Port Washington wins Nassau badminton title

No. 2 Port Washington (14-1) defeated No. 1 Calhoun (13-2) 4-3 in the Nassau County Girls Badminton Championship on Monday.

Isha Gupta and Julianna Beall defeated Michelle Giutsin and Rachel Ross 20-22, 21-16, 22-20 in the deciding first doubles match to clinch the win for the Vikings.

“I’m very happy for the girls because they played their hearts out,” Port Washington coach David O’Connor said. “Congrats to Calhoun, they played one hell of a match.”

This is Port Washington’s second county title in program history, according to O’Connor.

Calhoun had previously won three straight county titles. The Colts beat the Vikings 4-3 in last year’s county final. This season, which is Port Washington’s first year in Conference I, the two teams split the regular-season series and were hoping to meet again in the county final for the rubber match.

“Until you beat them in the finals, Calhoun is the team to beat,” O’Connor said. “They are a great team with a great coach in Greg Muscarella.”

It was a hotly contested battle on Monday, as four of the matches went to three sets, three of which were won by Port Washington.

The other wins for the Vikings were county singles champion Liz Kallenberg over Tessa Patti 16-21, 21-8, 21-4 at first singles, Olga Kosheva over Tiffany Minors 15-21, 21-15, 22-20 at second singles, and Rachel Hanford and Lauren Livingston over Dana Klein and Jen Chen 21-15, 21-15 at second doubles.

“It has been a great ride this season,” O’Connor said. “It was especially gratifying for our five seniors because when they started as freshman, we were in the middle of the pack in Conference II. They worked very hard to build the team up and win a county title.”