KENNEDY 5, FRIDLEY 2
Today I completed the charting of all 28 schools that are participating in badminton. The final piece of the puzzle was Fridley. Even though we have completed six weeks of the season, for the Tigers it was the first time out and recorded. Tomorrow is their next game and it is also their final game. Fridley will send one singles player to the state tournament but will bypass the team portion of the tournament.
Both of these schools are in the Tri-Metro conference. I lump all suburban schools in a makeshift “conference” that does not exist. Today the host Eagles scrambled their line up to make the contest a competitive venture. The Tigers have about 20 players. This is a gateway sport for many, not only at Fridley but throughout the area. This is the first time these students are playing organized athletics. And from the atmosphere in the gym, they were enjoying the experience. The margins at singles were close—less than two points per set. The Tigers did take two contests and third singles and second doubles. And not all the Tigers were in the house—their singles entry to state had prior commitments. The names will be filled in at a later date.
SINGLES
- Camila, K def Axel 21-19, 21-14
- Astrid, K def Fridley 21-17, 22-20
- Fridley def Nolivia 21-6, 21-17
- Diana, K def Fridley 21-10, 21-13
DOUBLES
- Ella / Dia, K def Fridley 21-13, 21-13
- Fridley def Nimko / Ilhan 17-21, 21-19, 21-16
- Sophie / Kaitlyn, K def Fridley 21-7, 21-8
BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Kennedy 3-1 .750
Games: Kennedy 6-2 .750
points: Kennedy 150-135 .526
Set 1 points: Kennedy 69-67 .507
Set 2 points: Kennedy 81-68 .544
decided by 10+: tied 1-1 .500
decided by 3-: Kennedy 2-0 1.000
margin: Kennedy 1.875
DOUBLES
Matches: Kennedy 2-1 .667
Games: Kennedy 5-2 .714
points: Kennedy 140-100 .583
Set 1 points: Kennedy 63-37 .630
Set 2 points: Kennedy 61-42 .592
Set 3 points: Fridley 21-16 .568
decided by 10+: Kennedy 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Fridley 1-0 1.000
margin: Kennedy 5.714
FIRST SINGLES
CAMILLA 2, AXEL 0 (21-19, 21-14)
Kennedy’s Camilla stopped Fridley’s Axel in two but the scores reported and what I had did not add up. Camilla’s totals were one more than reported while Axel’s totals were right. But Axel, by my count, had one more in the first set leaving the count at 21-20 and one less in the second making the score 22-13.
With the Eagles using their JV in this match, Camilla was in for Morgan, the usual first singles. Camilla did have 32 winners but gave away 25 errors.
In set one, after trailing 2-0, Axel used six of those hitting errors in her first run to lead 7-2. Axel added another run of three on her third service to go up 10-4. In that sequence, she had two winners, the last two points coming on a three stroke cross court drop and an ace. Camilla notched her first run with five to close the margin to 10-9; her second run, this time of four tied it at 15. The smash game was evident in this sequence with three points as birds hung in the air. Still Axel led late by my count 20-19. A six point smash tied it at 20. A five stroke drop ended the first set prematurely 21-20.
Axel had a 4-2 lead as she held Camilla scoreless on her first three services. Camilla grabbed her first lead at 7-4 with her first run, this time of five, four of which were winners. Axel had her first run of three to tie it at eight. Then Camilla had back to back runs to break away at 19-10. The difference in set two for Camilla was a more balanced winner total. In set one smashes led the categories with nine. In set two three categories had four: smashes, drops and clears.
| Category | CAMILLA | AXEL |
| Side out | 8/17-.471 | 8/18-.444 |
| Longest side out string | 2 | 3 |
| 3+ Runs | 6 | 3 |
| Longest point string | 7 | 7 |
| SERVING | ||
| First serve | 2 | 1 |
| First point | 1 | 2 |
| Service points | 26 | 16 |
| Serving % | 38/42-.905 | 33/34-.971 |
| Point generated off serve | .605 | .471 |
| POINTS | 43 | 33 |
| Points after 11 | 23 | 14 |
| Points after own errors | 14 | 5 |
| Winners after own errors | 9 | 1 |
| STROKES | 183 | 122 |
| Strokes per point | 4.256 | 3.697 |
| 5+ rallies (%) | 18 | 8 |
| 2- rallies (%) | 10 | 12 |
| WINNERS | 15, 17-32 | 4, 4-8 |
| Aces | 1 | 1 |
| Blocks | 0 | 0 |
| Clears | 5 | 2 |
| Drives | 3 | 0 |
| Drops | 8 | 4 |
| Soft drives | 2 | 1 |
| Smashes | 13 | 0 |
| Even Stroke Winners | 12 | 3 |
| 2nd Stroke Winners | 4 | 0 |
| Odd Stroke Winners | 20 | 5 |
| ERRORS | 16, 9-25 | 6, 5-11 |
| Deep | 1 | 1 |
| Net | 14 | 3 |
| Wide | 6 | 6 |
| Serve | 4 | 1 |
| Even stroke errors | 13 | 6 |
| 2nd stroke errors | 7 | 5 |
| Odd stroke errors | 12 | 5 |
| WINNER LOCATION | ||
| Left | 13 | 3 |
| Right | 19 | 5 |
| Largest Lead | 2, 9 | 6, 2 |
| W:E Ratio | 1.280 | 0.727 |
| Margin | 5.00 | |
| Set Point % | 2/2-1.000 | |
| Time | 18:12 |