Catherine Hanson scored a 3rd place finish in singles, and Evanston teammates Ella Berkowitz and Lula Garfield combined for a 3rd place finish in doubles Thursday at the Buffalo Grove Sectional and qualified for next week’s Illinois High School Association state badminton tournament.
The top 4 finishers in singles and doubles automatically advance to the state finals that start Thursday at Hinsdale South High School.
The three Evanston seniors were back at the top of their respective games after suffering second-round losses.
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Hanson lost to eventual singles champion Neha Kulkami of Vernon Hills, by a margin of 21-10 and 21-8, but bounced back with two straight victories, including an 18-21, 21-15, 21-19 trimming of Warren’s Molly Cummings in the 3rd place match.
Berkowitz and Garfield, fresh off winning a conference championship, won 3 of 4 matches at the sectional. They topped Adina Bard and Vivian Esgar of Highland Park 21-13, 21-19 for 3rd place.
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Evanston finished 3rd in the team standings with 8.5 points. Buffalo Grove ruled the team standings with 13 points, followed in order by Vernon Hills (12.5), ETHS, Warren (8), Highland Park (3) and Niles North (0).
