The Buffalo Grove badminton team is accustomed to eliciting some odd stares from competitors.
The Bison stood out for more than their Bahama blue T-shirts and yellow Crocs shoes at the state badminton meet held at Eastern Illinois on May 15-16.
The Bison finished second in the final state team standings with 14.5 points, a half-point shy of state champion Neuqua Valley (15 points).
Twenty minutes after receiving their runner-up team trophy on Saturday, May 16, the Bison contingent of players, coaches and family members engulfed Court 5 at Eastern Illinois’ Recreation Center in a sea of Bahama blue T-shirts and yellow crocs.
“This is a gigantic family, all the parents, coaches and kids really bonded all year together and all weekend,” Buffalo Grove coach Chris Van Grondelle said. “Last year we wore pink. You could see the pink everywhere.”
Buffalo Grove’s play on the court shined even brighter.
Julie Jambrone and Katelyn Sommers closed out their careers with an undefeated record of 51-0. They defeated York’s Emily Spoolstra and Hannah Spoolstra 21-10, 21-11 in the doubles finals. Jambrone and Sommers placed second last season in doubles, but came back with a vengeance this season, winning all six of their state matches in two games.
“We wanted it so bad last year, and we came in this year and finished it,” Sommers said. “We talked about wanting this and we worked hard and went for it. It’s special to end on a good note. We had the intensity and we knew we both wanted it and gave it our all and didn’t want to leave anything on the floor.”
A point guard for the basketball team, Jambrone said her chemistry with Sommers showed all season.
“We had a new mentality, game by game, and stayed positive,” she said. “I think we communicated each point and picked each other up whenever we made a mistake.”
Buffalo Grove’s No. 2 doubles team of Tori Appelt and Stephanie Mayer won their first two matches at state, but settled for a 3-2 record at the two-day meet.
In singles, Jessica Schwartz capped her career by losing in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket to T.F. South’s Jenna Pasko. Kristen McClellan finished with a 3-2 record at state.
“Jessica Schwartz will go down as the best singles badminton player in our history,” Van Grondelle said. “She worked her tail off for the last three years. Kristen competed at a high level at state. As a team, we didn’t quite get it done, but we had a great year.”
Narang is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @bobnarang
