Seven of the 11 players will be returning next year as the team is being moved up to Conference III
For the first time in the history of Oyster Bay High School sports, the badminton team won their conference title. They did it in commanding style under the direction of Coach Greg Bilello with 13 wins and only one loss. The Lady Baymen won 10 of their matches by shutout scores of 7 to 0.
The team was seeded number 12 going into the county championship where they fell to Great Neck South. Kristen Maggi excelled in the counties taking a straight set victory in the 3rd singles competition.
Seven of the 11 players will be returning next year as the team is being moved up to Conference III.
Players are ranked by ability on the team. The three best players usually play 1st, 2nd and 3rd singles. Players ranked four and five are assigned 1st doubles. The 2nd, 3rd doubles and more are added as needed for each match.
Co-Captain Melissa LaCorte is a junior who played 1st singles with a season record of 11-3. Melissa earned All-Conference honors. Julia Bassin also was recognized as All-Conference with a season record of 12-2 as 2nd singles. Julia will return next year as a senior. Another junior, Kristen Maggi went undefeated with a season record of 14-0 as 3rd singles. Kristen was awarded All-Conference.
Leading the doubles squads as 1st doubles were senior co-captain Fran Zuniga and partner junior Erica Eisenberg. They posted a season record of 14-2 and earned All-Conference recognition. The 2nd doubles team was seniors Emily Marchais and Mella Tumminello. Mella and Emily had a season record of 10-1 and they also earned All-Conference honors. The Lady Baymen 3rd doubles slot was filled by sophomores Halsey Quinn and Danielle Gianetti. Their season record was 11-0 and both Halsey and Danielle were awarded All-Conference. The 4th doubles team was senior Julie Bouchard and junior Daniela Garcia. Their season record was 13-1 and both Julie and Daniela earned All-Conference status.
Next season looks bright as a group of talented sophomores performed well this season. They are Hannah Kulis, Maria Osypenko, Laura Broffman, Katarina Bifulco, Joelle Lee and Nina Policano.
As if having 11 All-Conference players isn’t impressive enough, the badminton team was also awarded the Scholar/Athlete Team Award. Every season the academic averages of all varsity sports teams are taken collectively and each team whose average is greater than 90 percent is honored with the Scholar/Athlete Team distinction by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA). The badminton team registered the second highest team average of all spring sports with an impressive 95.511 percent academic average.
