MINNETONKA 7, EAGLE RIDGE ACADEMY 0
Last week the 2026 Badminton season started officially on Thursday. Due to my obligations with the girls’ basketball state tournament, I was unavailable until today. Then the resurgence of winter cancelled matches in St. Paul and Minneapolis on Monday. That left only one contest on the menu. It was off to Minnetonka for my first time charting badminton there. Last season I saw the Skippers several times on the road. Minnetonka has multiple gyms. The boys volleyball team was practicing on the main competition floor used by basketball and volleyball. Badminton is housed in the original gym which was built in 1952. Four courts have lower ceilings and therefore are used by the JV matches. The middle four courts, on the main basketball court, are the home of the varsity matches (a similar situation is done at Johnson).
This is the second season for the Skippers, and as a bigger Suburban school dispatched the smaller charter/private Eagle Ridge with a straight sweep giving up no sets. ERA is located in the eastern portion of Minnetonka closer to 169. The Gryphons’ best set mark was 17 in four of the sets in singles. The Skippers’ closest doubles set came at third doubles in the second set with 13.
SINGLES
1. Isabel Chen, M def Lakshitha Potini 21-5, 21-4
2. Leana Shelendich, M def Harini Meenakshisundaram 21-17, 21-17
3. Francesca Iannone, M def Kaitlyn Nolan 21-6, 21-17
4. Josie Mintz, M def Margaret Vassar 21-17, 21-15
DOUBLES
1. Maggie Karels / Ruby Kirk, M def Hafsa Elmi / Aarya Basina 21-10, 21-10
2. Vivian Nguyen / Allison Lei, M def Bridget Hawkins / Vrinda Chambarge 21-7, 21-9
3. Anna Schuster / Jenna Marsolek, M def Natalie Abdussayed / Devanshi Gaur 21-10, 21-13
BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Minnetonka 4-0 1.000
Games: Minnetonka 8-0 1.000
points: Minnetonka 168-98 .632
Set 1 points: Minnetonka 84-45 .651
Set 2 points: Minnetonka 84-53 .613
decided by 10+: Minnetonka 3-0
decided by 3-: none
margin: Minnetonka 8.75
DOUBLES
Matches: Minnetonka 3-0 1.000
Games: Minnetonka 6-0 1.000
points: Minnetonka 126-59 .681
Set 1 points: Minnetonka 63-27 .700
Set 2 points: Minnetonka 63-32 .663
decided by 10+: Minnetonka 5-0 1.000
decided by 3-: none
margin: Minnetonka 11.167
FIRST SINGLES
Isabel CHEN 2, Lakshitha POTINI 0
(reported 21-5, 21-4 actual 22-5, 21-4)
Minnetonka’s Isabell Chen got her season off to a fast start with a sweep of Eagle Ridge’s Lakhsitha Potini. Chen had a mega-run of 16 points to close first set and had a healthy eight point run to establish herself at 10-1 in the second set. Chen had big advantages in points (43-8), and Winners (37-3), Winners to errors (6.167 to 0.500) and down the stretch of each set with a 21-2 score after 11 points were reached. Her favorite point getter came on clears, and smashes with nine apiece. At the start the drive was the primary stroke, with the first smash coming on point 14 in the first set, then two more were tacked on right behind. Chen’s soft drive wasn’t used until the second set for the first time which scored on point 7. Toward the end of the second three of her last five points came on clears. Most of the rallies today fell in the longer five stroke or more category. Fast points (two strokes or less) only 13% of the day’s total. The longest point of the day belonged to Potini on a 14 stroke clear in the second set to make it 2-1.
| Category | CHEN | POTINI |
| Side out | 4/7-.571 | 1/8-.125 |
| Longest side out string | 3 | 1 |
| 3+ Runs | 5 | 0 |
| Longest point string | 15 | 2 |
| SERVING | ||
| First serve | 2 | 1 |
| First point | 1, 2 | |
| Service points | 36 | 3 |
| Serving % | 43/43-1.000 | 10/10-1.000 |
| Point generated off serve | .837 | .375 |
| POINTS | 43 | 8 |
| Points after 11 | 21 | 2 |
| Points after own errors | 3 | 1 |
| Winners after own errors | 2 | 0 |
| STROKES | 190 | 40 |
| Strokes per point | 4.419 | 5.000 |
| 5+ rallies (%) | 22 (.512) | 2 (.250) |
| 2- rallies (%) | 5 (.116) | 2 (.250) |
| WINNERS | 37 | 3 |
| Aces | 3 | 0 |
| Blocks | 0 | 0 |
| Clears | 9 | 3 |
| Drives | 6 | 0 |
| Drops | 8 | 0 |
| Soft drives | 2 | 0 |
| Smashes | 9 | 0 |
| Even Stroke Winners | 6 | 2 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 0 | 0 |
| Odd Stroke Winners | 31 | 1 |
| ERRORS | 6 | 6 |
| Deep | 0 | 1 |
| Net | 4 | 2 |
| Wide | 2 | 3 |
| Serve | 0 | 0 |
| Even stroke errors | 2 | 5 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 1 | 2 |
| Odd stroke errors | 4 | 1 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||
| Left | 12 | 2 |
| Right | 25 | 1 |
| Largest Lead | 17, 17 | |
| W:E Ratio | 6.167 | 0.500 |
| Margin | 17.500 | |
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | |
| Time | 12:25.47 |