Suffolk Individual Badminton Championships

Just two days after defeating Walt Whitman for the team championship, the Half Hollow Hills girls badminton team swept the individual tournament, winning both singles and doubles.

Sophomore Hannah Finger, who played doubles last year and lost in the county finals, cruised to a victory in singles, defeating Walt Whitman’s Kristina Maimis 11-2, 11-5.

“She didn’t know that making the transition to singles she would have a successful year,” Half Hollow Hills coach Lisa Albert said of Finger. “It was a challenge and a risk. She was willing to take it and she took off with it.”

Finger’s teammates Jasmine Wasserman and Jessica Chen have been playing doubles together for the past four years and emerged with a championship in their senior year by defeating Commack’s Carly Sadiker and Kelly Hall 15-2, 15-5.

Miller Place’s Liz Paturalski defeated Smithtown West’s Christina Fiore 11-8, 11-8 to take third place in singles. Half Hollow Hills' Tanya Jain and Susan Zhang captured third place in doubles beating Miller Place’s Ashley Bua and Bailey Kirkpatrick

With the possibility of Matt Simone’s first loss of the season looming after he dropped the first game of boys singles tournament final, he began to show the traits that got him there.

The Walt Whitman senior’s game is based on consistency and endurance as opposed to power, aspects that led him to a 14-0 record during the regular season and came in handy yesterday while playing in a gym still feeling the lingering effects of Tuesday’s heat wave. Simone overcame a 12-15 loss in the first game to defeat Smithtown West’s Justin Lin - who was suffering from cramping in his calf during the third game - 15-9, 15-7 to win the Suffolk boys individual badminton championship at Smithtown West.

Smithtown West didn’t go home empty handed, however, as Derrick Ladeairous and Greg Mayer defeated Patchogue-Medford’s Andrew Quatrale and Chris Margolin 15-8, 8-15, 15-10 to win the doubles championship.

Jesse Dietrichson of Miller Place took third in the singles tournament defeating Smithtown East’s Eric Hirschfield 15-13, 15-3. Walt Whitman’s Zach Barotta and Don Dillito took third in doubles, beating Half Hollow Hills’ Chad Davis and David Weiner 17-15, 15-4.