to their home country a few days after the tournament. They are both in the medical field, outstanding badminton players, and impeccable sports. Hiroki is a renowned surgeon who was on loan to the Mayo Clinic. They will be greatly missed as a regular part of our badminton family. Not only are they leaving Arizona in style with multiple state championship titles between them, but they were both instrumental in saving a visitor's life who suffered a heart attack about a year and a half ago at the club! Together, the Satos collected the 2021 Open Women Singles, Open Men Singles, Open Men Doubles (Hiroki with Eldwin Sanding), and Open Mixed Doubles together as a team. They just missed the perfect 5-for-5 sweep when Hitomi, teamed with Siwei Yan, lost the Open Women Doubles by only 3 points in a hard fought three-game final.
Here are the final results:
Open Women Singles: Hitomi Sato def. Yuni Yeoh; 21-23,21-14,21-14
Open Men Singles: Hiroki Sato def. Chinmai Basavaraj; 21-17,22-20
Open Women Doubles: Fion Huang/Yuni Yeoh def. Hitomi Sato/Siwei Yan; 15-21,21-17,21-18
Open Men Doubles: Eldwin Sanding/Hiroki Sato def. Chinmai Basavaraj/YuanJea Hew; 21-18,17-21,21-16
Open Mixed Doubles: Hiroki Sato/Hitomi Sato def. Eldwin Sanding/Yuni Yeoh; 21-16,26-24
Other winners (not including the consolation events): SINGLES-- BWS: Neha Shakir; CWS: Charity Mattingly; SWS: Lin Zhang; BMS: Aaron Schneider; SMS: Albert Sue; DOUBLES-- BWD: Nihira Sane/Rujuta Sane; BMD: Siby James/Cameron Ohoro; JrD: Nihira Sane/Katheryn Yi; SWD: Karina Defago/Sherry Yuan; SMD: Guy Chadwick/Jasper Lim; MIXED-- BMX: Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan; SMX: Chirag Ghoudhary/Karina Defago
From left to right: Chinmai Basavaraj, Yuni Yeoh, Mai Le, Hitomi Sato, Anthony Phillips, Guy Chadwick - 2020 Arizona Badminton Champions!
2020 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Dec 12 & 19, Mesa... Like all of us during this unprecedented year, the 9th Annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, normally scheduled in April, suffered delays, inconveniences, and much more, but were finally rewarded with play in December! We also cut way down on the events and the draws with only Open divisions operated. Sometimes, quality trumps quantity, and this was definitely the case this year. Very hard fought, quality matches in all 5 events resulted in true champions deserving of their titles! More than half of the matches went 3 games, particularly in all the doubles events.
Here are the finals' results:
Open Women Singles: Hitomi Sato defeated Yuni Yeoh; 21-8, 21-16
Open Men Singles: Anthony Phillips defeated Michael Liang; 21-5, 21-17
Open Women Doubles: Mai Le and Hitomi Sato defeated Siwei Yan and Yuni Yeoh; 18-21, 21-19, 21-14
Open Men Doubles: Guy Chadwick and Anthony Phillips defeated Chinmai Basavaraj and Yuanjea Hew; 21-19, 21-14
Open Mixed Doubles: Chinmai Basavaraj and Yuni Yeoh defeated Avinash Pallagani and Hitomi Sato; 17-21, 21-17, 21-19
Dec 12 & 19, Mesa... Like all of us during this unprecedented year, the 9th Annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, normally scheduled in April, suffered delays, inconveniences, and much more, but were finally rewarded with play in December! We also cut way down on the events and the draws with only Open divisions operated. Sometimes, quality trumps quantity, and this was definitely the case this year. Very hard fought, quality matches in all 5 events resulted in true champions deserving of their titles! More than half of the matches went 3 games, particularly in all the doubles events.
Here are the finals' results:
Open Women Singles: Hitomi Sato defeated Yuni Yeoh; 21-8, 21-16
Open Men Singles: Anthony Phillips defeated Michael Liang; 21-5, 21-17
Open Women Doubles: Mai Le and Hitomi Sato defeated Siwei Yan and Yuni Yeoh; 18-21, 21-19, 21-14
Open Men Doubles: Guy Chadwick and Anthony Phillips defeated Chinmai Basavaraj and Yuanjea Hew; 21-19, 21-14
Open Mixed Doubles: Chinmai Basavaraj and Yuni Yeoh defeated Avinash Pallagani and Hitomi Sato; 17-21, 21-17, 21-19
2020 JIM POOLE BADMINTON CLASSIC...
Feb 8, Mesa... The 8th Annual JIM POOLE CLASSIC featured Singles, Doubles and Mixed events in the Open, Collegiate and Senior categories. All the singles matches were 1-gamers, which allowed enough time for full matches for all the doubles and mixed doubles events. Even so, the competition started at 9am and went well into the evening. Tucson badminton made a strong showing in the Open and Collegiate events led by YuanJea of the University of Arizona. YuanJea won both the Collegiate and Open Men's Singles and Collegiate and Open Men's Doubles with partner Frank Xu!
UofA dominated the overall collegiate team standings with 24 points, while Benedictine University finished 2nd with 14 pts and Northern Arizona University finished 3rd with 11 1/2 pts. The Collegiate Women's Singles was won by Gabrielle Nakada (of ASU), who also won the Collegiate Women Doubles. The Collegiate Mixed Doubles was won by Caleb Doo (Embry-Riddle) partnering with Jessica Boofer (Benedictine). In all, pllayers from ASU-Tempe, ASU-West, Benedictine, Embry-Riddle of Prescott, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona competed in the collegiate division.
In the other divisions, Alexis Mee took the Open Women Singles title and Open Women Doubles title with her sister, Jordyn. Ben Wang and his wife, Yi Zhang, took the Open Mixed title. In the Senior divisions, Aaron Schneider won the Sr Men's Singles, and Naren Koka and Shash Patel won the Sr Men's Doubles.
Feb 8, Mesa... The 8th Annual JIM POOLE CLASSIC featured Singles, Doubles and Mixed events in the Open, Collegiate and Senior categories. All the singles matches were 1-gamers, which allowed enough time for full matches for all the doubles and mixed doubles events. Even so, the competition started at 9am and went well into the evening. Tucson badminton made a strong showing in the Open and Collegiate events led by YuanJea of the University of Arizona. YuanJea won both the Collegiate and Open Men's Singles and Collegiate and Open Men's Doubles with partner Frank Xu!
UofA dominated the overall collegiate team standings with 24 points, while Benedictine University finished 2nd with 14 pts and Northern Arizona University finished 3rd with 11 1/2 pts. The Collegiate Women's Singles was won by Gabrielle Nakada (of ASU), who also won the Collegiate Women Doubles. The Collegiate Mixed Doubles was won by Caleb Doo (Embry-Riddle) partnering with Jessica Boofer (Benedictine). In all, pllayers from ASU-Tempe, ASU-West, Benedictine, Embry-Riddle of Prescott, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona competed in the collegiate division.
In the other divisions, Alexis Mee took the Open Women Singles title and Open Women Doubles title with her sister, Jordyn. Ben Wang and his wife, Yi Zhang, took the Open Mixed title. In the Senior divisions, Aaron Schneider won the Sr Men's Singles, and Naren Koka and Shash Patel won the Sr Men's Doubles.
2019 DECEMBER DOOZY KIDS-PARENTS TOURNAMENT...
Deklen and Greyson with father Aaron Schneider-- winners of the A & B Kid-Parent events
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Dec 21, Mesa... This was the first time for a whopping good time of KIDS, KIDS and more KIDS, and KIDS and PARENTS, too! What I thought would be a fun little morning tournament turned out to have 40+ participants, including 18 parents joining their kids on the court. Girls Singles & Doubles, Boys Singles & Doubles, Mixed Doubles and then 2 groups of Kid-Parent Doubles (all with consolation matches) ran well into the afternoon even with a 1-game match format.
Nihira Sane won the Girls Singles and Girls Doubles with Aarohi Deshmane; Arya Bhat won the Boys Singles; Samarth Dunukar and Aarav Deshmane won the Boys Doubles; Aarav and Aarohi Deshmane won the Kids Mixed A; Alex Ji and Aarohi Deshmane won the Kids Mixed B; and the big Kid-Parent winners were Aaron Schneider and his two sons: Aaron with Deklen in division A and Aaron with Greyson in division B-- winners of the "SNOWMAN" trophies! |
2019 HOLIDAY FUN BOWL BADMINTON TOURNAMENT and HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Sahuaro Tucson-back row: Ian Kron, Marcos Berrellez, Logan Martin, Michael Stewart; and Basis in the front: Michael Liang, Luke Wang, Steven Zhang, Samuel Rivas (not pictured)
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Nov 23, Mesa... The 8th annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL and HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS took place at the AZBC on Sat, Nov 23.
There is a move to get the Boys into regular AIA high school badminton competition to join the girls who have been active in Arizona high school badminton since the 1950s-- and for good reason! There are now more sports opportunities for girls in high school, so the old Title 9 rule can now be used in reverse. Not only that, but the boys definitely add energy and enthusiasm to the competitive arena that everyone enjoys. Congratulations BASIS HIGH for earning the HS BOYS TITLE this year, with a narrow victory over 2-time champion Sahuaro Tucson, 39-32 in team points, led by Michael Liang as the Boys Singles and Doubles Champion with Luke Wang. Steven Zhang and Samuel Rivas rounded out the Basis team. The Holiday Fun Bowl events this year were all women events: Open Doubles, Collegiate Doubles and High School Girls' Doubles highlighted by 2 exhibition matches in a face off of Division 1 vs. Division 2 opponents. Division 2 state champion Jordan Ludwig of Washington High School edged Division 1 state #2 player Eileen Li of Corona del Sol in 3 games, while the Division 1 state #4 doubles team of Pearson and Tucay (Mt. Ridge) beat Division 2 state #4 Maya Gibbs teamed with #3 state singles Payton Foti of Mesquite in 2 close games. In other action, the Open Women Doubles winners were Alexis and Jordyn Mee, the Collegiate Women Doubles winners were Gabby Nakada and Jessica Jung of ASU, the High School Girls Doubles winners were Jordyn Mee and Katie Pryor of Basha. |
THE NEW ARIZONA COLLEGIATE BADMINTON LEAGUE HAS BEGUN!!!
Although there are Collegiate badminton clubs and recreational badminton play at universities throughout the US, Arizona is pioneering the resurgence of COLLEGIATE BADMINTON SCHOLARSHIPS for the first time since ASU's National Champion Badminton program, which was dropped in 1993 more than 25 years ago. Ironically, Guy Chadwick was the coach of the ASU Men's and Women's Badminton team at that time and he has now founded and organized the new Arizona Collegiate Badminton League for the Arizona colleges.
Benedictine University Mesa and Arizona Christian University in Glendale are leading the way in offering Badminton Scholarships. Ottawa University in Surprise and Park University in Gilbert are also making plans to join the ACBL with badminton teams and scholarship offerings. ASU, UofA, Grand Canyon, and several Maricopa Community Colleges are also participating as Badminton Club teams in the ACBL. The ACBL immediately scheduled the first PRE-SEASON during the fall 2019 with the first event hosted by the Arizona Badminton Center in Mesa and held Sat, Sep 28. Eight schools were represented. Follow up events occurred on Sat, Oct 19 and Sat, Nov 2 using different formats each time in preparation for the inaugural regular season coming up Feb - Apr 2020. The word is getting out and more colleges and universities are joining up for a great new experience next year! |
Above is a group photo of several of the participants at one of the Pre-Season ACBL events earlier this fall. The new ACBL (Arizona Badminton League) and member schools are already forming new friendships, a great competitive environment, and badminton scholarship opportunities! This is great news for all of the Arizona badminton community and beyond!
The ACBL is founded and operated by the Arizona Badminton Center with acting commissioner Guy Chadwick. Please feel free to contact Guy at GCoachGC5@cox.net for more information. |
2019 SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT...
Sep 7, Mesa... The 27th Annual SMASH BASH was smaller but mightier than ever! 60 players smashed and bashed all day in doubles and mixed doubles events for kids, adults and seniors. A big contingent of Tucson players added to the fun and stole some titles, too. The results...
KIDS: Kids 1 Doubles champions were Vir Dolasa-Sohani and Samarth Dunuker. Kids 1 Mixed winners were Vir and Nihira Sane. Kids 2 Doubles champions were Aarav Deshmane and Divyam Gupta. Kids 2 Mixed winners were Samarth and Nihira.
ADULTS: Open Women Doubles: Alexis Mee and Jordyn Mee. Girls Doubles: Sydney Flores and Jordyn Mee. Open Men Doubles: Seigo Hashimoto and Steve Hashimoto. Open Mixed: Chinmai Basavaraj and Helen Zhang.
SENIORS: Senior Women Doubles: Carol Liu and Sherry Yu. Senior Men Doubles: Steve Hashimoto and Mark Scarano. Senior Mixed: Ramesh Bondalapati and Helen Zhang.
Sep 7, Mesa... The 27th Annual SMASH BASH was smaller but mightier than ever! 60 players smashed and bashed all day in doubles and mixed doubles events for kids, adults and seniors. A big contingent of Tucson players added to the fun and stole some titles, too. The results...
KIDS: Kids 1 Doubles champions were Vir Dolasa-Sohani and Samarth Dunuker. Kids 1 Mixed winners were Vir and Nihira Sane. Kids 2 Doubles champions were Aarav Deshmane and Divyam Gupta. Kids 2 Mixed winners were Samarth and Nihira.
ADULTS: Open Women Doubles: Alexis Mee and Jordyn Mee. Girls Doubles: Sydney Flores and Jordyn Mee. Open Men Doubles: Seigo Hashimoto and Steve Hashimoto. Open Mixed: Chinmai Basavaraj and Helen Zhang.
SENIORS: Senior Women Doubles: Carol Liu and Sherry Yu. Senior Men Doubles: Steve Hashimoto and Mark Scarano. Senior Mixed: Ramesh Bondalapati and Helen Zhang.
2019 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
From left to right: Senior Mixed Champions Naren Koka & Helen Zhang; Open Mixed Champions Hiroki & Hitomi Sato; B Mixed Champions Kiseki & Steve Hashimoto
Apr 13 & 20, Mesa... The 2019 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS was fiercely competitive with 107 entries and 23 event categories (not counting consolation) spread over two consecutive Saturdays. The first Saturday held all the Kids events and Adult Doubles events. The second Saturday hosted the Adult Singles and Mixed events and went a full 12 hours of non-stop play from 9am-9pm!
The most coveted prize is having your name forever etched as an Arizona Open Adult Champion on the perpetual trophy in the lobby! This year's Open Champions were Hitomi Sato for Open Women Singles; Neil (Nanyi) Chen for Open Men Singles; Wey Lyn Lee and My Ta for Open Women Doubles; Seigo and Steve Hashimoto for Open Men Doubles; Hiroki and Hitomi Sato for Open Mixed! Congratulations to all the champions for hard fought and well earned titles!
Here is a listing of all the event winners:
U11GS: Nihira Sane; U11BS: Samarth Dunarhe; U11GD: Aarya Pawar/Tea Trenbreath; U11BD: Ishaan Pawar/Samarth Dunarhe; U11MX: Samarth Dunarhe/Nihira Sane
U14GS: Jordyn Mee; U14BS: Gabriel Allen; U14GD: Aarohi Dshmane/Jordyn Mee; U14BD: Dominic Kwan/Kiseki Hashimoto; U14MX: Gabriel Allen/Jordyn Mee
OWS: Hitomi Sato; BWS: Neha Shakir; CWS: Flora Tao; OMS: Neil Chen; BMS: Adit Patankar; SMS: Francis Hartojo
OWD: Wey Lyn Lee/My Ta; BWD: Flora Tao/Lucy Timothy; OMD: Seigo/Steve Hashimoto; BMD: Cameron Ohura/Gabriel Allen; SMD: Mark Scarano/Steve Hashimoto
OMX: Hiroki/Hitomi Sato; BMX: Steve/Kiseki Hashimoto; SMX: Naren Koka/Helen Zhang
The most coveted prize is having your name forever etched as an Arizona Open Adult Champion on the perpetual trophy in the lobby! This year's Open Champions were Hitomi Sato for Open Women Singles; Neil (Nanyi) Chen for Open Men Singles; Wey Lyn Lee and My Ta for Open Women Doubles; Seigo and Steve Hashimoto for Open Men Doubles; Hiroki and Hitomi Sato for Open Mixed! Congratulations to all the champions for hard fought and well earned titles!
Here is a listing of all the event winners:
U11GS: Nihira Sane; U11BS: Samarth Dunarhe; U11GD: Aarya Pawar/Tea Trenbreath; U11BD: Ishaan Pawar/Samarth Dunarhe; U11MX: Samarth Dunarhe/Nihira Sane
U14GS: Jordyn Mee; U14BS: Gabriel Allen; U14GD: Aarohi Dshmane/Jordyn Mee; U14BD: Dominic Kwan/Kiseki Hashimoto; U14MX: Gabriel Allen/Jordyn Mee
OWS: Hitomi Sato; BWS: Neha Shakir; CWS: Flora Tao; OMS: Neil Chen; BMS: Adit Patankar; SMS: Francis Hartojo
OWD: Wey Lyn Lee/My Ta; BWD: Flora Tao/Lucy Timothy; OMD: Seigo/Steve Hashimoto; BMD: Cameron Ohura/Gabriel Allen; SMD: Mark Scarano/Steve Hashimoto
OMX: Hiroki/Hitomi Sato; BMX: Steve/Kiseki Hashimoto; SMX: Naren Koka/Helen Zhang
2019 JIM POOLE CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT...
Feb 9-10, Mesa... The 2019 Jim Poole Classic ran 2 days for the Open & Senior Singles and Mixed on Saturday, then the Open and Senior Doubles events on Sunday. It's the first time we've run a full weekend event in several years and there were lots of sore bodies with all the matches, including a large number of very hard fought 3-game matches. The Open Singles winners were husband and wife from Tucson, Chinmai Basavaraj and Ankita Ashoka. They also teamed to take the Open Mixed title. The Open Women Doubles champs were Wey Lyn Lee and Tze Yi Yeoh. The Open Men Doubles winners were Seigo Hashimoto and Aaron Schneider. There were also consolation, Senior and Academy events. The results are below:
Open Women Singles: Ankita Ashoka def. Wey Lyn Lee, 21-10, 21-12
Open Men Singles: Chinmai Basavaraj def. Seigo Hashimoto, 21-13, 11-21, 21-14
Open Women Doubles: Wey Lyn Lee / Tze Yi Yeoh def. Tiffany Lok / Ashley Nam, 21-13, 21-12
Open Men Doubles: Seigo Hashimoto / Aaron Schneider def. Ram K / Naren Koka
Open Mixed Doubles: Chinmai Basavaraj / Ankita Ashoka def. Seigo Hashimoto / Neha Rajendra
Senior Men Singles: Chacko Kuruvilla def. Aaron Schneider, 21-13, 13-21, 21-18
Academy Singles: Lucy Timothy def. Hannah Doyle, 21-13
Senior Men Doubles: David Levin / Naren Koka def. Aaron Schneider / Joseph Shagi, 21-8, 23-21
Academy Doubles: Caitlin Halim / Olivia Butler def. Sydney Flores / Hannah Doyle, 21-8
Shmixed Doubles: Aaron Schneider / Cindy Levin def. Doug Towne / Marsha Morris, 21-19, 17-21, 21-16
Feb 9-10, Mesa... The 2019 Jim Poole Classic ran 2 days for the Open & Senior Singles and Mixed on Saturday, then the Open and Senior Doubles events on Sunday. It's the first time we've run a full weekend event in several years and there were lots of sore bodies with all the matches, including a large number of very hard fought 3-game matches. The Open Singles winners were husband and wife from Tucson, Chinmai Basavaraj and Ankita Ashoka. They also teamed to take the Open Mixed title. The Open Women Doubles champs were Wey Lyn Lee and Tze Yi Yeoh. The Open Men Doubles winners were Seigo Hashimoto and Aaron Schneider. There were also consolation, Senior and Academy events. The results are below:
Open Women Singles: Ankita Ashoka def. Wey Lyn Lee, 21-10, 21-12
Open Men Singles: Chinmai Basavaraj def. Seigo Hashimoto, 21-13, 11-21, 21-14
Open Women Doubles: Wey Lyn Lee / Tze Yi Yeoh def. Tiffany Lok / Ashley Nam, 21-13, 21-12
Open Men Doubles: Seigo Hashimoto / Aaron Schneider def. Ram K / Naren Koka
Open Mixed Doubles: Chinmai Basavaraj / Ankita Ashoka def. Seigo Hashimoto / Neha Rajendra
Senior Men Singles: Chacko Kuruvilla def. Aaron Schneider, 21-13, 13-21, 21-18
Academy Singles: Lucy Timothy def. Hannah Doyle, 21-13
Senior Men Doubles: David Levin / Naren Koka def. Aaron Schneider / Joseph Shagi, 21-8, 23-21
Academy Doubles: Caitlin Halim / Olivia Butler def. Sydney Flores / Hannah Doyle, 21-8
Shmixed Doubles: Aaron Schneider / Cindy Levin def. Doug Towne / Marsha Morris, 21-19, 17-21, 21-16
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2018 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Dec 8, 2018, Mesa... The 2018 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS filled the AZBC courts with great competitive action, lots of fun, great prizes and tournament shirts. 80 players, 130 matches, 8 events. The high school boys had the largest turnout and highest level of play yet in the 7 year history of this event with 20 boys representing 8 different schools. |
Congratulations to the 2018 HS BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: SAHUARO HIGH SCHOOL OF TUCSON (2 Coaches on the left, and 6 players, center; along with individual champions: BOYS SINGLES: PHUC LY of MARICOPA HIGH SCHOOL (2nd from right) and BOYS DOUBLES: PHUC LY & ALXS GALIT of GOLDWATER HIGH SCHOOL (on right)!
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Individually, left-hander Phuc Ly of Maricopa High School set a new standard of excellent play and took both the singles and the doubles titles, with Alxs Galit of Goldwater High School. But the team title went to the 6-player team of Sahuaro High School with 50 total team points, with Perry High School coming in 2nd with 39 points. Other standout play came from Michael Liang of Basis-Mesa who was runner-up in the boys singles.
In the Holiday Fun! Bowl portion of the tournament it was great to see the Kids division battle with Flora Tao winning both the Kids Mixed-Up Doubles with Samarth Dunakhe and the Kids Doubles with Nihira Sane. Recently retired professional baseball player and newcomer to the AZBC, Anthony Phillips, drew on his youth badminton experience from South Africa and recent badminton training to capture both the Open Mixed with Alexis Mee and Open Doubles with Chacko Kuravilla. Alexis Mee also won the Women Doubles with Tiffany Lok.
Event results: HS BOYS SINGLES- Phuc Ly def Michael Liang, 22-20; DBLS- Ly/Galit def Erickson/Fitts, 21-11
KIDS MIXED-UP DBLS- Samarth Dunakhe/Flora Tao, 4-0 in round robin play DBLS- Sane/Tao, 4-0 in round robin play
OPEN MIXED- Phillips/Mee def Glazeski/Nam, 21-19; MIXED CONS- Holloway/Rusk def Schneider/Devenport, 21-18
OPEN WOMEN DBLS- Lok/Mee def Jayaraz/Sane, 21-11; OWD CONS- Devenport/Pham def Doyle/Flores, 21-14
B WOMEN DBLS- Church/Sharpe def Guthrie/White, 21-13; BWD CONS- Baca/Phan def Doyle/Squires, 21-18
OPEN MEN DBLS- Kuravilla/Phillips def Schneider/Senthil K, 21-19; OMD CONS- Xu/Yao def Babu K/Saravanan S, 21-6
SENIOR MEN DBLS- Schneider/Shagi def Kuravilla/Julien, 21-10
In the Holiday Fun! Bowl portion of the tournament it was great to see the Kids division battle with Flora Tao winning both the Kids Mixed-Up Doubles with Samarth Dunakhe and the Kids Doubles with Nihira Sane. Recently retired professional baseball player and newcomer to the AZBC, Anthony Phillips, drew on his youth badminton experience from South Africa and recent badminton training to capture both the Open Mixed with Alexis Mee and Open Doubles with Chacko Kuravilla. Alexis Mee also won the Women Doubles with Tiffany Lok.
Event results: HS BOYS SINGLES- Phuc Ly def Michael Liang, 22-20; DBLS- Ly/Galit def Erickson/Fitts, 21-11
KIDS MIXED-UP DBLS- Samarth Dunakhe/Flora Tao, 4-0 in round robin play DBLS- Sane/Tao, 4-0 in round robin play
OPEN MIXED- Phillips/Mee def Glazeski/Nam, 21-19; MIXED CONS- Holloway/Rusk def Schneider/Devenport, 21-18
OPEN WOMEN DBLS- Lok/Mee def Jayaraz/Sane, 21-11; OWD CONS- Devenport/Pham def Doyle/Flores, 21-14
B WOMEN DBLS- Church/Sharpe def Guthrie/White, 21-13; BWD CONS- Baca/Phan def Doyle/Squires, 21-18
OPEN MEN DBLS- Kuravilla/Phillips def Schneider/Senthil K, 21-19; OMD CONS- Xu/Yao def Babu K/Saravanan S, 21-6
SENIOR MEN DBLS- Schneider/Shagi def Kuravilla/Julien, 21-10
2018 SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT...
Sep 8, 2018, Mesa... The 26th annual SMASH BASH DOUBLES BADMINTON TOURNAMENT displayed, yes, SMASHES, SMASHES and more SMASHES (along with 1000s of all the other shots)! 99 participants battled their way through doubles and mixed events for kids, high school players, adults and seniors. We even had a "Young & Old Men Doubles" and a "Young & Old Mix Mash." There was only 2 double winners in the whole tournament: Theo Hashimoto with her husband, Steve Hashimoto, in the Open Mixed and with Hitomi Sato in the Open Women Doubles; Steve also won the Young & Old Men Doubles with Chacko Kuruvilla.
Steve & Theo Hashimoto after defeating Marsha Morris & Doug Towne in a tough 3-game final for the Open Mixed title... 13-21, 21-15, 21-19 (photo from Doug Towne)
Here is the list of event champions:
KIDS DOUBLES: Michelle Chen/Flora Tao; KIDS MIXED: Palash Kubsad/Pravindi Gurusinghe
VARSITY GIRLS DOUBLES: Maddie Dines/Taylor Dines; JV GIRLS DOUBLES: Nikhita Jayaraj/Rujuta Sane
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Theo Hashimoto/Hitomi Sato; OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Seigo Hashimoto/Alvin Si
YOUNG & OLD MEN DOUBLES: Steve Hashimoto/Chacko Kuruvilla; HIGH SCHOOL BOYS DOUBLES: Michael Liang/Kevin Shang
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES: Steve & Theo Hashimoto; YOUNG & OLD MIX MASH: Aaron Schneider/Sherry Yuan
Steve & Theo Hashimoto after defeating Marsha Morris & Doug Towne in a tough 3-game final for the Open Mixed title... 13-21, 21-15, 21-19 (photo from Doug Towne)
Here is the list of event champions:
KIDS DOUBLES: Michelle Chen/Flora Tao; KIDS MIXED: Palash Kubsad/Pravindi Gurusinghe
VARSITY GIRLS DOUBLES: Maddie Dines/Taylor Dines; JV GIRLS DOUBLES: Nikhita Jayaraj/Rujuta Sane
OPEN WOMEN DOUBLES: Theo Hashimoto/Hitomi Sato; OPEN MEN DOUBLES: Seigo Hashimoto/Alvin Si
YOUNG & OLD MEN DOUBLES: Steve Hashimoto/Chacko Kuruvilla; HIGH SCHOOL BOYS DOUBLES: Michael Liang/Kevin Shang
OPEN MIXED DOUBLES: Steve & Theo Hashimoto; YOUNG & OLD MIX MASH: Aaron Schneider/Sherry Yuan
Hitomi and Hiroki Sato, Open Women Singles & Open Men Singles Champions, and Open Mixed Champions together!
2018 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Apr 14 & 21, 2018, Mesa... The 7th annual Arizona Badminton Championships were held at the Arizona Badminton Center over two Saturdays. The competition was the deepest ever with 100 competitors battling it out in more than 20 events, including the signature Open Women and Men Singles, Open Women and Men Doubles, and Open Mixed Doubles. The open champions are forever etched on the large perpetual plaque in the lobby at the Arizona Badminton Center!
The stars of this year's state championship tournament were the husband and wife team of Hiroki and Hitomi Sato, who won the Open Mixed Doubles together, and the Open Men Singles and Open Women Singles titles individually. The Open Women Doubles was won by Ashley Nam and My Ta. The Open Men Doubles title went to Tejas Ashani and Hirokazu Sato. All of the draws were extremely difficult highlighted by numerous 3-game matches.
There were also Kids events in singles, doubles and mixed for the under 11 and under 14 age groups, "B" level adult events, and Senior events for 40 and older!
Here are the complete results:
The results for the Open Championship events:
Open Women Singles- Hitomi Sato def. Wey Lyn Lee, 21-15, 21-11
Open Men Singles- Hiroki Sato def. Hirokazu Sato, 21-19, 21-15
Open Women Doubles- Ashley Nam & My Ta def. Fion Huang & Wey Lyn Lee, 16-21, 21-18, 22-20
Open Men Doubles- Tejas Ashani & Hirokazu Sato def. Neil Chen & Rick Nguyen, 21-15, 21-15
Open Mixed Doubles- Hiroki & Hitomi Sato def. Duc Dinh & My Ta, 21-19, 21-19.
KIDS EVENTS WINNERS: U11 Girls Singles- Nihira Sane; U11 Boys Singles- Karthik Raman; U11 Boys Doubles- Samarth Dunarhe/Karthik Raman; U14 Girls Singles- Jordyn Mee; U14 Boys Singles- Karthik Raman; U14 Girls Doubles- Jordyn Mee/Nihira Sane; U14 Boys Doubles- Dominic Kwan & Kiseki Hashimoto; U14 Mixed Doubles- Dominic Kwan & Kiseki Hashimoto
"B" & SENIOR EVENTS WINNERS: "B" Women Singles- Madi Duyck; "B" Men Singles- Aaron Schneider; Senior Men Singles- Aaron Schneider; "B" Women Doubles- Isabel Honzay/Payton Foti; "B" Men Doubles- Huanian Zhang/Zhenhua Lu; Senior Men Doubles- Chacko Kuruvilla/Aaron Schneider; "B" Mixed Doubles- Davis Zhang/Fion Huang; Senior Mixed Doubles- Marcus Allen/Sherry Yuan
Apr 14 & 21, 2018, Mesa... The 7th annual Arizona Badminton Championships were held at the Arizona Badminton Center over two Saturdays. The competition was the deepest ever with 100 competitors battling it out in more than 20 events, including the signature Open Women and Men Singles, Open Women and Men Doubles, and Open Mixed Doubles. The open champions are forever etched on the large perpetual plaque in the lobby at the Arizona Badminton Center!
The stars of this year's state championship tournament were the husband and wife team of Hiroki and Hitomi Sato, who won the Open Mixed Doubles together, and the Open Men Singles and Open Women Singles titles individually. The Open Women Doubles was won by Ashley Nam and My Ta. The Open Men Doubles title went to Tejas Ashani and Hirokazu Sato. All of the draws were extremely difficult highlighted by numerous 3-game matches.
There were also Kids events in singles, doubles and mixed for the under 11 and under 14 age groups, "B" level adult events, and Senior events for 40 and older!
Here are the complete results:
The results for the Open Championship events:
Open Women Singles- Hitomi Sato def. Wey Lyn Lee, 21-15, 21-11
Open Men Singles- Hiroki Sato def. Hirokazu Sato, 21-19, 21-15
Open Women Doubles- Ashley Nam & My Ta def. Fion Huang & Wey Lyn Lee, 16-21, 21-18, 22-20
Open Men Doubles- Tejas Ashani & Hirokazu Sato def. Neil Chen & Rick Nguyen, 21-15, 21-15
Open Mixed Doubles- Hiroki & Hitomi Sato def. Duc Dinh & My Ta, 21-19, 21-19.
KIDS EVENTS WINNERS: U11 Girls Singles- Nihira Sane; U11 Boys Singles- Karthik Raman; U11 Boys Doubles- Samarth Dunarhe/Karthik Raman; U14 Girls Singles- Jordyn Mee; U14 Boys Singles- Karthik Raman; U14 Girls Doubles- Jordyn Mee/Nihira Sane; U14 Boys Doubles- Dominic Kwan & Kiseki Hashimoto; U14 Mixed Doubles- Dominic Kwan & Kiseki Hashimoto
"B" & SENIOR EVENTS WINNERS: "B" Women Singles- Madi Duyck; "B" Men Singles- Aaron Schneider; Senior Men Singles- Aaron Schneider; "B" Women Doubles- Isabel Honzay/Payton Foti; "B" Men Doubles- Huanian Zhang/Zhenhua Lu; Senior Men Doubles- Chacko Kuruvilla/Aaron Schneider; "B" Mixed Doubles- Davis Zhang/Fion Huang; Senior Mixed Doubles- Marcus Allen/Sherry Yuan
2018 JIM POOLE CLASSIC...
Feb 10, 2018, Mesa... Maybe the biggest and baddest JIM POOLE CLASSIC yet! More than 80 players, including 21 kids under 13, participated in non-stop competition from 9am to 8pm. Players from Tucson and California also spiced up the action. There were lots of exciting, well-played matches!
The tournament started with 1/2 court singles, 7-point games-- with Neil Chen (Men), Lucy Timothy (HS Girls), Luke Wang (Kids/Boys), Kiseki Hashimoto (Kids/Girls), Sherry Yuan (Women), and Naren Koka (Master Men) winning each of their Singles draws (see photo at left, from left to right).
Then, all the Kids Doubles, HS Girls Doubles, Open Women and Men Doubles, and Master Women and Men Doubles filled the courts for the next 5 hours. Kids/Girls Doubles were won by Flora Tao/Mohitha Jayajaran; Kids/Boys Doubles by Arya Saravanan/Luke Wang; HS Girls Doubles by Payton Foti/Sidney Nguyen; Open Women Doubles by Jacky Myers/Theo Hashimoto; Master Women Doubles by Brenda Nguyen/Sherry Yuan; Open Men Doubles by Seigo Hashimoto/Ricky Nguyen; Master Men Doubles by Naren Koka/Doug Towne. Finally, to cap off the day was the Open Mixed and Master Mixed with Steve and Theo Hashimoto outlasting their competition for the Open Mixed title and Pedro Garcia-Flores/Jacky Myers winning the Master Mixed. There were also consolation for all the events. Great play, food and prizes, and lots of fun!
Feb 10, 2018, Mesa... Maybe the biggest and baddest JIM POOLE CLASSIC yet! More than 80 players, including 21 kids under 13, participated in non-stop competition from 9am to 8pm. Players from Tucson and California also spiced up the action. There were lots of exciting, well-played matches!
The tournament started with 1/2 court singles, 7-point games-- with Neil Chen (Men), Lucy Timothy (HS Girls), Luke Wang (Kids/Boys), Kiseki Hashimoto (Kids/Girls), Sherry Yuan (Women), and Naren Koka (Master Men) winning each of their Singles draws (see photo at left, from left to right).
Then, all the Kids Doubles, HS Girls Doubles, Open Women and Men Doubles, and Master Women and Men Doubles filled the courts for the next 5 hours. Kids/Girls Doubles were won by Flora Tao/Mohitha Jayajaran; Kids/Boys Doubles by Arya Saravanan/Luke Wang; HS Girls Doubles by Payton Foti/Sidney Nguyen; Open Women Doubles by Jacky Myers/Theo Hashimoto; Master Women Doubles by Brenda Nguyen/Sherry Yuan; Open Men Doubles by Seigo Hashimoto/Ricky Nguyen; Master Men Doubles by Naren Koka/Doug Towne. Finally, to cap off the day was the Open Mixed and Master Mixed with Steve and Theo Hashimoto outlasting their competition for the Open Mixed title and Pedro Garcia-Flores/Jacky Myers winning the Master Mixed. There were also consolation for all the events. Great play, food and prizes, and lots of fun!
The Sahuaro High School boys team from Tucson came in force and took the 2017 BOYS HS STATE CHAMPIONSHIIP TITLE!
2017 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL...
Dec 9, 2017, Mesa... Always a great way to start off the Holidays, this year's HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL held 7 action-packed events, including the 6th annual BOYS HIGH SCHOOL STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, Open Men and Women's Doubles, B Women's Doubles, Senior Men's Doubles, and a first-ever CRAZY MIXED UP DOUBLES with 2-on-2 half-court wacky play!
The BOYS HS CHAMPIONSHIPS had 16 boys from 5 different schools vie for Singles, Doubles and the Team title. For the first time ever, Tucson entered a boys team from Sahuaro High School and came ready to play. Sahuaro took the Team title led by Boys Doubles Champions, Travis Cole & Landon Ogle, with additional teammates, Josh Bladh, Dominic Erickson, Parker Glasser, Sebastion Kanizsai and Ronald Sabatino all contributing points. Finishing 2nd was Perry HS led by Gabe Wilson who earned the Boys Singles title, along with teammates, Christian Copic, Griffin Haugen, Cooper Richter, and Jaden Tan. Finishing 3rd overall was Gilbert Classical Academy with Kaleb Thompkins, 4th - Marcos de Niza HS with Callahan Farr and Cameron Sordia, and 5th- Basha HS with Damon Nguyen.
The Open Women Champions were Ashley Nam and My Ta winning in the finals over Alexis and Jodyn Mee. "B" Women Doubles were won by Jordyn Mee and Rujuta Sane over Lucy Timothy and Tore Burton. Open Men's Doubles Champions were Avi Mammidanna and Tejas Ashani over Arvind Renukaradhya and Dean Glazeski. Senior Men's Doubles was won by Roger Goettl and Mike Hilliard over Richard Alcaraz and Doug Towne. And finally, the CRAZY MIXED UP DOUBLES was won by Avi Mammidanna and Byron Mee-- Byron's first tournament win under 10 years old!
Dec 9, 2017, Mesa... Always a great way to start off the Holidays, this year's HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL held 7 action-packed events, including the 6th annual BOYS HIGH SCHOOL STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, Open Men and Women's Doubles, B Women's Doubles, Senior Men's Doubles, and a first-ever CRAZY MIXED UP DOUBLES with 2-on-2 half-court wacky play!
The BOYS HS CHAMPIONSHIPS had 16 boys from 5 different schools vie for Singles, Doubles and the Team title. For the first time ever, Tucson entered a boys team from Sahuaro High School and came ready to play. Sahuaro took the Team title led by Boys Doubles Champions, Travis Cole & Landon Ogle, with additional teammates, Josh Bladh, Dominic Erickson, Parker Glasser, Sebastion Kanizsai and Ronald Sabatino all contributing points. Finishing 2nd was Perry HS led by Gabe Wilson who earned the Boys Singles title, along with teammates, Christian Copic, Griffin Haugen, Cooper Richter, and Jaden Tan. Finishing 3rd overall was Gilbert Classical Academy with Kaleb Thompkins, 4th - Marcos de Niza HS with Callahan Farr and Cameron Sordia, and 5th- Basha HS with Damon Nguyen.
The Open Women Champions were Ashley Nam and My Ta winning in the finals over Alexis and Jodyn Mee. "B" Women Doubles were won by Jordyn Mee and Rujuta Sane over Lucy Timothy and Tore Burton. Open Men's Doubles Champions were Avi Mammidanna and Tejas Ashani over Arvind Renukaradhya and Dean Glazeski. Senior Men's Doubles was won by Roger Goettl and Mike Hilliard over Richard Alcaraz and Doug Towne. And finally, the CRAZY MIXED UP DOUBLES was won by Avi Mammidanna and Byron Mee-- Byron's first tournament win under 10 years old!
2017 AZBC SMASH BASH DOUBLES...
Sep 9, 2017, Mesa... Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the SMASH BASH was a blast with jam-packed action from start to finish. Lots of great matches, upsets and new winners and big smiles as displayed by Doug Towne and Marsha Morris to the left (photo courtesy of Doug Towne).
Ten events were played: JV and Varsity Girls Doubles, HS Boys Doubles, Open Women and Men Doubles, B Men Doubles, Senior Men Doubles, and Open and Senior Mixed Doubles along with consolation for these events. Connie Devenport and Gabrielle Nakada won the Varsity Girls Doubles, while Connie teamed with Jordyn Mee for the JV Girls title. Shakir Dixon and Harry Saez won the HS Boys Doubles in a 3-game thriller. Wey Lin Lee and Marsha Morris pulled a big upset to win the Open Women Doubles final in 3 games. Sumit Arora and Rick Nguyen won the Open Men Doubles. Cameron Ohoro and DJ Peters won the B Men Doubles. Ramesh Bondalapati and Eric Cai from Tucson won the Senior Men Doubles. Mitch Nase and Alexis Mee teamed to win the Open Mixed Doubles in yet another close 3-game final match. Finally, Ramesh and Sherry Yuan won the Senior Mixed Doubles. The complete finals results are as follows:
JVGD: Connie Devenport/Jordyn Mee def. Katie Pryor/Eve Taylor, 24-22, 21-11; VGD: Connie Devenport/Gabrielle Nakada def. Jordyn Mee/Cecilia Roessle, 21-12, 21-16; OWD: Wey Lin Lee/Marsha Morris def. Alexis Mee/Ashley Nam, 20-22, 21-13, 21-8; HSBD: Shakir Dixon/Harry Saez def. Roberto Arizmendi/Gabrielle Nakada, 22-20, 17-21, 22-20; OMD: Sumit Arora/Rick Nguyen def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Eric Cai, 21-19, 22-20; BMD: Cameron Ohoro/DJ Peters def. Ashish Gopalakrishnan/Richard Alcaraz, 21-17, 25-23; SMD: Ramesh Bondalapati/Eric Cai def. James Siby/Joseph Vadakkel, 21-16, 21-10; OMX: Mitch Nase/Alexis Mee def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 21-16, 19-21, 21-19. SMX: Ramesh Bondalapati/Sherry Yuan def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 21-17, 21-10.
Sep 9, 2017, Mesa... Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the SMASH BASH was a blast with jam-packed action from start to finish. Lots of great matches, upsets and new winners and big smiles as displayed by Doug Towne and Marsha Morris to the left (photo courtesy of Doug Towne).
Ten events were played: JV and Varsity Girls Doubles, HS Boys Doubles, Open Women and Men Doubles, B Men Doubles, Senior Men Doubles, and Open and Senior Mixed Doubles along with consolation for these events. Connie Devenport and Gabrielle Nakada won the Varsity Girls Doubles, while Connie teamed with Jordyn Mee for the JV Girls title. Shakir Dixon and Harry Saez won the HS Boys Doubles in a 3-game thriller. Wey Lin Lee and Marsha Morris pulled a big upset to win the Open Women Doubles final in 3 games. Sumit Arora and Rick Nguyen won the Open Men Doubles. Cameron Ohoro and DJ Peters won the B Men Doubles. Ramesh Bondalapati and Eric Cai from Tucson won the Senior Men Doubles. Mitch Nase and Alexis Mee teamed to win the Open Mixed Doubles in yet another close 3-game final match. Finally, Ramesh and Sherry Yuan won the Senior Mixed Doubles. The complete finals results are as follows:
JVGD: Connie Devenport/Jordyn Mee def. Katie Pryor/Eve Taylor, 24-22, 21-11; VGD: Connie Devenport/Gabrielle Nakada def. Jordyn Mee/Cecilia Roessle, 21-12, 21-16; OWD: Wey Lin Lee/Marsha Morris def. Alexis Mee/Ashley Nam, 20-22, 21-13, 21-8; HSBD: Shakir Dixon/Harry Saez def. Roberto Arizmendi/Gabrielle Nakada, 22-20, 17-21, 22-20; OMD: Sumit Arora/Rick Nguyen def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Eric Cai, 21-19, 22-20; BMD: Cameron Ohoro/DJ Peters def. Ashish Gopalakrishnan/Richard Alcaraz, 21-17, 25-23; SMD: Ramesh Bondalapati/Eric Cai def. James Siby/Joseph Vadakkel, 21-16, 21-10; OMX: Mitch Nase/Alexis Mee def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 21-16, 19-21, 21-19. SMX: Ramesh Bondalapati/Sherry Yuan def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 21-17, 21-10.
2017 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
Avi, Priya, Vaishnavi, Tejas, Chinmai, Kiyoko, and Art -- some of the winners and finalists at the 2017 Arizona Badminton Championships.
April 15 & 22, 2017, Mesa... The annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS serves as the state tournament to determine the best players in each of the primary disciplines of badminton-- women and men singles, women and men doubles and mixed doubles. Each year we honor these champions with their names on our perpetual plaque in the lobby. This year also saw the largest number of participants in our history with nearly 100 entries. Along with the Open events, there were also "B", Senior, and the largest turnout of Kids in their age groups of U9, U11, U13, U15. The kids showed much improvement in skills and temperament on the court, too! They had a blast!
This year's Open Champions are WS: Priya Nair; MS: Chinmai Basavaraj; WD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto; MD: Sumit Arora & Avi Mamidanna; MX: Art Solo & Kiyoko Hashimoto. Chinmai, of Tucson, was a largely unknown player with an outstanding all around game winning in straight sets over four tough opponents to take the title. Kiyoko was the only double winner this year, who in past years has collected more overall titles than anyone else in the 6 years of these championships. The complete finals results follow:
OWS: Priya Nair def. Vaishnavi Koka, 21-19, 21-14; BWS: Gabrielle Nakata def. Elizabeth Palmo, 21-7; OMS: Chinmai Basavaraj def. Tejas Ashani, 21-15, 21-12; BMS: Abdul Hannan Rana def. Charles Wang, 21-18; SMS: Francis Hartojo def. Chacko Kuruvilla, 21-18; OWD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto def. Vaishnavi Koka/Priya Nair, 22-20, 21-18; BWD: Connie Devenport/Ekta Kulkarni def. Angela Chen/Elizabeth Palmo, 21-11, 21-6; OMD: Sumit Arora/Avi Mamidanna def. Rick Nguyen/Aaron Romualdez, 21-9, 21-15. BMD: Khadar Shaik/Shandy Popuru def. Doug Towne/Paul Varghese, 21-15, 21-12; SMD: Chacko Kuruvilla/Doug Towne def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Warren Mee, 21-10, 21-14. OMX: Art Solo/Kiyoko Hashimoto def. Avi Mamidanna/Priya Nair, 21-16, 21-18; BMX: DJ Peters/Neha Rajendra def. Cameron Ohoro/Amber Beeney, 13-21, 21-15, 22-20; SMX: Naren Koka/Lan Xu def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 19-21, 21-16, 21-15.
JUNIOR CHAMPIONS: U9 BS- Byron Mee; U11 GS- Kiseki Hashimoto; U11 BS- Rahul Jayaraj; U11BD- Dominic Kwan/Rahul Jayaraj; U11 MX- Dominic Kwan/ Kiseki Hashimoto; U13 GS- Jordyn Mee; U13 BS- Gabriel Allen; U13 GD- Jordyn Mee/Flora Tao; U13 BD- Gabriel Allen/Rahul Jayaraj; U13 MX- Rahul Jayaraj/Flora Tao; U15 GS- Jordyn Mee; U15 BS- Gabriell Allen; U15 GD- Jordyn Mee/Nikhita Jayaraj; U15 BD- Gabriel Allen/Dominic Kwan; U15 MX- Dominic Kwan/Flora Tao.
This year's Open Champions are WS: Priya Nair; MS: Chinmai Basavaraj; WD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto; MD: Sumit Arora & Avi Mamidanna; MX: Art Solo & Kiyoko Hashimoto. Chinmai, of Tucson, was a largely unknown player with an outstanding all around game winning in straight sets over four tough opponents to take the title. Kiyoko was the only double winner this year, who in past years has collected more overall titles than anyone else in the 6 years of these championships. The complete finals results follow:
OWS: Priya Nair def. Vaishnavi Koka, 21-19, 21-14; BWS: Gabrielle Nakata def. Elizabeth Palmo, 21-7; OMS: Chinmai Basavaraj def. Tejas Ashani, 21-15, 21-12; BMS: Abdul Hannan Rana def. Charles Wang, 21-18; SMS: Francis Hartojo def. Chacko Kuruvilla, 21-18; OWD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto def. Vaishnavi Koka/Priya Nair, 22-20, 21-18; BWD: Connie Devenport/Ekta Kulkarni def. Angela Chen/Elizabeth Palmo, 21-11, 21-6; OMD: Sumit Arora/Avi Mamidanna def. Rick Nguyen/Aaron Romualdez, 21-9, 21-15. BMD: Khadar Shaik/Shandy Popuru def. Doug Towne/Paul Varghese, 21-15, 21-12; SMD: Chacko Kuruvilla/Doug Towne def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Warren Mee, 21-10, 21-14. OMX: Art Solo/Kiyoko Hashimoto def. Avi Mamidanna/Priya Nair, 21-16, 21-18; BMX: DJ Peters/Neha Rajendra def. Cameron Ohoro/Amber Beeney, 13-21, 21-15, 22-20; SMX: Naren Koka/Lan Xu def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris, 19-21, 21-16, 21-15.
JUNIOR CHAMPIONS: U9 BS- Byron Mee; U11 GS- Kiseki Hashimoto; U11 BS- Rahul Jayaraj; U11BD- Dominic Kwan/Rahul Jayaraj; U11 MX- Dominic Kwan/ Kiseki Hashimoto; U13 GS- Jordyn Mee; U13 BS- Gabriel Allen; U13 GD- Jordyn Mee/Flora Tao; U13 BD- Gabriel Allen/Rahul Jayaraj; U13 MX- Rahul Jayaraj/Flora Tao; U15 GS- Jordyn Mee; U15 BS- Gabriell Allen; U15 GD- Jordyn Mee/Nikhita Jayaraj; U15 BD- Gabriel Allen/Dominic Kwan; U15 MX- Dominic Kwan/Flora Tao.
2017 JIM POOLE CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT
February 11, 2017, Mesa... As part of our AZBC 5th anniversary celebration, the annual 2017 JIM POOLE CLASSIC took place on Saturday, Feb 11 with about 60 entries competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles culminating with a special dinner at Lucille's BBQ Smokehouse with Jim Poole himself! Great prizes, food, tournament shirts and competition!
Highlights included Vaishnavi Koka taking the Women's Singles and Women's Doubles titles with partner Ashley Nam. Newcomer Nanyi Chen stormed through the draw to win the Men's Singles title. Tejas Asani and Van Ho won the Men's Doubles with a close win in the finals. Seigo Hashimoto and Sherry Yuan cruised to win the Mixed Doubles title. Chacko Kuruvilla won both the Masters Men's Singles and Masters Men's Doubles with partner Shawn McMillen.
Complete finals results... WS: Vaishnavi Koka def Gabrielle Nakada, 21-13; WS-Cons: Ekta Kulkarni def Caitlin Halim, 21-13; MS: Nanyi Chen def Seigo Hashimoto, 21-12; MS-C: Charles Wang def DJ Peters, 21-14; MMS: Chacko Kuruvilla def Warren Mee, 21-14; MMS-C: Roger Goettl def Stewart Schwartz, 21-13; WD: Vaishnavi Koka/Ashley Nam def Alexis Mee/Sherry Yuan, 21-7, 21-11; Gabrielle Nakada/Maggie Trias def Alex Corridan/Madi Duyck, 21-9, 21-12; MD: Tejas Ashani/Van Ho def Nanyi Chen/Surya Sarvajith, 24-22, 21-19; MD-C: Sean Carman/Dean Glazeski def Pik Kean/Mitch Nase, 17-21, 21-16, 24-22; MMD: Chacko Kuruvilla/Shawn McMillen def Andrew Pariva/Sameer Kulkarni, 21-15, 21-14; MMD-C: Sean Carman/Stewart Schwartz def Mike Hilliard/Dennis Sullivan, 21-10, 21-12; MX: Seigo Hashimoto/Sherry Yuan def Tejas Ashani/Priya Nair, 21-9; MX-C: Stewart Schwartz/Carrie Davis def DJ Peters/Amber Beeney, 21-9.
February 11, 2017, Mesa... As part of our AZBC 5th anniversary celebration, the annual 2017 JIM POOLE CLASSIC took place on Saturday, Feb 11 with about 60 entries competing in singles, doubles and mixed doubles culminating with a special dinner at Lucille's BBQ Smokehouse with Jim Poole himself! Great prizes, food, tournament shirts and competition!
Highlights included Vaishnavi Koka taking the Women's Singles and Women's Doubles titles with partner Ashley Nam. Newcomer Nanyi Chen stormed through the draw to win the Men's Singles title. Tejas Asani and Van Ho won the Men's Doubles with a close win in the finals. Seigo Hashimoto and Sherry Yuan cruised to win the Mixed Doubles title. Chacko Kuruvilla won both the Masters Men's Singles and Masters Men's Doubles with partner Shawn McMillen.
Complete finals results... WS: Vaishnavi Koka def Gabrielle Nakada, 21-13; WS-Cons: Ekta Kulkarni def Caitlin Halim, 21-13; MS: Nanyi Chen def Seigo Hashimoto, 21-12; MS-C: Charles Wang def DJ Peters, 21-14; MMS: Chacko Kuruvilla def Warren Mee, 21-14; MMS-C: Roger Goettl def Stewart Schwartz, 21-13; WD: Vaishnavi Koka/Ashley Nam def Alexis Mee/Sherry Yuan, 21-7, 21-11; Gabrielle Nakada/Maggie Trias def Alex Corridan/Madi Duyck, 21-9, 21-12; MD: Tejas Ashani/Van Ho def Nanyi Chen/Surya Sarvajith, 24-22, 21-19; MD-C: Sean Carman/Dean Glazeski def Pik Kean/Mitch Nase, 17-21, 21-16, 24-22; MMD: Chacko Kuruvilla/Shawn McMillen def Andrew Pariva/Sameer Kulkarni, 21-15, 21-14; MMD-C: Sean Carman/Stewart Schwartz def Mike Hilliard/Dennis Sullivan, 21-10, 21-12; MX: Seigo Hashimoto/Sherry Yuan def Tejas Ashani/Priya Nair, 21-9; MX-C: Stewart Schwartz/Carrie Davis def DJ Peters/Amber Beeney, 21-9.
Top 2016 Arizona HS Boys (left to right):
JR Holloway (Campo Verde), Alex Decker (Campo Verde), Cameron Ohoro (Mt View), Ray Del Gallo (Basis-Chandler), Gabe Wilson (Perry), Brian Lin (Higley), Brendon Van (Desert Vista), Leo Hsu (Desert Vista) [photo by Isabella Holloway]
2016 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL + AZ HS BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
December 5, 2016, Mesa... The 2016 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and AZ HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS brought out the best in both! Along with great competition in the Women and Men Doubles events, and the largest BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS in Arizona history, some seriously CRAZY MIXED-UP DOUBLES was the hit of the day in the afternoon. Two versions of CRAZY were played where partners were picked out of a hat: 1) Half-Court Chaos-- 1/2 Court Singles with 2 players alternating shots and sharing a racket! 2) Full-court doubles with various handicaps, such as some of the stronger players using a tennis or squash racket and/or hitting with their opposite hand. There were a lot of hilarious rallies, and it was lots of fun for the spectators, too.
On a more serious front, the 2016 HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS was the best ever with 8 schools represented, 18 singles players and 9 doubles teams. JR Holloway of Campo Verde led the way as the new HS Boys Singles Champion and finished third with partner Alex Decker in the Doubles. JR and Alex, along with teammates Kyle Decker and Eric Yan, earned Campo Verde the 2016 Arizona Boys Team Badminton title with the most overall points (47). Ray Del Gallo of Basis-Chandler was a one-man wrecking crew just losing out to JR in the Boys Singles Championship match 20-22, and teamed with pick-up partner, Cameron Ohoro of Mountain View to capture the Boys Doubles Championship in a finals over another pick-up team of Brian Lin of Higley HS and Gabe Wilson of Perry. Desert Vistas team of Leo Hsu and Brendon Van finished 4th in the Boys Doubles, and 4th and 3rd respectively in the Boys Singles, and overall finished 2nd in the Team points with 32. Perry's Griffen Haugen, Cooper Richter and Gabe Wilson finished overall 3rd in the Team points (28). To round out the Team finishes, Basis-Chandler finished 4th with 26 pts, Agua Fria - 5th with 20, Mountain View 6th with 16, and Higley and Shadow Mountain tied for 7th place each with 10 points.
The Open Women Doubles saw Wey Lyn and Sherry Yu beat Megan Crow and Lana Le in the finals, 21-16. The "B" Women Doubles was won by Prati Lodha and Jordan Ludwig in the finals over Nicole Burton and Jessica Jung, 21-11. The Open Men Doubles title was won by Seigo Hashimoto and Charles Wang in the finals over Sean Carman and Dean Glazeski, 21-18, 21-16. The Senior Men Doubles was captured by Chacko Kuruvilla and Ben Lewis against Roger Goettl and Warren Mee, 21-14, 21-15.
December 5, 2016, Mesa... The 2016 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and AZ HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS brought out the best in both! Along with great competition in the Women and Men Doubles events, and the largest BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS in Arizona history, some seriously CRAZY MIXED-UP DOUBLES was the hit of the day in the afternoon. Two versions of CRAZY were played where partners were picked out of a hat: 1) Half-Court Chaos-- 1/2 Court Singles with 2 players alternating shots and sharing a racket! 2) Full-court doubles with various handicaps, such as some of the stronger players using a tennis or squash racket and/or hitting with their opposite hand. There were a lot of hilarious rallies, and it was lots of fun for the spectators, too.
On a more serious front, the 2016 HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS was the best ever with 8 schools represented, 18 singles players and 9 doubles teams. JR Holloway of Campo Verde led the way as the new HS Boys Singles Champion and finished third with partner Alex Decker in the Doubles. JR and Alex, along with teammates Kyle Decker and Eric Yan, earned Campo Verde the 2016 Arizona Boys Team Badminton title with the most overall points (47). Ray Del Gallo of Basis-Chandler was a one-man wrecking crew just losing out to JR in the Boys Singles Championship match 20-22, and teamed with pick-up partner, Cameron Ohoro of Mountain View to capture the Boys Doubles Championship in a finals over another pick-up team of Brian Lin of Higley HS and Gabe Wilson of Perry. Desert Vistas team of Leo Hsu and Brendon Van finished 4th in the Boys Doubles, and 4th and 3rd respectively in the Boys Singles, and overall finished 2nd in the Team points with 32. Perry's Griffen Haugen, Cooper Richter and Gabe Wilson finished overall 3rd in the Team points (28). To round out the Team finishes, Basis-Chandler finished 4th with 26 pts, Agua Fria - 5th with 20, Mountain View 6th with 16, and Higley and Shadow Mountain tied for 7th place each with 10 points.
The Open Women Doubles saw Wey Lyn and Sherry Yu beat Megan Crow and Lana Le in the finals, 21-16. The "B" Women Doubles was won by Prati Lodha and Jordan Ludwig in the finals over Nicole Burton and Jessica Jung, 21-11. The Open Men Doubles title was won by Seigo Hashimoto and Charles Wang in the finals over Sean Carman and Dean Glazeski, 21-18, 21-16. The Senior Men Doubles was captured by Chacko Kuruvilla and Ben Lewis against Roger Goettl and Warren Mee, 21-14, 21-15.
2016 SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
September 10, 2016, Mesa... The 2016 SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT lived up to its name once again with 70+ entries pounding away at the bird for winners. There were Open, Senior, Varsity & JV High School Women Doubles, and Open, Senior, and High School Boy's Men Doubles, as well as Open and Senior Mixed Doubles. There were also consolation in each event, so lots of matches, lots of smashes! Among the women, there were 3 double winners-- Priya Nair earned the Open Women Double title with Sherry Yuan and Open Mixed Doubles title with Avi Mamidanna. Sherry Yuan also won with Marsha Morris for the Senior Women title, and Marsha Morris also won the Senior Mixed with Doug Towne. Doug Towne also won the Senior Men Doubles with Shash Patel.
The winners in each event: OWD: Priya Nair/Sherry Yuan; OWD-C: Alexis Mee/Sherry Yu; HSGD: Alexis Mee/Maya Shrikant; HSGD-C: Aarzoo Kumar/Alice Wong; JVGD: Nicole Burton/Jessica Jung; SWD: Marsha Morris/Sherry Yuan; OMD: Sumit Arora/Karthik Hebar; OMD-C: Chacko Kuruvilla/Rath Sy; BMD: Jeff Rutgard/Charles Wang; BMD-C: Pik Kean Beh/Kin Ken Lee; HSBD: Leo Hsu/Brendon Van; SMD: Shash Patel/Doug Towne/ SMD-C: Roger Goettl/Mike Hilliard; OMX: Avi Mamidanna/Priya Nair; OMX-C: Toby Yan/Sherry Yuan; BMX: Francis Hartojo/Kathy Furtmann; BMX-C: Warren & Jordyn Mee; BMX-CC: Brendan & Laura Michard; SMX: Doug Towne/Marsha Morris
September 10, 2016, Mesa... The 2016 SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT lived up to its name once again with 70+ entries pounding away at the bird for winners. There were Open, Senior, Varsity & JV High School Women Doubles, and Open, Senior, and High School Boy's Men Doubles, as well as Open and Senior Mixed Doubles. There were also consolation in each event, so lots of matches, lots of smashes! Among the women, there were 3 double winners-- Priya Nair earned the Open Women Double title with Sherry Yuan and Open Mixed Doubles title with Avi Mamidanna. Sherry Yuan also won with Marsha Morris for the Senior Women title, and Marsha Morris also won the Senior Mixed with Doug Towne. Doug Towne also won the Senior Men Doubles with Shash Patel.
The winners in each event: OWD: Priya Nair/Sherry Yuan; OWD-C: Alexis Mee/Sherry Yu; HSGD: Alexis Mee/Maya Shrikant; HSGD-C: Aarzoo Kumar/Alice Wong; JVGD: Nicole Burton/Jessica Jung; SWD: Marsha Morris/Sherry Yuan; OMD: Sumit Arora/Karthik Hebar; OMD-C: Chacko Kuruvilla/Rath Sy; BMD: Jeff Rutgard/Charles Wang; BMD-C: Pik Kean Beh/Kin Ken Lee; HSBD: Leo Hsu/Brendon Van; SMD: Shash Patel/Doug Towne/ SMD-C: Roger Goettl/Mike Hilliard; OMX: Avi Mamidanna/Priya Nair; OMX-C: Toby Yan/Sherry Yuan; BMX: Francis Hartojo/Kathy Furtmann; BMX-C: Warren & Jordyn Mee; BMX-CC: Brendan & Laura Michard; SMX: Doug Towne/Marsha Morris
2016 GRAND CANYON STATE GAMES - BADMINTON EVENT
June 11, 2016, Mesa... The 24th annual Grand Canyon State Games Badminton Event took place at the Arizona Badminton Center. Twenty-nine participants competed in 5 events, Open Women and Men Singles, Women and Men Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Director Guy Chadwick has been the commissioner for this badminton event since its inception in 1993. The 2016 Badminton Power Player Award went to a very deserving Roger Goetl, who competed in the Men's Doubles after undergoing heart surgery earlier this year, and always volunteers and brings snacks and supplies for all the players to share at every tournament. Congratulations Roger (see photo to left)!
Vaishnavi Koka took the Women's Singles Gold and Women's Doubles Gold with Rena Han, and the Mixed Doubles Silver with her father, Naren. Sherry Yu won the Women's Singles Silver and Women's Doubles Bronze with Carrie Davis. Gabrielle Nakada and Riley Chaisson won the Bronze in Women's Singles. Kathy Furtmann and Theo Hashimoto won the Women's Doubles Silver. Theo also won the Mixed Doubles Gold with Senthil Kannappan. Gabrielle Nakada and Alice Wong won the Women's Doubles Bronze.
Harsha Gandi earned a Gold in the Men's Singles and teamed with Senthil Kannappan to win the Silver in Men's Doubles. Tejas Ashani and Naren Koka took the Men's Doubles Gold. Chacko Kuruvilla won the Silver in Men's Singles, with Bronze medals going to Dean Glazeski and Stephen Li. The Bronze in Men's Doubles went to Doug Towne and Cacko Kuruvilla and the team of Stephen Li and Wen Wei Liu. The Mixed Doubles Bronze winners were Mike Hilliard and Carrie Davis and Francis Hartojo and Kathy Furtmann.
June 11, 2016, Mesa... The 24th annual Grand Canyon State Games Badminton Event took place at the Arizona Badminton Center. Twenty-nine participants competed in 5 events, Open Women and Men Singles, Women and Men Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Director Guy Chadwick has been the commissioner for this badminton event since its inception in 1993. The 2016 Badminton Power Player Award went to a very deserving Roger Goetl, who competed in the Men's Doubles after undergoing heart surgery earlier this year, and always volunteers and brings snacks and supplies for all the players to share at every tournament. Congratulations Roger (see photo to left)!
Vaishnavi Koka took the Women's Singles Gold and Women's Doubles Gold with Rena Han, and the Mixed Doubles Silver with her father, Naren. Sherry Yu won the Women's Singles Silver and Women's Doubles Bronze with Carrie Davis. Gabrielle Nakada and Riley Chaisson won the Bronze in Women's Singles. Kathy Furtmann and Theo Hashimoto won the Women's Doubles Silver. Theo also won the Mixed Doubles Gold with Senthil Kannappan. Gabrielle Nakada and Alice Wong won the Women's Doubles Bronze.
Harsha Gandi earned a Gold in the Men's Singles and teamed with Senthil Kannappan to win the Silver in Men's Doubles. Tejas Ashani and Naren Koka took the Men's Doubles Gold. Chacko Kuruvilla won the Silver in Men's Singles, with Bronze medals going to Dean Glazeski and Stephen Li. The Bronze in Men's Doubles went to Doug Towne and Cacko Kuruvilla and the team of Stephen Li and Wen Wei Liu. The Mixed Doubles Bronze winners were Mike Hilliard and Carrie Davis and Francis Hartojo and Kathy Furtmann.
Avi Mamidanna & Priya Nair, Open Mixed Champions
2016 AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 16 & 23, 2016, Mesa... Who are the best badminton players in Arizona? Every year that is decided at this tough April event at the AZBC and memorialized on a plaque in the lobby. At the 5th annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS more than 60 competitors put out more energy, more sweat, more gut-it-out effort than ever before!
The first Saturday, April 16, played out the Open, "B" and Senior Men and Women Doubles events, and all of the Junior Arizona Badminton Championships. The Open Women Doubles title was won by Kiyoko and Theo Hashimoto. The Open Men Doubles was won by Naren Koka and Karan Kumar. The top junior winners were Jordyn Mee winning the U11, U13, U15 Girls Singles and Mixed Doubles; and Gabriel Allen winning the U13 Singles, Doubles and Mixed, as well as the U15 Mixed.
The second Saturday, April 23, played the Men and Women Singles and Mixed Doubles events. Kiyoko again won the Open Women Singles making it 3 years in row! Avi Mamidanna won the Open Men Singles after surviving successive difficult 3-game matches in the semis over Seigo Hashimoto and in the finals over defending champion Art Solo. FInally, the Open Mixed in the afternoon was a battle of attrition among many of the dead tired singles players and partners. Avi Mamidanna and Priya Nair emerged the champions after a tough 3-game semis over Steve and Theo Hashimoto and a solid 2-game win in the finals over an exhausted Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto. The complete finals results are as follows:
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2016 JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS -------------------------------
U11 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U11 Boys Singles: Dominic Kwan; U11 Mixed: Kwan/Mee
U13 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U13 Boys Singles: Gabriel Allen; U13 Boys Doubles: Allen/Srinath Sithemsetti; U13 Mixed: Allen/Mee
U15 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U15 Girls Doubles: Katherine Chou/Connie Devenport; U15 Mixed: Allen/Mee
2016 OPEN, "B" and SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ---------------------------
OWS: Kiyoko Hashimoto def. Avi Priya, 21-10, 21-10; BWS: Lauren Rusk def. Maggie Trias, 21-18
OMS: Avi Mamidanna def. Art Solot, 19-21,21-14,21-13; BMS; Chacko Kuruvilla def. Dean Glazeski, 22-20, 21-16
OWD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto def. Ashley Nam/Priya Nair, 21-19, 21-12; BWD: Rusk/Trias def. Jessica Jung/Natalie Kho, 21-11, 21-8
OMD: Naren Koka/Karan Kumar def. Tejas Ashani/Avi Mamidanna, 21-12, 21-18; BMD: Yubin Li/Han Wang def. Ruixuan Li/Zhongpu Li, 21-12, 21-11
SMS: Naren Koka def. Chacko Kuruvilla, 14-21, 21-18, 21-18; SMD: Guy Chadwick/Steve Hashimoto def Naren Koka/Doug Towne, 18-21, 21-19, 21-17
April 16 & 23, 2016, Mesa... Who are the best badminton players in Arizona? Every year that is decided at this tough April event at the AZBC and memorialized on a plaque in the lobby. At the 5th annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS more than 60 competitors put out more energy, more sweat, more gut-it-out effort than ever before!
The first Saturday, April 16, played out the Open, "B" and Senior Men and Women Doubles events, and all of the Junior Arizona Badminton Championships. The Open Women Doubles title was won by Kiyoko and Theo Hashimoto. The Open Men Doubles was won by Naren Koka and Karan Kumar. The top junior winners were Jordyn Mee winning the U11, U13, U15 Girls Singles and Mixed Doubles; and Gabriel Allen winning the U13 Singles, Doubles and Mixed, as well as the U15 Mixed.
The second Saturday, April 23, played the Men and Women Singles and Mixed Doubles events. Kiyoko again won the Open Women Singles making it 3 years in row! Avi Mamidanna won the Open Men Singles after surviving successive difficult 3-game matches in the semis over Seigo Hashimoto and in the finals over defending champion Art Solo. FInally, the Open Mixed in the afternoon was a battle of attrition among many of the dead tired singles players and partners. Avi Mamidanna and Priya Nair emerged the champions after a tough 3-game semis over Steve and Theo Hashimoto and a solid 2-game win in the finals over an exhausted Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto. The complete finals results are as follows:
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2016 JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS -------------------------------
U11 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U11 Boys Singles: Dominic Kwan; U11 Mixed: Kwan/Mee
U13 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U13 Boys Singles: Gabriel Allen; U13 Boys Doubles: Allen/Srinath Sithemsetti; U13 Mixed: Allen/Mee
U15 Girls Singles: Jordyn Mee; U15 Girls Doubles: Katherine Chou/Connie Devenport; U15 Mixed: Allen/Mee
2016 OPEN, "B" and SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ---------------------------
OWS: Kiyoko Hashimoto def. Avi Priya, 21-10, 21-10; BWS: Lauren Rusk def. Maggie Trias, 21-18
OMS: Avi Mamidanna def. Art Solot, 19-21,21-14,21-13; BMS; Chacko Kuruvilla def. Dean Glazeski, 22-20, 21-16
OWD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto def. Ashley Nam/Priya Nair, 21-19, 21-12; BWD: Rusk/Trias def. Jessica Jung/Natalie Kho, 21-11, 21-8
OMD: Naren Koka/Karan Kumar def. Tejas Ashani/Avi Mamidanna, 21-12, 21-18; BMD: Yubin Li/Han Wang def. Ruixuan Li/Zhongpu Li, 21-12, 21-11
SMS: Naren Koka def. Chacko Kuruvilla, 14-21, 21-18, 21-18; SMD: Guy Chadwick/Steve Hashimoto def Naren Koka/Doug Towne, 18-21, 21-19, 21-17
2016 JIM POOLE CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT
February 13, 2016, Mesa... More than 60 entries vied for SIngles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles at the annual Jim Poole Classic at the Arizona Badminton Center. Jacky Myers of Laguna Hills, Ca took the Open Women Singles trophy while the rest of the winners were Arizonans. Seigo Hashimoto won the Open Men Singles. Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto earned the Open Women Doubles title, while Amogh Gadagi and Avinash Mamidanna won the Open Men Doubles. Kiyoko teamed with Art Solo to win the Open Mixed. There were also lots of great matches in the "B", Master and consolation events. We completed the tournament with a special dinner honoring US Badminton legend Jim Poole at a local restaurant. Jim shared some fantastic stories highlighting international badminton tournaments in the 1950s and 1960s! The complete finals' results are as follows:
Open Women Singles: Jacky Myers def Alexis Mee, 21-11; Open Women Singles-Cons: Lauren Rusk def Marina Mehling, 21-8
"B" Women Singles: Sydney LaPierre def Lauren Rusk, 21-14; "B" Women Singles-Cons: Alice Wong def Kaitlyn Luo, 21-12
Open Men Singles: Seigo Hashimotot def Tejas Ashani, 21-16; Open Men Singles-Cons: Senthil Kumar def Ram K, 21-15
"B" Men Singles: Marcus Allen def Jason Grey, 21-12; "B" Men Singles-Cons: Derek Yu def Brandon Van, 21-7
Master Men Singles: Chacko Kuruvilla def Colin Taylor, 21-17; Master Men Singles-Cons: Marcus Allen def Gordon Pearman, 21-11
Open Women Doubles: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def Myers/Yuan, 21-18, 21-18; Open Women Doubles-Cons: Nam/Zheng def LaPierre/MacDonald, 21-11
"B" Women Doubles: Mehling/Wong def Crow/Nguyen, 21-14; "B" Women Doubles-Cons: Lepur/Luo def Chou/Colquette, 21-13
Master Women Doubles: Hoefer/Myers def Kalfahs/Yuan, 21-5, 21-10
Open Men Doubles: Gadagi/Mamidanna def Ashani/Koka, 21-17, 21-17; Open Men Doubles-Cons: Garcia/Taylor def Lie/Si, 21-18
"B" Men Doubles: Allen/Allen def Grey/Pearman, 21-14, 21-13
Master Men Doubles: Hashimoto/Kentjana def Kuruvilla/Taylor, 21-14, 21-16; Master Men Doubles-Cons: Carman/Koka def Pearman/Sullivan, 21-9
Open Mixed: Solo/Hashimoto def Hashimoto/Hashimoto, 23-21, 21-14; Open Mixed-Cons: Ashani/Han def Cheng/Chien, 24-22
"B" Mixed: Glazeski/Zheng def Hilliard/Hoefer, 21-9, 21-19; "B" Mixed-Cons: Van/Nakada def Singarajah/Kentjana, def
Master Mixed 90+: Koka/Hashimoto def Garcia/Myers, 21-12, 21-16; Master Mixed 90+-Cons: Pearman/Wunderlin def Hartojo/Furtmann, 21-19
February 13, 2016, Mesa... More than 60 entries vied for SIngles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles titles at the annual Jim Poole Classic at the Arizona Badminton Center. Jacky Myers of Laguna Hills, Ca took the Open Women Singles trophy while the rest of the winners were Arizonans. Seigo Hashimoto won the Open Men Singles. Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto earned the Open Women Doubles title, while Amogh Gadagi and Avinash Mamidanna won the Open Men Doubles. Kiyoko teamed with Art Solo to win the Open Mixed. There were also lots of great matches in the "B", Master and consolation events. We completed the tournament with a special dinner honoring US Badminton legend Jim Poole at a local restaurant. Jim shared some fantastic stories highlighting international badminton tournaments in the 1950s and 1960s! The complete finals' results are as follows:
Open Women Singles: Jacky Myers def Alexis Mee, 21-11; Open Women Singles-Cons: Lauren Rusk def Marina Mehling, 21-8
"B" Women Singles: Sydney LaPierre def Lauren Rusk, 21-14; "B" Women Singles-Cons: Alice Wong def Kaitlyn Luo, 21-12
Open Men Singles: Seigo Hashimotot def Tejas Ashani, 21-16; Open Men Singles-Cons: Senthil Kumar def Ram K, 21-15
"B" Men Singles: Marcus Allen def Jason Grey, 21-12; "B" Men Singles-Cons: Derek Yu def Brandon Van, 21-7
Master Men Singles: Chacko Kuruvilla def Colin Taylor, 21-17; Master Men Singles-Cons: Marcus Allen def Gordon Pearman, 21-11
Open Women Doubles: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def Myers/Yuan, 21-18, 21-18; Open Women Doubles-Cons: Nam/Zheng def LaPierre/MacDonald, 21-11
"B" Women Doubles: Mehling/Wong def Crow/Nguyen, 21-14; "B" Women Doubles-Cons: Lepur/Luo def Chou/Colquette, 21-13
Master Women Doubles: Hoefer/Myers def Kalfahs/Yuan, 21-5, 21-10
Open Men Doubles: Gadagi/Mamidanna def Ashani/Koka, 21-17, 21-17; Open Men Doubles-Cons: Garcia/Taylor def Lie/Si, 21-18
"B" Men Doubles: Allen/Allen def Grey/Pearman, 21-14, 21-13
Master Men Doubles: Hashimoto/Kentjana def Kuruvilla/Taylor, 21-14, 21-16; Master Men Doubles-Cons: Carman/Koka def Pearman/Sullivan, 21-9
Open Mixed: Solo/Hashimoto def Hashimoto/Hashimoto, 23-21, 21-14; Open Mixed-Cons: Ashani/Han def Cheng/Chien, 24-22
"B" Mixed: Glazeski/Zheng def Hilliard/Hoefer, 21-9, 21-19; "B" Mixed-Cons: Van/Nakada def Singarajah/Kentjana, def
Master Mixed 90+: Koka/Hashimoto def Garcia/Myers, 21-12, 21-16; Master Mixed 90+-Cons: Pearman/Wunderlin def Hartojo/Furtmann, 21-19
(l-r) Derek Yu, HS Boys Singles Champion, Jeffrey Luo & Jason Truong, Doubles Champions; Luo, Truong & Brendon Van--Desert Vista HS - Team Champions
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The 2015 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and AZ HS BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPSDecember 5, 2015, Mesa... The 2015 HOLIDAY FUN! BOWL and AZ HS BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS was jam packed with good competition among 70 participants, BBQ on our front porch with perfect 72 degree weather, and prizes for the best laugh on the court with Maggie Trias and Derek Yu the winners!
The Boys High School division produced a new Singles Champion in Derek Yu of Arcadia HS. He beat the top seed Jason Truong of Desert Vista 25-23 in the finals! Jason Truong and Jeffrey Luo battled through for the Doubles title defeating Alex Decker and JR Holloway of Campo Verde HS 21-19 in the finals. The final team results were: Desert Vista HS - 30 pts, Arcadia HS - 22 pts, Campo Verde HS - 16 pts, Basis - 10 pts, Mountain View - 10 pts. The Holiday Fun! Bowl began with nearly 80 matches of 1/2 Court Singles (One 7-pt game) in less than 2 hours! Vaishnavi Koka was the star of the women, and Senthil Kh. won the men's 1/2 Court. Madi Duyck won the girls division. Vaishnavi also teamed with Priya Nair to take the Women Doubles title, Alex Corridan and Madi Duyck won the Girls Doubles, while Naren Koka and Ram K won the Men Doubles. Senthil and Priya teamed to dominate in the Mixed Doubles. There was also consolation for all the events. |
Alex Liang (foreground) with Dean Schoppe (left) and Yuko Kawasaki (right) in pilot Jim Thatcher's small plane as they prepared to fly to Arizona for the Smash Bash.
The 2015 SMASH BASH BADMINTON DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
September 5, 2015, Mesa... The 2015 SMASH BASH featured smoking hot competition in six events: Open Women Doubles, Jr/Sr Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles, Jr/Sr Men Doubles, Open Mixed and Jr/Sr Mixed Doubles. The purpose of the tournament for more than 20 years has been to provide an event where both adult and high school players compete in the same tournament so that local high school players can see higher level play during their AIA season.
The star player had to be Alex Liang visiting from California where he is a long-time, highly respected coach at the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club. With outstanding shot-making and court coverage he won both the Open Men Doubles with Dean Schoppe of CA, and the Open Mixed Doubles with Yuko Kawasaki of CA. The Open Women Doubles champions were locals Karen Guo and Ellie Millon. A list of all the event winners is as follows:
Open Women Doubles: Guo/Millon; OWD-Cons: C. Davis/M. Shrikant; Jr/Sr WD: C. & J. Davis; Jr/Sr WD-Cons: Mehling/Wong
Open Men Doubles: Liang/Schoppe; OMD-Cons: Glazeski/Singarajah; Jr/Sr MD: Hartojo/Lee; Jr/Sr MD-Cons: Ang/Koka
Open Mixed Doubles: Liang/Kawasaki; OMX-Cons: Koka/Guo; Jr/Sr MX: Patel/Mehling; Jr/Sr MX-Cons: Thatcher/Foltz
September 5, 2015, Mesa... The 2015 SMASH BASH featured smoking hot competition in six events: Open Women Doubles, Jr/Sr Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles, Jr/Sr Men Doubles, Open Mixed and Jr/Sr Mixed Doubles. The purpose of the tournament for more than 20 years has been to provide an event where both adult and high school players compete in the same tournament so that local high school players can see higher level play during their AIA season.
The star player had to be Alex Liang visiting from California where he is a long-time, highly respected coach at the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club. With outstanding shot-making and court coverage he won both the Open Men Doubles with Dean Schoppe of CA, and the Open Mixed Doubles with Yuko Kawasaki of CA. The Open Women Doubles champions were locals Karen Guo and Ellie Millon. A list of all the event winners is as follows:
Open Women Doubles: Guo/Millon; OWD-Cons: C. Davis/M. Shrikant; Jr/Sr WD: C. & J. Davis; Jr/Sr WD-Cons: Mehling/Wong
Open Men Doubles: Liang/Schoppe; OMD-Cons: Glazeski/Singarajah; Jr/Sr MD: Hartojo/Lee; Jr/Sr MD-Cons: Ang/Koka
Open Mixed Doubles: Liang/Kawasaki; OMX-Cons: Koka/Guo; Jr/Sr MX: Patel/Mehling; Jr/Sr MX-Cons: Thatcher/Foltz
left to right: Christopher Mann of Flagstaff teamed with Stephen Li of Tucson (MD Silver Medalists), Tejas Ashani of Tempe & Doug Towne of Phoenix, (MD Gold Medalists)
The 23rd Annual GRAND CANYON STATE GAMES BADMINTON EVENT
June 13, AZBC, Mesa... The 23rd Annual GCSG BADMINTON Event was held again at the Arizona Badminton Center on Saturday, June 13, 2015. 25 participants competed in 5 events, including Women and Men Singles, Women and Men Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Shuhong Liu won the GCSG POWER PLAY AWARD for outstanding sportsmanship. There were two double-Gold Medalists, Tejas Ashani for Men Singles and Doubles (he also won a Bronze in Mixed Doubles), and Doug Towne for Men Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Stephen Li won the Silver in Men Singles and Men Doubles. Maya Shrikant won the Gold in Women Singles, Silver in Women Doubles, and Bronze in Mixed Doubles. Kirielle Singarajah won the Gold in Women Doubles and Silver in Women Singles. Anhthy Nguyen won the Gold in Mixed Doubles and Bronze in Women Doubles. Along with the POWER PLAY AWARD, Shuhong Liu won Silver Medals in Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles and a Bronze in Women Singles. Her husband, Haiwei Lu also won a Bronze in Men Singles and Silver in Mixed Doubles. Other medalists included Rena Han with a Gold in Women Doubles, Kathy Furtmann with a Bronze in Women Doubles, Christopher Mann with a Silver in Men Doubles, and Dean Glazeski and Clement Singarajah with Bronze Medals in Men Doubles
June 13, AZBC, Mesa... The 23rd Annual GCSG BADMINTON Event was held again at the Arizona Badminton Center on Saturday, June 13, 2015. 25 participants competed in 5 events, including Women and Men Singles, Women and Men Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Shuhong Liu won the GCSG POWER PLAY AWARD for outstanding sportsmanship. There were two double-Gold Medalists, Tejas Ashani for Men Singles and Doubles (he also won a Bronze in Mixed Doubles), and Doug Towne for Men Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Stephen Li won the Silver in Men Singles and Men Doubles. Maya Shrikant won the Gold in Women Singles, Silver in Women Doubles, and Bronze in Mixed Doubles. Kirielle Singarajah won the Gold in Women Doubles and Silver in Women Singles. Anhthy Nguyen won the Gold in Mixed Doubles and Bronze in Women Doubles. Along with the POWER PLAY AWARD, Shuhong Liu won Silver Medals in Women Doubles and Mixed Doubles and a Bronze in Women Singles. Her husband, Haiwei Lu also won a Bronze in Men Singles and Silver in Mixed Doubles. Other medalists included Rena Han with a Gold in Women Doubles, Kathy Furtmann with a Bronze in Women Doubles, Christopher Mann with a Silver in Men Doubles, and Dean Glazeski and Clement Singarajah with Bronze Medals in Men Doubles
Kiyoko Hashimoto with Mixed Doubles partner Art Solo behind (photo by Clement Singarajah)
4th AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 18 & 25, AZBC, Mesa... The 4th Annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS added the first-ever Arizona Junior Badminton Championship events for U11, U13 and U15 age groups, along with crowning several new adult Arizona badminton champions, including one double winner, Kiyoko Hashimoto in OWS and OWD with Kai-Ning Khor. Kiyoko was also last year's OWS champion and the 2012 OWD champion with her mom, Theo. Art Solo won the OMS, and he and Kiyoko lost a tough 3-game match in the finals to the OMX champions Naren and Vaishnavi Koka. The OMD was won by Bui Hoang and Anton Kentjana.
It was especially gratifying to see the young kids, including several 9-year olds playing in their first tournament. With the recent boon of AZBC KIDS CLASS participation we knew it was time to hold the first junior tournament. There were lots of happy faces to go with some occasional tears. It was a great experience for the kids and parents.
In addition, the HANK ANDERSSOHN MEMORIAL EAGLE AWARD was given this year to Mike Hilliard for his years of dedication to the sport of badminton in Arizona along with his numerous senior national titles and outstanding sportsmanship. Mike is a constant volunteer at the AZBC and an inspiration to everyone!
Here is the list of winners for all the events:
OWS: Kiyoko Hashimoto; OWD: Kiyoko Hashimoto/Kai-Ning Khor; OMS: Art Solo; OMD: Bui Hoang/Anton Kentjana; OMX: Naren & Vaishnavi Koka
BWS: Qindeel Kanwar; BWD: Rachel Goettl/Colleen Ridge; BMS: Francis Hartojo; BMD: Mike Hilliard/Senthil Kumar; BMX: Tejas Ashani/Colleen Ridge
SMS: Francis Hartojo; SMD: Anton Kentjana/Guy Chadwick; SMX: Naren Koka/Anne Marie Wunderlin
U11GS: Jordyn Mee; U11GD: Jordyn Mee/Flora Tao; U11BS: Gabriel Allen; U11MX: Gabriel Allen/Jordyn Mee
U13GS: Jordyn Mee; U13GD: Jordyn Mee;Mahima Mishra; U13BS: Gabriel Allen; U13MX: Gabriel Allen/Shriya Sithemsetti
U15GS: Aira San Agustin; U15GD: Mahima Mishra/Shriya Sithemsetti
April 18 & 25, AZBC, Mesa... The 4th Annual AZBC ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS added the first-ever Arizona Junior Badminton Championship events for U11, U13 and U15 age groups, along with crowning several new adult Arizona badminton champions, including one double winner, Kiyoko Hashimoto in OWS and OWD with Kai-Ning Khor. Kiyoko was also last year's OWS champion and the 2012 OWD champion with her mom, Theo. Art Solo won the OMS, and he and Kiyoko lost a tough 3-game match in the finals to the OMX champions Naren and Vaishnavi Koka. The OMD was won by Bui Hoang and Anton Kentjana.
It was especially gratifying to see the young kids, including several 9-year olds playing in their first tournament. With the recent boon of AZBC KIDS CLASS participation we knew it was time to hold the first junior tournament. There were lots of happy faces to go with some occasional tears. It was a great experience for the kids and parents.
In addition, the HANK ANDERSSOHN MEMORIAL EAGLE AWARD was given this year to Mike Hilliard for his years of dedication to the sport of badminton in Arizona along with his numerous senior national titles and outstanding sportsmanship. Mike is a constant volunteer at the AZBC and an inspiration to everyone!
Here is the list of winners for all the events:
OWS: Kiyoko Hashimoto; OWD: Kiyoko Hashimoto/Kai-Ning Khor; OMS: Art Solo; OMD: Bui Hoang/Anton Kentjana; OMX: Naren & Vaishnavi Koka
BWS: Qindeel Kanwar; BWD: Rachel Goettl/Colleen Ridge; BMS: Francis Hartojo; BMD: Mike Hilliard/Senthil Kumar; BMX: Tejas Ashani/Colleen Ridge
SMS: Francis Hartojo; SMD: Anton Kentjana/Guy Chadwick; SMX: Naren Koka/Anne Marie Wunderlin
U11GS: Jordyn Mee; U11GD: Jordyn Mee/Flora Tao; U11BS: Gabriel Allen; U11MX: Gabriel Allen/Jordyn Mee
U13GS: Jordyn Mee; U13GD: Jordyn Mee;Mahima Mishra; U13BS: Gabriel Allen; U13MX: Gabriel Allen/Shriya Sithemsetti
U15GS: Aira San Agustin; U15GD: Mahima Mishra/Shriya Sithemsetti
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2nd Annual JIM POOLE CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT
Feb 7, AZBC, Mesa... The 2nd Annual JIM POOLE CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT featured perfect mid-70s degree weather, a picnic out front the AZBC facility throughout the tournament, and some special out-of-town guests from CA, Canada, and Hawaii, which spiced up the competition in the hall. Jim Poole (photo circa 1960 to the left), who has the most US National badminton titles in history, was our honored guest through the finals. 60 participants kept the courts filled for 10 hours of non-stop action in Doubles and Mixed events for Men and Women in Open, B, and Masters divisions. The final results are below: OWD: Kiyoko & Theo Hashimoto def. Emily Harris/Sherry Yuan -- 21-13, 21-15 OWD-Cons: Chandler Begay/Nga Le def. Cindy Levin/Yuko Kawasaki -- 21-14 BWD: Rena Han/Colleen Ridge def. Lana Le/Clara Missman -- 21-7, 19-21, 21-6 BWD-Cons: Audrey Heinzmann/Maggie Trias def. Sydney LaPierre/Katie Russell -- default M-90 WD: Anhthy Nguyen/Anne Wunderlin def. Carrie Davis/Yuko Kawasaki -- 21-19, 21-16 M-90 WD-Cons: Cindy Levin/Sherry Yuan def. Kathy Furtmann/Hoaly Nguyen -- 22-20 M-100 WD: Carolyn Hoeffer/Michiko Watanabe def. Barb Biggs/Marsha Morris -- 13-21, 21-19, 21-14 OMD: Guy Chadwick/David Levin def. Steve & Seigo Hashimoto -- 21-17, 21-18 BMD: Sean Carman/Senthil K def. Made Dwipayana/Steven Lie -- 21-13 BMD-Cons: Ram K/Warren Mee def. Dean Glazeski/Marcus Allen -- 22-20 MMD: Guy Chadwick/Dean Schoppe def. Naren Koka/Shash Patel -- 21-19, 21-18 MMD-Cons: Sean Carman/Colin Taylor def. Marcus Allen/Roger Goettl -- 21-12 OMX: Art Solo/Kiyoko Hashimoto def. Steve & Theo Hashimoto -- 21-9, 21-15 OMX-Cons: Francis Hartojo/Kathy Furtmann def. Tejas Ashani/Emily Harris -- 21-19 M-90 MX: Colin Taylor/Michiko Watanabe def. Sean Carman/Marsha Morris -- 21-14 M-90 MX-Cons: Mike Hilliard/Carolyn Hoeffer def. Francis Hartojo/Kathy Furtmann -- 21-17 M-100 MX: Doug Towne/Marsha Morris def. Mike Hilliard/Carolyn Hoeffer -- 21-15 |
AZ BOYS STATE TEAM CHAMPIONS - HIGHLAND HS
Photo: Mike Hilliard
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3rd Annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL TOURNAMENT & AZ HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dec 6, AZBC, Mesa... The 3rd Annual HOLIDAY FUN BOWL & ARIZONA HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS combined tournament was the largest to date. More than 60 competitors including 12 high school boys representing 7 different high schools participated. More than 130 matches were played from 9am - 6pm, including the HS Boys Singles and Doubles, Men & Women 1/2 court singles, Men & Women Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events. |
The tournament began with the high school boys competition along with the fun 1/2 court singles event for both men and women. The HS boys played a 12 player straight draw with Loris Pfammatter of Skyline dominating for the HS Singles Title. The Highland team of Jake Bingham and Harrison Faas (pictured above with Highland Badminton Coach, Gene Valocchi) won the hard-fought HS Doubles title and also each made it to the semifinals in the Singles to edge out Skyline for the overall BOYS STATE TEAM title. Tied for 3rd place overall were Desert Vista (Jeffrey Luo, Jason Truong) and Mesa (Josiah Acob, Tolga Oezsabunca). Hamilton (Alfred Chang) finished 5th, and Basis (Ray Del Gallo) and Campo Verde (Alex Decker, J.R. Halloway) finished tied for 6th.
The Holiday Fun Bowl events saw Seigo Hashimoto win the Men's 1/2 Court Singles, Emily Harris win the Women's 1/2 Court Singles, Alexis Mee and Kirielle Singarajah win the Women's Doubles, Guy Chadwick and Chin Khor win the Men's Doubles, and Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto win the Mixed Doubles. There were also B, C, and Consolation division winners in the Men, Women, and Mixed Doubles. Special sportsmanship awards were also given to Mike Hilliard and Nga Le.
The Holiday Fun Bowl events saw Seigo Hashimoto win the Men's 1/2 Court Singles, Emily Harris win the Women's 1/2 Court Singles, Alexis Mee and Kirielle Singarajah win the Women's Doubles, Guy Chadwick and Chin Khor win the Men's Doubles, and Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto win the Mixed Doubles. There were also B, C, and Consolation division winners in the Men, Women, and Mixed Doubles. Special sportsmanship awards were also given to Mike Hilliard and Nga Le.
22nd Annual SMASH BASH BADMINTON DOUBLES TOURNAMENT
Sep 6, AZBC, Mesa... The 22nd Annual SMASH BASH BADMINTON DOUBLES TOURNAMENT included exciting matches in Women's Doubles, Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles, and a special presentation of the "Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award" to long time high school badminton coaches Nancy Funari and Lois Emshoff.
Coach Funari (on the left in the photo above) of Carl Hayden High School coached from 1965 - 2001 until she retired! Coach Lois Emshoff could not make the presentation at the last minute, but she continues to coach into her 50th year at Chandler High School!!! Both coaches have made invaluable contributions to the badminton community in Arizona through all these years-- Thank you Nancy and Lois! The Women's Doubles featured champions Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto and the Men's Doubles champions Steve and Seigo Hashimoto. Kiyoko also teamed with Art Solo for the Mixed Doubles championship!
There were some amazingly exciting matches in each event, including two consecutive 3-game match wins for WD finalists Chandler Begay and Nga Le; a 3rd game, 23-21 win for Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto over the #1 seeded team of Avi Manidanna and Priya Nair in the Mixed Doubles semis; and a 3-game thriller in the MD finals, with Steve and Seigo Hashimoto prevailing over Naren Koka and Doug Towne, 21-19, 20-22, 26-24 in one of the closest matches in recent AZ tournament history.
FINAL RESULTS: WD-1: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Begay/Le, 21-15, 21-14; WD-2: Nair/Nam def. Mee/Singarajah, 21-16, 21-16; WD-3: Nieves/Weldon def. Coria/Valdez, 21-13, 21-12; WD-4: Chaisson/Qindeel def. Bracken/Bracken, 23-21, 15-21, 21-15. MD-1: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Koka/Towne, 21-19, 20-22, 26-24; MD-2: Lim/Pariva def. Ashani/Hartojo, 21-16, 18-21, 21-15; MD-3: Goettl/Kommasandra def. Glazeski/Singarajah, 18-21, 21-14, 21-16. MX-1: Solo/Hashimoto def. Hashimoto/Hashimoto, 21-17, 21-18; MX-2: Hashimoto/Yuan def. Hartojo/Nam, 21-17, 21-15; MX-3: Singarajah/Mee def. Mee/Singarajah, 21-2, 14-21, 21-16; MX-4: Shrikant/Shrikant def. Kommasandra/Scheeland, 21-19, 22-20.
Sep 6, AZBC, Mesa... The 22nd Annual SMASH BASH BADMINTON DOUBLES TOURNAMENT included exciting matches in Women's Doubles, Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles, and a special presentation of the "Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award" to long time high school badminton coaches Nancy Funari and Lois Emshoff.
Coach Funari (on the left in the photo above) of Carl Hayden High School coached from 1965 - 2001 until she retired! Coach Lois Emshoff could not make the presentation at the last minute, but she continues to coach into her 50th year at Chandler High School!!! Both coaches have made invaluable contributions to the badminton community in Arizona through all these years-- Thank you Nancy and Lois! The Women's Doubles featured champions Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto and the Men's Doubles champions Steve and Seigo Hashimoto. Kiyoko also teamed with Art Solo for the Mixed Doubles championship!
There were some amazingly exciting matches in each event, including two consecutive 3-game match wins for WD finalists Chandler Begay and Nga Le; a 3rd game, 23-21 win for Art Solo and Kiyoko Hashimoto over the #1 seeded team of Avi Manidanna and Priya Nair in the Mixed Doubles semis; and a 3-game thriller in the MD finals, with Steve and Seigo Hashimoto prevailing over Naren Koka and Doug Towne, 21-19, 20-22, 26-24 in one of the closest matches in recent AZ tournament history.
FINAL RESULTS: WD-1: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Begay/Le, 21-15, 21-14; WD-2: Nair/Nam def. Mee/Singarajah, 21-16, 21-16; WD-3: Nieves/Weldon def. Coria/Valdez, 21-13, 21-12; WD-4: Chaisson/Qindeel def. Bracken/Bracken, 23-21, 15-21, 21-15. MD-1: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Koka/Towne, 21-19, 20-22, 26-24; MD-2: Lim/Pariva def. Ashani/Hartojo, 21-16, 18-21, 21-15; MD-3: Goettl/Kommasandra def. Glazeski/Singarajah, 18-21, 21-14, 21-16. MX-1: Solo/Hashimoto def. Hashimoto/Hashimoto, 21-17, 21-18; MX-2: Hashimoto/Yuan def. Hartojo/Nam, 21-17, 21-15; MX-3: Singarajah/Mee def. Mee/Singarajah, 21-2, 14-21, 21-16; MX-4: Shrikant/Shrikant def. Kommasandra/Scheeland, 21-19, 22-20.
Kirielle & Alexis
2014 GRAND CANYON STATE GAMES BADMINTON EVENT
June 14, AZBC, Mesa... The 22nd annual GCSG Badminton Event was held at the AZBC on Saturday, June 14 with women singles, men singles, women doubles, men doubles, and mixed doubles played.
Kirielle Singarajah won 2 Gold medals taking the women singles and women doubles title with Alexis Mee, who also won a bronze in mixed. Art Solo won the Gold in men singles, Silver in men doubles with Joseph Kaamino, and Bronze in mixed with Alexis. Chris Hsieh and Van Ho won the men doubles Gold. Avinash Mamidanna and Priya Nair won the mixed Gold. Kirielle's father, Clement, won the POWER PLAY award for exceptional sportsmanship, character, huge smiles and lots of fun on and off the court.
The medalist for all 5 events are as follows:
WOMEN SINGLES: Gold- Kirielle Singarajah, Silver- Alexis Mee, Bronze- Jovanna Romeo
WOMEN DOUBLES: Gold- Alexis Mee/Kirielle SIngarajah, Silver- Kathy Furtmann/Priya Nair, Marsha Morris/Maya Shrikant
MEN SINGLES: Gold- Art Solo, Silver- Van Ho, Bronze- Seigo Hashimoto, Gino Canez
MEN DOUBLES: Gold- Chris Hsieh/Van Ho, Silver- Joseph Kaamino/Art Solo, Bronze- Seigo Hashimoto/Warren Mee, Mike Hilliard/Doug Towne
MIXED DOUBLES: Gold- Avinash Mamidanna/Priya Nair, Silver- Doug Towne/Darcy McGrane, Bronze- Haiwei Lu/Shuhong Liu, Art Solo/Alexis Mee
June 14, AZBC, Mesa... The 22nd annual GCSG Badminton Event was held at the AZBC on Saturday, June 14 with women singles, men singles, women doubles, men doubles, and mixed doubles played.
Kirielle Singarajah won 2 Gold medals taking the women singles and women doubles title with Alexis Mee, who also won a bronze in mixed. Art Solo won the Gold in men singles, Silver in men doubles with Joseph Kaamino, and Bronze in mixed with Alexis. Chris Hsieh and Van Ho won the men doubles Gold. Avinash Mamidanna and Priya Nair won the mixed Gold. Kirielle's father, Clement, won the POWER PLAY award for exceptional sportsmanship, character, huge smiles and lots of fun on and off the court.
The medalist for all 5 events are as follows:
WOMEN SINGLES: Gold- Kirielle Singarajah, Silver- Alexis Mee, Bronze- Jovanna Romeo
WOMEN DOUBLES: Gold- Alexis Mee/Kirielle SIngarajah, Silver- Kathy Furtmann/Priya Nair, Marsha Morris/Maya Shrikant
MEN SINGLES: Gold- Art Solo, Silver- Van Ho, Bronze- Seigo Hashimoto, Gino Canez
MEN DOUBLES: Gold- Chris Hsieh/Van Ho, Silver- Joseph Kaamino/Art Solo, Bronze- Seigo Hashimoto/Warren Mee, Mike Hilliard/Doug Towne
MIXED DOUBLES: Gold- Avinash Mamidanna/Priya Nair, Silver- Doug Towne/Darcy McGrane, Bronze- Haiwei Lu/Shuhong Liu, Art Solo/Alexis Mee
Beibei Sun & Shaohua Li
2014 AZBC 'B-C' SPRING CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT
May 17, 2014
May 17, AZBC, Mesa... Badminton continues to grow in Arizona and for some time we have wanted to establish a basic ranking system. 'A' for advanced, 'B' for intermediate, and 'C' for novice/beginner. These are not clearly defined levels of play, but give a general guideline to help tournaments provide more opportunities for developing players.
The 2014 AZBC 'B-C' Spring Challenge is really the first Arizona tournament to focus on the 'B' and 'C' level players using a 'B' drop 'C' format for WS, MS, WD, MD, MX without the "intimidation" of having 'A' players around. The result was several players playing in a tournament for the first time and lots of hard fought matches throughout. Beibei Sun (see photo to the left by Mike Hilliard) won the triple crown in the 'B's-- BWS, BWD with Sherry Yuan, BMX with Shaohua Li. Shaohua Li also won the BMS. Looks like it is time to move Sun and Li up to an 'A' ranking!
Additional results are as follows: BWS: Beibei Sun def. Sherry Yuan, 21-10, 21-19; BWS-Cons: Samantha Berg def. Maryann Stegall, 21-11; CWS: Alexis Mee def. Jaime Rostron, 21-15, 17-21, 21-9; CWS-Cons: Kiana MacDonald def. Meghan Marshall, 21-19; BMS: Shaohua Li def. Mike Hilliard, 21-8, 21-16; BMS-Cons: Gino Canez def. Rafi Sadek, 21-18; CMS: Murali Krishnan def. Dean Glazeski, 16-21, 21-17, 21-12; CMS-Cons: Ken Lee def. Tom Leong, 21-17; BWD (4 team round robin): 1st: Beibei Sun/Sherry Yuan, 2nd: Karen Guo/Alexis Mee, 3rd: Kiana MacDonald/Maryann Stegall, 4th: Samantha Berg/Haley Lesar; BMD: Warren Mee/Art Solo def. Mike Hilliard/Rafi Sadek, 21-14, 21-18; BMD-Cons: Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong def. Gino Canez/Shaohua Li, def; CMD: Marcus Allen/Jason Grey def. Vishwas Gowda/Murali Krishnan, 21-19, 12-21, 23-21; BMX: Shaohua Li/Beibei Sun def. Rafi Sadek/Sherry Yuan, 21-11, 21-19; BMX-Cons: Art Solo/Kailee Grey def. Murali Krishnan/Kirielle Singarajah, 21-19; CMX: Vishwas Gowda/Erlinda Singarajah def. Jason Grey/Kailee Grey, 21-10, 21-12.
May 17, 2014
May 17, AZBC, Mesa... Badminton continues to grow in Arizona and for some time we have wanted to establish a basic ranking system. 'A' for advanced, 'B' for intermediate, and 'C' for novice/beginner. These are not clearly defined levels of play, but give a general guideline to help tournaments provide more opportunities for developing players.
The 2014 AZBC 'B-C' Spring Challenge is really the first Arizona tournament to focus on the 'B' and 'C' level players using a 'B' drop 'C' format for WS, MS, WD, MD, MX without the "intimidation" of having 'A' players around. The result was several players playing in a tournament for the first time and lots of hard fought matches throughout. Beibei Sun (see photo to the left by Mike Hilliard) won the triple crown in the 'B's-- BWS, BWD with Sherry Yuan, BMX with Shaohua Li. Shaohua Li also won the BMS. Looks like it is time to move Sun and Li up to an 'A' ranking!
Additional results are as follows: BWS: Beibei Sun def. Sherry Yuan, 21-10, 21-19; BWS-Cons: Samantha Berg def. Maryann Stegall, 21-11; CWS: Alexis Mee def. Jaime Rostron, 21-15, 17-21, 21-9; CWS-Cons: Kiana MacDonald def. Meghan Marshall, 21-19; BMS: Shaohua Li def. Mike Hilliard, 21-8, 21-16; BMS-Cons: Gino Canez def. Rafi Sadek, 21-18; CMS: Murali Krishnan def. Dean Glazeski, 16-21, 21-17, 21-12; CMS-Cons: Ken Lee def. Tom Leong, 21-17; BWD (4 team round robin): 1st: Beibei Sun/Sherry Yuan, 2nd: Karen Guo/Alexis Mee, 3rd: Kiana MacDonald/Maryann Stegall, 4th: Samantha Berg/Haley Lesar; BMD: Warren Mee/Art Solo def. Mike Hilliard/Rafi Sadek, 21-14, 21-18; BMD-Cons: Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong def. Gino Canez/Shaohua Li, def; CMD: Marcus Allen/Jason Grey def. Vishwas Gowda/Murali Krishnan, 21-19, 12-21, 23-21; BMX: Shaohua Li/Beibei Sun def. Rafi Sadek/Sherry Yuan, 21-11, 21-19; BMX-Cons: Art Solo/Kailee Grey def. Murali Krishnan/Kirielle Singarajah, 21-19; CMX: Vishwas Gowda/Erlinda Singarajah def. Jason Grey/Kailee Grey, 21-10, 21-12.
2014 ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 19 & 26, 2014
April 19 & 26, AZBC, Mesa... The 3rd annual Arizona Badminton Championships brought more than 60 competitors to the AZBC courts on consecutive Saturdays. The doubles and mixed doubles events were held on Saturday, April 19 and the singles events on April 26. As a result, more singles players participated with greater energy and focus. An Open-drop B format and a Senior division also added depth to the events. This year crowned several new champions in each of the events.
Singles finalists (l to r): Seigo Hashimoto (2nd),
Henry Zeng (1st), Kiyoko Hashimoto (1st), Beibei Sun (2nd) -- photo Shash Patel
On the first Saturday, Guy Chadwick and Yukari Katayama teamed to win the Open Mixed Championships. Katayama paired with Miki Honda to win the Open Women Doubles. Chadwick and Peter Huang took the Men Doubles title. On the second Saturday, Kiyoko Hashimoto won the Open Women Singles and 19-year old Chinese exchange student at U of A, Henry Zeng grabbed the Open Men Singles title.
There were lots of tough matches throughout the tournament, including in the B and Senior events. For example, Ramesh Bondalapati and Albert Sue battled against each other in back-to-back marathon B Men Singles and Senior Men Singles matches, both going 3-games, with Albert winning the BMS and Ramesh winning the SMS!
Other Tournament event winners... OMX-Cons: Walter Li/Beibei Sun; BMX: Aditya Vaidya/Nga Le; BX-Cons: Tejas Ashani/Madison Biddulph; OWD-Cons: Denise Nieves/Katherine Valdez; BWD: Adelle Renna/Qindeel Kanwar; BWD-Cons: Julie Lee/Madison Biddulph; OMD-Cons: Joseph Kaamino/Art Solo; BMD: Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong; BMD-Cons: Roger Goettl/Hun Lee; SR MD: Peter Huang/Naren Koka; OWS-Cons: Alexis Mee; BWS: Nidhi Prasad; BWS-Cons: Qindeel Kanwar; OMS-Cons: Francis Hartojo; BMS: Mark Tsang; BMS-Cons: Tejas Ashani; SR MS: Ramesh Bondalapati; SR MS-Cons: Francis Hartojo
April 19 & 26, 2014
April 19 & 26, AZBC, Mesa... The 3rd annual Arizona Badminton Championships brought more than 60 competitors to the AZBC courts on consecutive Saturdays. The doubles and mixed doubles events were held on Saturday, April 19 and the singles events on April 26. As a result, more singles players participated with greater energy and focus. An Open-drop B format and a Senior division also added depth to the events. This year crowned several new champions in each of the events.
Singles finalists (l to r): Seigo Hashimoto (2nd),
Henry Zeng (1st), Kiyoko Hashimoto (1st), Beibei Sun (2nd) -- photo Shash Patel
On the first Saturday, Guy Chadwick and Yukari Katayama teamed to win the Open Mixed Championships. Katayama paired with Miki Honda to win the Open Women Doubles. Chadwick and Peter Huang took the Men Doubles title. On the second Saturday, Kiyoko Hashimoto won the Open Women Singles and 19-year old Chinese exchange student at U of A, Henry Zeng grabbed the Open Men Singles title.
There were lots of tough matches throughout the tournament, including in the B and Senior events. For example, Ramesh Bondalapati and Albert Sue battled against each other in back-to-back marathon B Men Singles and Senior Men Singles matches, both going 3-games, with Albert winning the BMS and Ramesh winning the SMS!
Other Tournament event winners... OMX-Cons: Walter Li/Beibei Sun; BMX: Aditya Vaidya/Nga Le; BX-Cons: Tejas Ashani/Madison Biddulph; OWD-Cons: Denise Nieves/Katherine Valdez; BWD: Adelle Renna/Qindeel Kanwar; BWD-Cons: Julie Lee/Madison Biddulph; OMD-Cons: Joseph Kaamino/Art Solo; BMD: Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong; BMD-Cons: Roger Goettl/Hun Lee; SR MD: Peter Huang/Naren Koka; OWS-Cons: Alexis Mee; BWS: Nidhi Prasad; BWS-Cons: Qindeel Kanwar; OMS-Cons: Francis Hartojo; BMS: Mark Tsang; BMS-Cons: Tejas Ashani; SR MS: Ramesh Bondalapati; SR MS-Cons: Francis Hartojo
2014 JIM POOLE CLASSIC Badminton Tournament
January 25, 2014
January 25, AZBC, Mesa... In honor of U.S. badminton legend, Arizona resident and AZBC member, our annual Open and Masters Classic has been named the JIM POOLE Badminton Classic. Jim won some 75 U.S. national titles from 1958 - 1995 in singles, doubles and mixed doubles! He was also a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher at San Diego State University in the mid-1950s, played on the U.S. Pan American basketball team, was a university professor, and a highly regarded NFL referee for 20 years. At his peak in the early 1960s, Jim was ranked in the top 5 in the world. He was a fierce competitor known for his precise, deceptive, and powerful left-handed shots. Jim continues in his retirement years by helping coach at the AZBC HL Badminton Academy and other players of all ages at the AZBC. It was a privilege to have Jim attend the tournament.
The tournament featured Open Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles and Open Mixed Doubles, and 5 Masters doubles and mixed events. In the Open Women Doubles, Californians Jurate Foes and Jacky Myers defeated locals Kiyoko Hashimoto and V Koka in 3 games. Guy Chadwick and Steve Hashimoto beat Seigo Hashimoto and Bui Hoang in the Open Men Doubles, 21-12, 27-25. Bui Hoang and V Koka won the Open Mixed title, 21-11, 21-15 over Hong Hu and Yuko Kawasaki (CA). In the Masters events, Kathy Furtmann and Jurate Foes won the 90 Women Doubles. Anton Kentjana and Colin Taylor (CAN) won the 90 Men Doubles. Cholik Chan and Steve Hashimoto won the 100+ Men Doubles in a 3-way tie giving up the least points. Pedro Garcia and Jurate Foes won the 90 Mixed Doubles. Pedro Garcia and Jacky Myers won the hotly contested 100+ Mixed event.
We concluded with a fantastic tournament meal at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in the Tempe Marketplace with Jim Poole co-hosting! We are looking forward to next year's JIM POOLE CLASSIC with even more local and out-of-town players!
January 25, 2014
January 25, AZBC, Mesa... In honor of U.S. badminton legend, Arizona resident and AZBC member, our annual Open and Masters Classic has been named the JIM POOLE Badminton Classic. Jim won some 75 U.S. national titles from 1958 - 1995 in singles, doubles and mixed doubles! He was also a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher at San Diego State University in the mid-1950s, played on the U.S. Pan American basketball team, was a university professor, and a highly regarded NFL referee for 20 years. At his peak in the early 1960s, Jim was ranked in the top 5 in the world. He was a fierce competitor known for his precise, deceptive, and powerful left-handed shots. Jim continues in his retirement years by helping coach at the AZBC HL Badminton Academy and other players of all ages at the AZBC. It was a privilege to have Jim attend the tournament.
The tournament featured Open Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles and Open Mixed Doubles, and 5 Masters doubles and mixed events. In the Open Women Doubles, Californians Jurate Foes and Jacky Myers defeated locals Kiyoko Hashimoto and V Koka in 3 games. Guy Chadwick and Steve Hashimoto beat Seigo Hashimoto and Bui Hoang in the Open Men Doubles, 21-12, 27-25. Bui Hoang and V Koka won the Open Mixed title, 21-11, 21-15 over Hong Hu and Yuko Kawasaki (CA). In the Masters events, Kathy Furtmann and Jurate Foes won the 90 Women Doubles. Anton Kentjana and Colin Taylor (CAN) won the 90 Men Doubles. Cholik Chan and Steve Hashimoto won the 100+ Men Doubles in a 3-way tie giving up the least points. Pedro Garcia and Jurate Foes won the 90 Mixed Doubles. Pedro Garcia and Jacky Myers won the hotly contested 100+ Mixed event.
We concluded with a fantastic tournament meal at Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in the Tempe Marketplace with Jim Poole co-hosting! We are looking forward to next year's JIM POOLE CLASSIC with even more local and out-of-town players!
HOLIDAY FUN! BADMINTON BOWL & 2nd Annual ARIZONA HS BOYS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS - December 7, 2013
December 7, AZBC, Mesa... In a tournament highlighting "interesting" events, such as men's and women's half-court singles and the 3-person net rotation game involving 16 teams of 3 players each, along with the standard men's & women's doubles with lots of round robin play, AND the 2nd annual ARIZONA HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, perhaps the most fun of all was the introduction of the "Most Interesting Man & Woman" award! Most Interesting Woman & Man Award winners were Sherry Yuan and Naren Koka - see photo. We always value good sportsmanship, so we took it up another level with this new award. With several different nominees in the running, it was the big smiles, great sportsmanship and the fact that Sherry has twin very cute daughters and Naren likes to kill people with his smash that set them apart this time.
The half-court singles had 32 women and 16 men competing in open and consolation draws playing quick 7-point games-- providing rapid-fire excitement and a great way to warm up for the rest of the tournament. Kai-Ning Khor defeated Nga Le in the women's finals 7-3 and Bui Hoang defeated Naren Koka 7-5 for the men's title. The 3-Person Net Rotation Game was full of totally unpredictable results with the team of Roger Goettl-Sydney LaPierre-Brittany Fielden beating Aditya Vaidya-Lauren Eyring-Colleen Ridge in the championship match 7-5.
The Arizona HS BOYS State Championships is held to give a place for high school boys to have competition outside of helping the high school girls practice during their fall AIA High School Badminton season. This year just 3 boys competed, Josiah Acob and Benjamin Meek from Mesa High and Alfred Chang from Hamilton HS. Alfred won the singles title with wins over Josiah and Benjamin, but with Alfred's partner failing to show, the Mesa boys won the doubles title by default and with it the over all team title for Mesa. The most interesting match was a singles match deciding 2nd place between Josiah and Benjamin which lasted more than an hour with a final score 15-13, 14-17, 17-15 in favor of Josiah.
The women's and men's doubles completed the day with 16 women's teams in 4 pools of 4, and 10 men's teams in 2 pools of 5. The pool play placed teams in the championship rounds or the consolation rounds depending on their finish. Everyone played a minimum of 5 matches. In the championship matches Chandler Begay and Nga Le won the ladies doubles 21-17, 21-16 over Kai-Ning Khor and Ashley Nam, while Bui Hoang and Chin Khor beat Naren Koka and Mike Hilliard 21-13, 13-21, 21-17 for the men's title.
December 7, AZBC, Mesa... In a tournament highlighting "interesting" events, such as men's and women's half-court singles and the 3-person net rotation game involving 16 teams of 3 players each, along with the standard men's & women's doubles with lots of round robin play, AND the 2nd annual ARIZONA HS BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS, perhaps the most fun of all was the introduction of the "Most Interesting Man & Woman" award! Most Interesting Woman & Man Award winners were Sherry Yuan and Naren Koka - see photo. We always value good sportsmanship, so we took it up another level with this new award. With several different nominees in the running, it was the big smiles, great sportsmanship and the fact that Sherry has twin very cute daughters and Naren likes to kill people with his smash that set them apart this time.
The half-court singles had 32 women and 16 men competing in open and consolation draws playing quick 7-point games-- providing rapid-fire excitement and a great way to warm up for the rest of the tournament. Kai-Ning Khor defeated Nga Le in the women's finals 7-3 and Bui Hoang defeated Naren Koka 7-5 for the men's title. The 3-Person Net Rotation Game was full of totally unpredictable results with the team of Roger Goettl-Sydney LaPierre-Brittany Fielden beating Aditya Vaidya-Lauren Eyring-Colleen Ridge in the championship match 7-5.
The Arizona HS BOYS State Championships is held to give a place for high school boys to have competition outside of helping the high school girls practice during their fall AIA High School Badminton season. This year just 3 boys competed, Josiah Acob and Benjamin Meek from Mesa High and Alfred Chang from Hamilton HS. Alfred won the singles title with wins over Josiah and Benjamin, but with Alfred's partner failing to show, the Mesa boys won the doubles title by default and with it the over all team title for Mesa. The most interesting match was a singles match deciding 2nd place between Josiah and Benjamin which lasted more than an hour with a final score 15-13, 14-17, 17-15 in favor of Josiah.
The women's and men's doubles completed the day with 16 women's teams in 4 pools of 4, and 10 men's teams in 2 pools of 5. The pool play placed teams in the championship rounds or the consolation rounds depending on their finish. Everyone played a minimum of 5 matches. In the championship matches Chandler Begay and Nga Le won the ladies doubles 21-17, 21-16 over Kai-Ning Khor and Ashley Nam, while Bui Hoang and Chin Khor beat Naren Koka and Mike Hilliard 21-13, 13-21, 21-17 for the men's title.
21st ANNUAL SMASH BASH DOUBLES TOURNAMENT - September 7, 2013
September 7, AZBC, Mesa... School is back in session and the local high school badminton season is underway. The SMASH BASH from its origin was designed to expose high school players to higher level tournament action. Not only do they get lots of play in their Varsity and JV divisions, but they also play in the Open Women division and see the Open Men compete. This year's SMASH BASH saw high school players each play 8 - 11 matches with the round-robin Olympic style format!
This year's SMASH BASH Champions... Varsity Girls Doubles: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Vaishnavi Koka; JV Girls Doubles: Karen Guo & Juliette Xiong; Women's Doubles: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Monica Xiong; Men's Doubles: Steve Hashimoto & Bui Hoang.
Photo from left to right: Steve Hashimoto (MD Champion), Kiyoko Hashimoto (VD & WD Champion), Bui Hoang (MD Champion), Monica Xiong (WD Champion), Naren Koka (MD 2nd), Kai-Ning Khor (WD 2nd), Vaishnavi Koka (VD Champion, WD 2nd), Seigo Hashimoto (MD 2nd).
This year's SMASH BASH Champions... Varsity Girls Doubles: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Vaishnavi Koka; JV Girls Doubles: Karen Guo & Juliette Xiong; Women's Doubles: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Monica Xiong; Men's Doubles: Steve Hashimoto & Bui Hoang.
Photo from left to right: Steve Hashimoto (MD Champion), Kiyoko Hashimoto (VD & WD Champion), Bui Hoang (MD Champion), Monica Xiong (WD Champion), Naren Koka (MD 2nd), Kai-Ning Khor (WD 2nd), Vaishnavi Koka (VD Champion, WD 2nd), Seigo Hashimoto (MD 2nd).
2013 GRAND CANYON STATE GAMES...
June 22, AZBC, Mesa... We have run the Grand Canyon State Games badminton event every year since the Games began in 1993, but this was the first time at the AZBC! We changed the format somewhat to include just the 3 events, Women's Doubles, Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles but added a round-robin Olympic style format so that participants played in many more matches. There was lots of exciting matches and very tired competitors by the end of the day.
Bui Hoang (photo at left courtesy of Clement Singarajah) was a double-Gold Medal winner teaming with Chin Khor to take the Men's Doubles title and teamed with Chin's daughter, Kai-Ning, to take the Mixed Doubles. Yukari Katayama won the Gold Medal in Women's Doubles with Kiyoko Hashimoto and the Silver Medal in Mixed with Saburo Sakai.
A special POWER PLAY award for sportsmanship and character is also given at each GCSG's event and this year the POWER PLAY went to the entire Hashimoto family! Not only do the Hashimotos -- Steve, Theo, Seigo, Kiyoko (and little Kiseki) -- play at a high level, winning 8 medals among them, but they are a joy to have participate with their extraordinary sportsmanship. Below are the tournament results.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES:
Gold: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Yukari Katayama; Silver: Theo Hashimoto & Jill Yang; Bronze: Darcy Frear & Monica Xiong
MEN'S DOUBLES:
Gold: Bui Hoang & Chin Khor; Silver: Steve Hashimoto & Calvin Nguyen; Bronze: Seigo Hashimoto & Chris Hsieh; Shibu Bhavanam & Ashish Pingale
MIXED DOUBLES:
Gold: Bui Hoang & Kai-Ning Khor; Silver: Saburo Sakai & Yukari Katayama; Bronze: Steve & Theo Hasimoto; Seigo & Kiyoko Hashimoto
Bui Hoang (photo at left courtesy of Clement Singarajah) was a double-Gold Medal winner teaming with Chin Khor to take the Men's Doubles title and teamed with Chin's daughter, Kai-Ning, to take the Mixed Doubles. Yukari Katayama won the Gold Medal in Women's Doubles with Kiyoko Hashimoto and the Silver Medal in Mixed with Saburo Sakai.
A special POWER PLAY award for sportsmanship and character is also given at each GCSG's event and this year the POWER PLAY went to the entire Hashimoto family! Not only do the Hashimotos -- Steve, Theo, Seigo, Kiyoko (and little Kiseki) -- play at a high level, winning 8 medals among them, but they are a joy to have participate with their extraordinary sportsmanship. Below are the tournament results.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES:
Gold: Kiyoko Hashimoto & Yukari Katayama; Silver: Theo Hashimoto & Jill Yang; Bronze: Darcy Frear & Monica Xiong
MEN'S DOUBLES:
Gold: Bui Hoang & Chin Khor; Silver: Steve Hashimoto & Calvin Nguyen; Bronze: Seigo Hashimoto & Chris Hsieh; Shibu Bhavanam & Ashish Pingale
MIXED DOUBLES:
Gold: Bui Hoang & Kai-Ning Khor; Silver: Saburo Sakai & Yukari Katayama; Bronze: Steve & Theo Hasimoto; Seigo & Kiyoko Hashimoto
2013 A-B-C SUMMER DOUBLES SHOOT OUT!
June 1, AZBC, Mesa... It was the hottest day of the year in Arizona to-date and so was the action on the AZBC courts as everyone played 5 matches in round-robin pools for women's doubles and men's doubles. When the smoke had cleared there were "A" Champions, "B" Champions, and "C" Champions left standing in each division.
The six women's teams played a complete round-robin among themselves with the top 2 teams designated as "A", the 3rd and 4th finishers designated as "B", etc. The 12 men's teams played in 4 groups of 3 teams round-robin with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams in each pool graduating into a round-robin pool of 1st place finishers, 2nd place finishers, and 3rd place finishers playing for the "A", "B" and "C" championship titles.
The results-- WOMEN:
"A" Champion- Theo & Kiyoko Hashimoto; "A" 2nd- Missy Frietz/Kai-Ning Khor
"B" Champion- Alexis Mee/Marsha Morris; "B" 2nd- Aman Bhatti/Jenna Scheeland
"C" Champion- Elli Edgar/Carly Van Camp; "C" 2nd- Marcela Testai/Andi Weekes
The results-- MEN:
"A" Champion- Guy Chadwick/Shash Patel; "A" 2nd- Steve Hashimoto/Peter Huang
"B" Champion- Seigo Hashimoto/Chris Hsieh; "B" 2nd- Francis Hartojo/Mike Hilliard
"C" Champion- Darcy Frear/F/H/H/K partner!; "C" 2nd- Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong
The six women's teams played a complete round-robin among themselves with the top 2 teams designated as "A", the 3rd and 4th finishers designated as "B", etc. The 12 men's teams played in 4 groups of 3 teams round-robin with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams in each pool graduating into a round-robin pool of 1st place finishers, 2nd place finishers, and 3rd place finishers playing for the "A", "B" and "C" championship titles.
The results-- WOMEN:
"A" Champion- Theo & Kiyoko Hashimoto; "A" 2nd- Missy Frietz/Kai-Ning Khor
"B" Champion- Alexis Mee/Marsha Morris; "B" 2nd- Aman Bhatti/Jenna Scheeland
"C" Champion- Elli Edgar/Carly Van Camp; "C" 2nd- Marcela Testai/Andi Weekes
The results-- MEN:
"A" Champion- Guy Chadwick/Shash Patel; "A" 2nd- Steve Hashimoto/Peter Huang
"B" Champion- Seigo Hashimoto/Chris Hsieh; "B" 2nd- Francis Hartojo/Mike Hilliard
"C" Champion- Darcy Frear/F/H/H/K partner!; "C" 2nd- Dean Glazeski/Tom Leong
2nd Annual ARIZONA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS...
April 13, AZBC, Mesa... The annual Arizona Badminton Championships places the top Arizona badminton players in the record book. This year we saw many new champions receive plaques and have their name etched on the perpetual trophy on display in the AZBC lobby.
Two players were double winners: Kai-Ning Khor won the OWD with Vaishnavi Koka and the OMX with Bui Hoang; and Hong Hu won the OMS and the OMD with Guy Chadwick. In the OWS, Monica Xiong edged Vaishnavi Koka in a hard fought final, 21-15, 23-21.
Kai-Ning Khor, Vaishnavi Koka, Alisha Howe, Monica Xiong
(photo courtesy of Mike Hilliard)
One particularly exciting match was a first-round OMS match between Seigo Hashimoto and Anton Kentjana, with Seigo winning 23-21, 26-24! Although there were several close matches, there were actually no 3-game matches in four of the events-- OWS, OMS, OWD and OMD, except in consolation. The OMX was a different story, with more than half of the matches going 3-games, including the finals. Here are the final results:
OWS: Monica Xiong def. Vaishnavi Koka, 21-15,23-21; Cons: Brittany Purugganan def. Brittany Fielden, 21-12,21-4
OMS: Hong Hu def. Seigo Hashimoto, 21-16,21-5; Cons: Francis Hartojo def. Anton Kentjana, 21-16,15-17 w/o
OWD: Kai-Ning Khor/Vaishnavi Koka def. Alisha Howe/Monica Xiong, 22-20,21-13; Cons: Alexis Mee/Kirielle Singarajah def. Kenna Lum/Colleen Ridge, def
OMD: Guy Chadwick/Hong Hu def. Bui Hoang/Linh Luu, 21-16,21-19; Cons: Seigo Hashimoto/Chris Hsieh def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Naren Koka, 18-21,21-16,21-16
OMX: Bui Hoang/Kai-Ning Khor def. Naren Koka/Monica Xiong, 17-21,16,15; Cons: Giao Quach/Alisha Howe def. Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan, 17-21,22-20,21-16
Video clips of the OMD finals provided by Hong Hu...
Game 1: Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uItiKCkXg0
Game 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPyaC3S4v7o
Two players were double winners: Kai-Ning Khor won the OWD with Vaishnavi Koka and the OMX with Bui Hoang; and Hong Hu won the OMS and the OMD with Guy Chadwick. In the OWS, Monica Xiong edged Vaishnavi Koka in a hard fought final, 21-15, 23-21.
Kai-Ning Khor, Vaishnavi Koka, Alisha Howe, Monica Xiong
(photo courtesy of Mike Hilliard)
One particularly exciting match was a first-round OMS match between Seigo Hashimoto and Anton Kentjana, with Seigo winning 23-21, 26-24! Although there were several close matches, there were actually no 3-game matches in four of the events-- OWS, OMS, OWD and OMD, except in consolation. The OMX was a different story, with more than half of the matches going 3-games, including the finals. Here are the final results:
OWS: Monica Xiong def. Vaishnavi Koka, 21-15,23-21; Cons: Brittany Purugganan def. Brittany Fielden, 21-12,21-4
OMS: Hong Hu def. Seigo Hashimoto, 21-16,21-5; Cons: Francis Hartojo def. Anton Kentjana, 21-16,15-17 w/o
OWD: Kai-Ning Khor/Vaishnavi Koka def. Alisha Howe/Monica Xiong, 22-20,21-13; Cons: Alexis Mee/Kirielle Singarajah def. Kenna Lum/Colleen Ridge, def
OMD: Guy Chadwick/Hong Hu def. Bui Hoang/Linh Luu, 21-16,21-19; Cons: Seigo Hashimoto/Chris Hsieh def. Ramesh Bondalapati/Naren Koka, 18-21,21-16,21-16
OMX: Bui Hoang/Kai-Ning Khor def. Naren Koka/Monica Xiong, 17-21,16,15; Cons: Giao Quach/Alisha Howe def. Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan, 17-21,22-20,21-16
Video clips of the OMD finals provided by Hong Hu...
Game 1: Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uItiKCkXg0
Game 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPyaC3S4v7o
2013 ARIZONA CLASSIC BADMINTON TOURNAMENT...
Feb 1-2, AZBC, Mesa... After a friendly "Challenge Cup" series of games on Friday evening, Feb 1 between AZBC players and out-of-town players (AZBC won 5-2!) there was non-stop intense competition from 9am - 8pm on Saturday, Feb 2 in five events-- Open Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles, Senior Women Doubles, Senior Men Doubles and Open Mixed Doubles, which included players from CA, WY and NEV, as well as a strong contingent from Tucson. 32 women and 29 men battled it out for the various titles and enjoyed an outdoor BBQ between matches. The big winner was Yukari Katayama who won the triple crown with straight game victories in OWD, SWD and OMX. Final results below.
For video clips of match play at the tournament courtesy of Clement Singarajah: Lan Xu, Haiwei Lu, Albert Sue, Warren Mee
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXV53zroRC-7R06w_q237aTS4vXehYenK (photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah)
For video clips of match play at the tournament courtesy of Clement Singarajah: Lan Xu, Haiwei Lu, Albert Sue, Warren Mee
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXV53zroRC-7R06w_q237aTS4vXehYenK (photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah)
Arizona Classic Final Match Results...
OWD- Theo Hashimoto/Yukari Katayama def. Kai-Ning Khor/Vaishnavi Koka 21-19, 21-6.
OMD- Guy Chadwick/Tariq Wadood def. Bui Hoang/Hong Hu 17-21, 21-18, 21-15
SWD- Theo Hashimoto/Yukari Katayama (1st); Jean Albert/Deborah Lorenzo (2nd)
SMD- Guy Chadwick/Peter Huang def. David Levin/Tariq Wadood 21-15, 17-21, 21-15
OMX- Saburo Sakai/Yukari Katayama def. Naren Koka/Vaishnavi Koka 22-20, 21-12
Bui Hoang flies high to smash, while Hong Hu gets set at the net in the OMD finals
(photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah)
OMD- Guy Chadwick/Tariq Wadood def. Bui Hoang/Hong Hu 17-21, 21-18, 21-15
SWD- Theo Hashimoto/Yukari Katayama (1st); Jean Albert/Deborah Lorenzo (2nd)
SMD- Guy Chadwick/Peter Huang def. David Levin/Tariq Wadood 21-15, 17-21, 21-15
OMX- Saburo Sakai/Yukari Katayama def. Naren Koka/Vaishnavi Koka 22-20, 21-12
Bui Hoang flies high to smash, while Hong Hu gets set at the net in the OMD finals
(photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah)
2013 NEW YEAR'S BADMINTON FEST...
Jan 5, AZBC, Mesa... The 2013 New Year's Badminton Fest brought out the best of BBQ, food and badminton in a half-day tournament from Noon - 6pm. The weather cooperated perfectly again allowing time to relax between matches out by the grill. Forty gladiators battled in Open Women Doubles, Open Men Doubles, and an encore "Mixed-Up" Doubles event with most of the teams picked out of a hat. One highlight of the tournament was the giant chocolate chip cookie decorated with the AZBC logo courtesy of the Goettl family! Obviously, it didn't last long, so it was good the photo at right was taken.
Darcy Frear and Monica Xiong won the OWD over Vaishnavi Koka and Kai-Ning Khor. Rachel Goettl and Brittany Puruggannan won the OWD consolation. Guy Chadwick and Mike Hilliard defeated Bui Hoang and Chin Khor for the OMD title in 3 games, with Giao Quach and Mark Tsang winning the OMD consolation. Finally, in a remarkable run of matches, Ashish Pingale and Monica Xiong battled through the "Mixed-Up" Doubles draw winning every match by the narrowest of margins, including a first round 30-29, 16-21, 23-21 victory and a 3-game finals win over #1 seed Bui Hoang and Kai-Ning Khor. Mark Tsang and Darcy Frear won the "Mixed-Up" consolation.
Thanks again to HL and Verve for sponsoring the tournament! It was a great way to start off the New Year!
Darcy Frear and Monica Xiong won the OWD over Vaishnavi Koka and Kai-Ning Khor. Rachel Goettl and Brittany Puruggannan won the OWD consolation. Guy Chadwick and Mike Hilliard defeated Bui Hoang and Chin Khor for the OMD title in 3 games, with Giao Quach and Mark Tsang winning the OMD consolation. Finally, in a remarkable run of matches, Ashish Pingale and Monica Xiong battled through the "Mixed-Up" Doubles draw winning every match by the narrowest of margins, including a first round 30-29, 16-21, 23-21 victory and a 3-game finals win over #1 seed Bui Hoang and Kai-Ning Khor. Mark Tsang and Darcy Frear won the "Mixed-Up" consolation.
Thanks again to HL and Verve for sponsoring the tournament! It was a great way to start off the New Year!
2012 HOLIDAY FUN BADMINTON BOWL
Naren Koka
Dec 1, AZBC, Mesa... The 2012 Holiday Fun Badminton Bowl was a raging success and lived up to its name! We set up a bar-b-q grill, tables, chairs and additional food tables outside along with a sponsorship tent by Russell Nelson and VERVE, to go with a full day of great badminton play at the Arizona Badminton Center. VERVE provided special participant give-aways and prizes for the winners and runners-up to go along with additional prizes from Warren Mee, Mike Hilliard, and the AZBC. The tournament was formatted to be extra fun with divisions for beginners, intermediate and advanced in events including 1/2 court singles, regular men's and women's doubles, and a "mixed-up" doubles.
Playing just one 7-point game for each match in the 1/2 court singles, 48 players competed in four divisions with consolation play. In just over an hour the champions were determined: Anton Kentjana in the Open Men's, Chris Mann in the Intermediate Men's, Liz Aronsohn in the Open Women's, and Rachel Price in the Intermediate Women's.
In the regular doubles full rally scoring matches in six different divisions were held with lots of hard-fought competition. The finals were: Open Women- Liz Aronsohn/Courtney Foltz def. Chandler Begay/Nga Le, 21-16, 21-18. Intermediate Women- Rachel Price/Valerie Rozon def. Brianna Carter/Emily Tobler, 21-9, 21-8. Beginner Women- Danielle Torres/Patty Willis def. Sidney Arohsohn/Martin Eslava, 21-12, 21-11. Open Men- Bui Hoang/Chin Khor def. Guy Chadwick/Toto Guhathakurta, 21-13, 21-16. Intermediate Men- Heiwei Lu/Shuhong Liu def. Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan, 14-21, 21-19, 21-18. Beginner Men- Roger Goettl/Clement Singarajah def. Garin Chadwick/Alyssa Litwin, 21-19, 22-20.
In the "Mixed-Up" Doubles 24 players were picked out of a hat to form 12 teams playing one game matches to 21 points rally scoring. Bui Hoang/Sherry Yuan def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris 21-11 in the finals. Chris Hsieh/Courtney Foltz def. David Levin/Lan Xu in the consolation finals, 21-17.
In addition to the competition prizes, a special recognition was given to Naren Koka as the 2012 Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award recipient.
Playing just one 7-point game for each match in the 1/2 court singles, 48 players competed in four divisions with consolation play. In just over an hour the champions were determined: Anton Kentjana in the Open Men's, Chris Mann in the Intermediate Men's, Liz Aronsohn in the Open Women's, and Rachel Price in the Intermediate Women's.
In the regular doubles full rally scoring matches in six different divisions were held with lots of hard-fought competition. The finals were: Open Women- Liz Aronsohn/Courtney Foltz def. Chandler Begay/Nga Le, 21-16, 21-18. Intermediate Women- Rachel Price/Valerie Rozon def. Brianna Carter/Emily Tobler, 21-9, 21-8. Beginner Women- Danielle Torres/Patty Willis def. Sidney Arohsohn/Martin Eslava, 21-12, 21-11. Open Men- Bui Hoang/Chin Khor def. Guy Chadwick/Toto Guhathakurta, 21-13, 21-16. Intermediate Men- Heiwei Lu/Shuhong Liu def. Albert Sue/Sherry Yuan, 14-21, 21-19, 21-18. Beginner Men- Roger Goettl/Clement Singarajah def. Garin Chadwick/Alyssa Litwin, 21-19, 22-20.
In the "Mixed-Up" Doubles 24 players were picked out of a hat to form 12 teams playing one game matches to 21 points rally scoring. Bui Hoang/Sherry Yuan def. Doug Towne/Marsha Morris 21-11 in the finals. Chris Hsieh/Courtney Foltz def. David Levin/Lan Xu in the consolation finals, 21-17.
In addition to the competition prizes, a special recognition was given to Naren Koka as the 2012 Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award recipient.
2012 AIA STATE HIGH SCHOOL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oct 12-13, Glendale, AZ... The 2012 AIA STATE INDIVIDUAL HIGH SCHOOL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS were held at Independence High School on Friday and Saturday, October 12-13. More than 300 players participated from 53 different high school badminton teams. Congratulations to Singles Champion Courtney Foltz of Chaparral High School, and to Doubles Champions Sabrina Martinez and Geneva Heinkel of Mountain Pointe High School. (Note: The top finishers, including the State Champions in both singles and doubles, put in extra training at the AZBC!)
Courtney Foltz, Senior, Chaparral High School
2012 Individual State High School Singles Champion
photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah
Courtney Foltz, Senior, Chaparral High School
2012 Individual State High School Singles Champion
photo courtesy of Clement Singarajah
FIRST-EVER HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS
Oct 20, Arizona Badminton Center, Mesa, AZ... The first-ever 2012 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS STATE BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS were held at the Arizona Badminton Center on Saturday, October 20. Seven boys representing 5 different high schools battled it out for the individual singles and doubles titles and overall team title. Richard Quach of Mesquite High School took the singles title and doubles title with partner Kurt Knapp, who also finished 2nd in the singles. Highland High School brothers Nick and Jake Bingham finished third and fourth in the singles and second as a doubles pair. Mesquite HS captured the team title, Highland HS finished 2nd overall, Kar Ken Chang of Hamilton HS finished third overall, Josiah Acob of Mesa HS finished 4th, and Boris Dimov of Shadow Mountain HS finished 5th.
From left to right: Jake & Nick Bingham, Kar Ken Chang, Boris Dimov,
Richard Quach (Singles & Doubles Champion), Kurt Knapp (Doubles Champion), Josiah Acob
From left to right: Jake & Nick Bingham, Kar Ken Chang, Boris Dimov,
Richard Quach (Singles & Doubles Champion), Kurt Knapp (Doubles Champion), Josiah Acob
2012 Arizona Badminton Championships
April 21 & 28, 2012 - AZBC
On consecutive Saturdays, April 21 & 28, 2012, the Arizona Badminton Center hosted the first annual Arizona Badminton Championships to determine the top Arizona-based badminton players in open men's and women's singles, open men's and women's doubles, and open mixed doubles. It was also the first-ever tournament played at the AZBC, which officially opened its doors in February. There were many close, hard-fought matches including 17 three-game matches during the tournament. Commanding the victory stand was triple-crown winner Bui Hoang of Phoenix, who captured the Open Men's Singles, the Open Men's Doubles with Say Diep of Chandler, and the Open Mixed with Vaishnavi Koka of Chandler. Darcy Frear of Tempe won the Open Women's Singles. The mother-daughter combination of Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto of Maricopa won the Open Women's Doubles. A perpetual plaque honoring the state champions hangs in the lobby of the AZBC. Championship round results... Open Men's Singles: Bui Hoang def. Haiwei Lu -- 21-17, 14-21, 21-14 Open Women's Singles: Darcy Frear def. Kiyoko Hashimoto -- 21-15, 17-21, 21-18 Open Men's Doubles: Hoang/Diep def. Chadwick/Koka -- 17-21, 25-23, 21-14 Open Women's Doubles: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Frear/Xiong -- 17-21, 21-12, 21-13 Open Mixed Doubles: Hoang/Koka def. Chadwick/Aronsohn -- 21-17, 21-13 |
2012 Smash Bash Doubles Tournament
September 8-9, 2012 - AZBC
The 20th annual Smash Bash Doubles Tournament was held at the new Arizona Badminton Center on Saturday and Sunday, September 8-9, 2012. Continuing a long tradition of showcasing both open events and high school events, there was non-stop doubles action all weekend. On the first day, Varsity High School Doubles ended with Geneva Heinkel and Sabrina Martinez defeating Courtney Foltz and Sarah Wax. The Open Women's Doubles team of Jayashree Nair and Yukari Katayama defeated Theo and Kiyoko Hashimoto. The Open Men's Doubles team of Guy Chadwick and Hong Hu upset Steve Hashimoto and Bui Hoang. On the second day, Open Mixed Doubles filled most of the court time punctuated by round robin matches for Senior Men's Doubles and Family Doubles. Bui Hoang and Kai-Ning Khor won out in a large Open Mixed Doubles draw. Guy Chadwick and Naren Koka won the Senior Men's Doubles. Shibu Bhavanan and Jayashree Nair (brother and sister) won the Family Doubles. Final round results... Varsity Girls' Doubles: Heinkel/Martinez def. Foltz/Wax -- 15-3, 15-12 JV Girls' Doubles: Chapin/Whatley def. Consolian/Messer -- 15-3, 15-4 Open Women's Doubles: Katayama/Nair def. Hashimoto/Hashmoto -- 21-16, 21-13 Open Men's Doubles: Chadwick/Hu def. Hashimoto/Hoang -- 20-22, 21-18, 21-15 Open Mixed Doubles: Hoang/Khor def. Bhavanan/Nair -- 21-11, 21-19 Open Mixed Doubles II: Hashimoto/Hashimoto def. Koka/Foltz -- 21-17, 21-9 Senior Men's Doubles: Chadwick/Koka def. Sakai/Waters -- 21-13, 21-9 Family Doubles: Bhavanan/Nair def. Foltz/Foltz -- 21-7, 21-10 For a link to a portion of the first game of the final OMD match: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf7JPatmXt4&feature=plcp |