Frosh Conklin Punches Ticket To State Badminton Tourney

When Sadie Conklin was a sixth grader she saw a newsletter promoting a Girls Play Sports event set for Evanston Township High School, an event designed to give girls a brief experience with a variety of sports.

Conklin fell in love with the sport of badminton. Now she’s a big fan of the sport while making history at ETHS at the same time.

Conklin became the first freshman in program history to advance to the Illinois High School Association state tournament after placing third in the singles competition held Thursday at the Glenbrook North Sectional.

Evanston’s long and successful streak of advancing at least one singles player or one doubles team to State continued as Conklin and senior Emily Schirer kept their seasons alive, along with the junior doubles team of Cassia Major and Liviani Sumi. Schirer finished fourth, losing to teammate Conklin in the third place match, while Major and Sumi earned a third place doubles finish.

The top four singles and doubles finishers at each sectional tournament will compete at the IHSA finals set for next Friday and Saturday at DeKalb High School.

Evanston’s four entries represent the most for the Wildkits since the 2014 squad qualified five players. Head coach Karilyn Joyce faced a massive rebuilding job --- and knew the “streak” was in jeopardy --- when five seniors chose not to return to play this spring.

But in Conklin, who took over the No. 1 singles role immediately, she has a rare freshman who already had some experience with the sport before she ever put on a Kit uniform.

At the sectional, she scored victories over Isabella Bigos of Maine South (21-9, 21-14), Melenie Delgado of Elk Grove Village (21-0, 21-7), Bigos in the back draw (21-10, 21-13) and teammate Schirer (21-11, 21-11) to take the third place medal. Her only loss came by a 21-6, 21-13 margin in the semifinals to eventual runner-up Sophie Hou of Glenbrook North.

Conklin led Evanston to second in the team standings with 12 points to Glenbrook North’s 18. Also competing were Maine South (7.5), Elk Grove (4.5), Leyden (3.5), Fenton (1) and Chicago Roosevelt (1).

“No, I didn’t see this coming,” said Joyce, who has helped send competitors to the state finals every year as an assistant coach and then head coach. “That’s why this is such an emotional night. It’s just so hard to get them to State and this year I kept changing the doubles lineups all year.

“It’s not that they didn’t have it (talent) in them. I just had to keep telling them that they did, over and over again. After losing all those seniors I knew that with a young team like this we had to start by getting back to the fundamentals. That was the key for them, the fundamentals.”

Conklin started learning those fundamentals at an earlier age than most Wildkit hopefuls.

“Badminton is a sport that more people should play. It’s so amazing!” Conklin exclaimed. “I think the reason no other freshman has made it (to State) before is that most of them probably didn’t start playing until they got to high school, so it was harder for them to get into the varsity lineup.

“I’m shocked that I made it. But having started at a younger age, I’ve had a chance to grow (as a player).”

Conklin got involved in the local club training program run by Manny Seeswat and also attended camps at ETHS before her freshman year.

“I think I played some of my best badminton today,” she said. “I really tried to push through in that match against the GBN girl (Hou). I worked really hard for this. I think I’ve definitely improved this year and I love my teammates because they’ve really helped me grow. And getting the chance to play so many amazing people (opponents) from other schools is so inspiring for me.

“I love playing against better people, because that’s usually when I play my best.”

Schirer, the only senior in the Wildkit lineup, won three of her five matches to punch a ticket to State. She knocked off Vanessa Nwauwa of Leyden (21-17, 21-11) and Marta Madej of Maine South (21-13, 12-21, 21-15) and then fell into the consolation bracket with a 21-5, 21-10 loss to Glenbrook North’s Allison Endres.

She then eliminated Elk Grove’s Ami Patel by a 21-16, 21-13 margin to set up the all-ETHS showdown in the third place match.

“I like to play tough people, too, because it makes you better,” said Schirer. “And Sadie is one of the best freshmen I’ve ever seen.

“Having my teammates cheering me on really helped me do my best tonight. Playing GBN was tough --- they’re so solid --- and it was hard to go up against the No. 1 (seeded) player. But I was able to do my best, and to not give up. I stayed positive even when something went badly.”

“It’s really a huge deal for us to have a freshman make it to State,” Joyce noted. “Sadie’s clears are unbelievable, and I’ve never seen a player who lifts the bird so well at the net. And Emily never gives up out there. Her best shot is her smash.”

In doubles, Sumi and Major finished one notch higher than their No. 4 seed coming into the competition. They earned victories in six of their seven matches, and scored the last six points to break open a close match with Maine South’s Gilbert and Henning in the third place duel to emerge with a 21-19, 18-21, 21-12 triumph.

Evanston’s other doubles entry, the team of Ana Henson and Emma Beaudoin, was sidelined in the back draw.

“We were neck and neck with Maine South in that last match, but we got more energy and got more excited whenever we got a point and that fueled us for the next one,” Sumi explained.

“We didn’t beat them when we played them at the conference tournament, so this was redemption for us,” Major said. “We knew it could be our last game and we wanted to go out and have fun, too. We’re so excited to go to State!”