Bellmore's Marcus, Jericho's Patel, George titlists

Bellmore JFK senior Ryan Marcus defeated Great Neck South's Ronnie Li, 21-7, 21-16 at first singles and Jericho's Pritak Patel and Matt George defeated Long Beach's David Valez and Matt Schouldis, 21-12, 21-8, at first doubles in the badminton individual championships Friday night.

Brothers Justin and Jason Wang of Jericho, who were undefeated going into the playoffs, lost to Devon Ricciardi and Russell Goetz of Long Beach, 21-18, 15-21, 21-18, at second doubles.

Marcus, who was the county runner-up last season, finished the season at 15-1, and the league's top singles player. Bellmore JFK coach John Dell'Olio, who is also the league's coordinator, said losing Marcus will hurt the team. But Dell'Olio will look for sophomore Jesse Richheimer, who, along with Dan Rabinowitz, won at fourth doubles in the championships, to be a team leader next season.

"The level of play was exceptional this year," Dell'Olio said, praising the teams and players. "They really have a feel for the mental aspects of the game, and it was really fun to watch."

After finishing the regular season earlier this week at 13-1, and leading his team to their second consecutive championship, Jericho coach Mark Burkowsky was excited about seeing his players compete against the best in the county in the championships, as well as the future of the league.

"There are so many good kids in the lineup, it's going to be great badminton," Burkowsky said.

The league, which will remain in the fall next season, has already improved so much in the last three years. "We had a nice turnout for the championships this year," Dell'Olio said. "The same teams will be back [next season] and we'll go at it again."