Jericho's George wins badminton title

When Jericho's Matt George first heard about Great Neck South's Winston Lee, his friends were telling him there was no way he could defeat him. Now he's done it twice.

In the final of the Nassau County badminton championships Friday, it was George who came out victorious with a hard-fought, 21-18, 19-21, 21-18 win at first singles.

"I was unbelievably nervous," George said. "It was very intense. He's a great player."

George and Lee split two matches in the regular season, Lee's only other loss this year.

"He's a very challenging player," Lee said. "He's someone I would want to see again in the future."

In the rubber match, George took a 20-14 lead in the third set. Lee roared back with four straight points, but George sealed the victory with a solid return that was just out of Lee's reach.

"This is a title I wanted for a long time," said George, a junior who will return next year as the county's top singles player.

Lee, a senior, said this wouldn't be the end for his badminton career.

"I'm going to continue practicing, and maybe someday I'll play for the national badminton team," he said.

Other winners were Jericho's Pritak Patel at second singles, Long Beach's Russell Goetz at third singles, Long Beach's David Fuchs and David Velez at first doubles, Calhoun's Elan Maduro and Ryan Goldband at second doubles, Long Beach's Tom Hamlet and Justin Charschan at third doubles and Jericho's Robin Lam and Will Huang at fourth doubles.

Jericho, which was 14-0 in the regular season, took home the team championship for the third consecutive year.