Mepham Badminton Loses Final Four Set to Calhoun

After defeating Wantagh on Monday by sweeping all seven matches, Calhoun continued their dominance by defeating crosstown rival Mepham yesterday in what was another perfect sweep.

"In today's performance the girls really just stepped it to another level," Calhoun coach Greg Muscarella said. "My ladies played a very worthy opponent in Mepham, and they gave us a good battle. To walk out of here 7-0 is higher than any goal I would have set for the team, and I tend to set high goals."

In singles action, top seeded Christina Strezenec earned a hard-fought victory over her opponent Jenna Cavuto, 21-15, 22-20. Cavuto led 20-18 in the second game, but Strezenec came back to win the next four points to claim the match.

"Today was definitely a great day," Strezenec said. "I know a lot of us were looking forward to this all week. Fortunately all of us were on our game, and although Mepham competed very hard I know that we wanted it more than anything, and that's why we won."

In second singles, Elise Meade and Shayna Lupu had an exciting three-game match, with Meade ultimately coming out on top, 21-23, 21-12 and 21-18.

"Coming into today we knew that this is our biggest match of the season and that we had to win it," Meade said. "I lost the first game but I knew that I wasn't going to lose no matter what."

Cindy Lee won her third-singles match over Jess Lennox, 21-16, 21-14. Lennox had defeated Lee twice during the season, but Lee was able to capture the win today.

In doubles, Calhoun would go a perfect four for four. Top seeded Alyssa Demonte and Kaitlin Gallo defeated Val Batcher and Sharon Aluma, 21-11, 21-14.

It took three games for second-doubles partners Danielle Augugliara and Farina Choudhury to beat Christie Boschert and Corryn Charmbowitz, but were able to win it, 23-21, 10-21, and 21-19.

After dropping the first game, Marissa Levy and Jenna Delbove came back to beat their third-doubles opponents Elana Korn and Julia Tollin, 16-21, 21-19, and 21-13.

Lastly, in fourth-doubles, Tessa Patti and Tiffany Minors defeated Alexa Horrowitz and Rachel Gordon, 21-17 and 21-14.

It was a valiant effort by the Pirates, who after losing their first four matches of the season, came back to win four of their next six and finish within the top four in the county.

"When we started off the season we didn't look so good," Cavuto said. "But it's not about how you start the season, it's how you end it. Calhoun is a tough team and we are always very competitive against them. Our hearts were right out there and that's all we could ask from every girl on this team."

Mepham had defeated Jericho on Monday 6-1 to earn a spot in the final four.

"We fought extremely hard today," Mepham coach Anthony Cracco said. "The outcome wasn't where we wanted it to be but if you look at the scores we were right there in every match. The girls battled and fought hard. I'm extremely proud of where we started to where we finished."

With the victory, Calhoun will face Great Neck South tomorrow at Kennedy High School at 4:15 p.m. for the county championship.

"All seven teams did a phenomenal job," Gallo said. "We're ready for Friday. I'm happy for the team and I'm glad we're in the championship."