Xavier
Prep’s fourth-seeded, defending Division I state champion enters Wednesday’s
(Oct. 25) semifinal match to face what could be one of the strongest badminton
teams in the state’s history.
Top-seeded
Gilbert Perry was so dominant in last weekend’s state individual singles and
doubles championships that it had both championship singles players and both
championship doubles teams.
Perry also
will be out to make up for a 5-3 loss to Xavier in last season’s state title
match. Xavier was seeded first, Perry second. The Pumas got a measure of
revenge late in this regular season with a 6-3 victory at home over the Gators,
but it is doubtful that satisfied their hunger.
So now the
teams face off at neutral Phoenix Desert Vista at 6:30 p.m. with the winner
moving on to the championship match on Thursday night (Oct. 26) at Phoenix
Sunnyslope.
“We’re going
to have to play very well against them, but we know we are capable,’’ said
Xavier coach Sue Contreras. “We want to go out and have fun.’’
She pointed
out that both Xavier and Perry have altered their lineups since they last met,
which should create a bit of intrigue.
Contreras
has been putting her players through the paces in recent practices, treating them
as if they were actual matches, in order to keep them sharp.
It worked against
fifth-seeded Tempe Corona del Sol on Monday (Oct. 23) with a 5-1 win at the
Activity Center. Corona del Sol defeated Phoenix Central 5-1 earlier in the
day.
Xavier
winners against Corona del Sol were Alexa Wolfson, Misaal Irfan, Rebecca Ryan,
Mimi Zurbriggen and Maeve Lee. Because five singles players won, no doubles
matches were required.
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