Out & About: Harding Triangular

#1 posting 5.5.2008
badminton news & information

HARDING TRIANGULAR
Today the St. Paul Co Champ St. Paul Harding hosted Burnsville and the Minneapolis Co Champ Edison in a triangular. There were some line up maneuverings for Harding in the first match up with Burnsville, but the Knights were at full strength vs their west river rivals. Harding edged Burnsville 4-3, and then swept Edison 7-0.

ST. PAUL HARDING knights 4, BURNSVILLE blaze 3

Harding and Burnsville both had line up changes. Harding moved Stephanie King and Alana Yang up and added Mai Chua Vang and Tiffany Yang at the 3rd and 4th singles. Both usually are on the JV. Burnsville also had new 3rd and 4th singles. Due to a science event next week the 2nd and 3rd singles for the Blaze are done for the year. Also Third doubles for the Blaze changed with Laura Farhart and Molly Jones taking over. Two of the three new Blaze combinations won their events. The tightest match took place at 3rd doubles with Harding prevailing by six points.

FIRST SINGLES
Stephanie King didn't miss a beat moving up from second singles to first with a 21-13, 21-6 win. Ciara Hogenson started off in the lead with two straight points. But the tale of this contest was in the side out %. King in both games checked in with a .800 %. King had a five point run to go up 15-10. Hogenson did close to 17-13. King got the side out and then finished up with three more points with an exclamation point smash to finish.

Hogenson did not score on any serve in game two. King had 8 straight points to go up 10-2 with two aces in the mix. The game was over fairly quickly with King getting two more runs.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS:
King 12/15 .800; Hogenson 5/16-.313
RUNS OF 3+:
King 6, Hogenson 1
POINTS:
King 42
Winners 22: Soft Drives 7, Aces 4, Smashes 4, Drives 2, Clears 2, Drops 2
Hogenson Errors 20: hitting 17 (Net 10, Wide 6, Fan 1), serving 3 (Net 2, Deep 1)
Hogenson 19
Winners: 8: Soft Drives 2, Drives 2, Drops 2, Aces 1, Clears 1
King Errors 11: hitting 10 (Wide 5, Net 4, Deep 1); Serving 1 (net)
Time: 11:55

SINGLES
1. Stephanie King (H) beat Ciara Hogenson 21-13, 21-6
2. Alana Yang (H) beat Bea Soderholm 21-11, 21-14
3. Emily Zhang (B) beat Mai Chua Vang 21-13, 21-12
4. Crystal Collins (B) beat Tiffany Yang 21-9, 21-15
DOUBLES
1. Mai Ngia Xiong/Mor Xiong (H) beat Amy Linblad/Natalie Leiker 21-8, 21-13
2. Lisa Dennnis/Soogin Moon (B) beat Chao Xiong/Chao Xiong/Pa Nhia Vang 23-21, 22-20
3. Gao Thao/Pa Nyia Thao (H) beat Laura Farhart/Molly Jones 21-19, 21-17

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Harding 2-2 .500
Games: Harding 4-4 .500
Points: Harding 133-128 .510
decided by 10+: Harding 2-1 .667
decided by 3-: 0-0
DOUBLES
matches: Harding 2-1 .667
games: Harding 4-2 .667
points: Harding 125-102 .551
decided by 10+: Harding 1-0
decided by 3-: Burnsville 2-1 .667

BURNSVILLE blaze 5, MINNEAPOLIS EDISON tommies 2

Edison took the first two singles spots, but Burnsville took the rest in a 5-2 win. The Edison wins were narrow ones at that. Three of the four games were decided by two points. Emily Zhang and Crystal Collins took their second wins of the day. Zhang needed three games and rallied from 1-0 down. Collins held Candy Camora to single digits both games. Burnsville swept the doubles with only the first game at first doubles going long at 26-24.

FIRST SINGLES
Mai Chu Thao edged Ciara Hogenson in a pair of down to the wire games. Thao had the early advantage at 5-3. Hogenson battled back to go up 9-7 with a five point run. Thao had her own three point run to reclaim the lead including a handcuff drive. The problem was Hogenson couldn't get the side out when Thao serve. Thao gained at least one point on her serve 8 straight times. Thao led 19-16 and then the game shifted to side out mode. Both players traded fans for side outs. Thao took game one 21-18.

Hogenson took the early lead in game one with a run of three. Thao tied it up at six. Hogenson pushed out to 10-6 with a pair of drives on a four point run. Thao closed to 12-11, but Hogenson answered with another three point run to lead 15-11. Thao had a five point run, her first extended run in this game to take a 17-16 lead. Hogenson had the +1 advantage four times, the last coming at 21-20. Thao was able to get three straight side outs to hold off defeat. She tied it at 21 on a smash. She then held her serve and finished the game off with a soft drive 23-21.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS: Thao 16/24-.667; Hogenson 11/25 -.440
RUNS OF 3+: Thao 4, Hogenson 4
POINTS:
Thao 44
Winners 22: Clears 9, Smashes 6, Soft Drives 3, Drives 2, Aces 2
Hogenson Errors 22: hitting 20 (Net 13, Fan 3, wide 3, Deep 1), serving 2 (Deep 1, Wide 1)
Hogenson 39
Winners: 12: Soft Drives 4, Drives 3, Aces 2, Clears 2, Smashes 1
Thao Errors 27: hitting 22 (Net 9, Deep 7, Fan 3, Wide 3); Serving 5 (Deep 3, Wide 1, Net 1)
Time: 16:04

SINGLES
1. Mai Chu Thao (E) beat Ciara Hogenson 21-19, 23-21
2. Pa Nha Xiong (E) beat Bea Soderholm 22-20, 21-16
3. Emily Zhang (B) beat Ly Vang 18-21, 21-17, 21-13
4. Crystal Collins (B) beat Candy Camora 21-9, 21-7
DOUBLES
1. Amy Linblad/Natalie Leiker (B) beat Xia Xiong/Ka Bao Xiong 26-24, 21-14
2. Lisa Dennnis/Soogin Moon (B) beat Kia Vue/Karrie Le 21-9, 21-5
3. Laura Farhart/Molly Jones (B) beat Yer Vue/Brenda Vue 21-15, 21-10

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Burnsville 2-2 .500
Games: Edison 5-4 .556
Points: Burnsville 178-154 .536
decided by 10+: Burnsville 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Edison 4-0 1.000
DOUBLES
matches: Burnsville 3-0 1.000
games: Burnsville 6-0 1.000
points: Burnsville 131-77 .629
decided by 10+: Burnsville 3-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Burnsville 1-0 1.000

ST. PAUL HARDING knights 7, MINNEAPOLIS EDISON tommies 0

Harding swept Edison 7-0 and also swept them 14-10. The closest Edison came to getting a game was the second game at third singles when Ly Vang fell short 21-19. Six of the games Edison didn't get out of single digits.

FIRST SINGLES
Mee Xiong returned to the line up and didn't miss a beat as she limited her errors to only 8 in a 21-7, 21-11 win over Mai Chu Thao. It was Thao's second loss this year.

In game one Xiong jumped off with 8 straight points as five Thao errors helped her cause. The lead soon ballooned to 14-1 and 19-3. A three point run by Thao made little impact as Xiong finished with 5/6 side outs in a 21-7 win.

Xiong trailed 2-1 before reeling off eight straight points to lead 9-2. Six Thao errors propelled Xiong at that stage. Xiong had another long run of 7 later in the game to go up 20-7. Thao held off Xiong for four points before Xiong ended it all on a smash.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS: Xiong 8/12-.667; Thao 5/11-.455
RUNS OF 3+: Xiong 6, Thao 2
POINTS:
Xiong 42
Winners: 17: Soft Drives 5, Smashes 4, Drives 3, Drops 2, Clears 2, Aces 1
Thao Errors 25: hitting 22 (Net 14, Wide 5, Fans 3); Serving 3 (Deep 2, Net 1)
Thao 18
Winners 10: Soft Drives 4, Clears 3, Drives 1, Drops 1, Aces 1
Xiong Errors 8: hitting 4 (Wide 2, Fan 1, Net 1), serving 4 (Deep 3, Wide 1)
Time: 10:03

SINGLES
1. Mee Xiong (H) beat Mai Chu Thao 21-7, 21-11
2. Stephanie King (H) beat Pa Nha Xiong 21-8, 21-9
3. Crystal Yang (H) beat Ly Vang 21-10, 21-19
4. Alana Yang (H) beat Candy Camora 21-6, 21-17
DOUBLES
1. Mai Ngia Xiong/Mor Xiong (H) beat Xia Xiong/Ka Bao Xiong 21-18, 21-6
2. Gao Thao/Pa Nyia Thao (H) beat Kia Vue/Karrie Le 21-10, 21-17
3. Chao Xiong/Boa Vang (H) beat Yer Vue/Brenda Vue 21-9, 21-7

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Harding 4-0 1.000
Games: Harding 8-0 1.000
Points: Harding 168-87 .659
decided by 10+: Harding 5-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Harding 1-0
DOUBLES
matches: Harding 3-0 1.000
games: Harding 6-0 1.000
points: Harding 126-67 .653
decided by 10+: Harding 4-0
decided by 3-: Harding 1-0

Next up: Tomorrow

Out & About: Burnsville Triangular

#1 posting 4.24.2008
badminton news & information

BURNSVILLE TRIANGULAR
Today Burnsville hosted St. Paul Harding and Eden Prairie in a triangular. Harding finished 2-0, Eden Prairie split their contests, and Burnsville lost twice.

This also marked the third time I saw Harding this week (or fourth). The schedule works out like that some times.

MATCH 1:
ST. PAUL HARDING knights 7, BURNSVILLE blaze 0

Harding swept Burnsville 7-0 and the Knights did not lose a game. The closest contest came in the second game at first doubles as Mai Ngia Xiong and Mor Xiong went way beyond the 21 points in a 26-24 marathon win. They trailed when I first started watching 14-10.

FIRST SINGLES
At first singles Mee Xiong after spotting Ciera Hogenson a 2-0 lead had runs on her next four serves in a 21-6 win in game one. In game two it was more of the same as Xiong got into a rhythm. The drop worked for 7 Xiong points in game two.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS:
Xiong 4/7 -.571; Hogenson 2/9-.222
RUNS OF 3+:
Xiong 7, Hogenson 0
POINTS:
Xiong 43* by my count
Winners: 26: Drops 10, Drives 8, Clears 5, Smashes 1, aces 1, soft drives 1
Hogenson Errors 17: hitting 17 (Net 9, Wide 5, Fan 3)
Hogenson 10
Winners 4: Smashes 2, Drives 1, Clears 1
Xiong Errors 6: hitting 5 (Net 3, Wide 1, Deep 1), serving 1 (net 1)
Time: 10:24

SINGLES
1. Mee Xiong (H) beat Ciara Hogenson 21-6, 21-4
2. Stephanie King (H) beat Adrienne Sherman 21-11, 21-10
3. Crystal Yang (H) beat Claire Weiss 21-14, 21-18
4. Alana Yang (H) beat Bea Soderholm 21-11, 21-12
DOUBLES
1. Mai Ngia Xiong/Mor Xiong (H) beat Amy Linblad/Natalie Leiker 21-16, 26-24
2. Gao Thao/Pa Nyia Thao (H) beat Lisa Dennnis/Soogin Moon 21-7, 21-17
3. Chao Xiong/Boa Vang (H) beat Ashley Kolstad/Leah Kolstad 21-15, 21-7

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Harding 4-0 1.000
Games: Harding 8-0 1.000
Points: Harding 168-86 .661
decided by 10+: Harding 5-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Harding 1-0
DOUBLES
matches: Harding 3-0 1.000
games: Harding 6-0 1.000
points: Harding 131-86 .604
decided by 10+: Harding 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Harding 1-0 1.000

MATCH 2:
ST. PAUL HARDING knights 5, EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 2

Harding beat Eden Prairie by taking all matches but the first singles and first doubles. This was a tighter contest than indicated. At third singles Crystal Yang edged out Zyue Chen in two, but it took an extra point in each game to secure the win. Second doubles also had a tight beginning for Gao Thao and Pa Nyia Thao at 21-19.
Eden Prairie took both firsts, but they were contested also. Katie Vohoutka slipped past Mee Xiong at singles with a 22-20 margin in the first game. EP's first doubles duo of Becca Wade and Larysa Eteneuer was the only match that went three games. The Eagles pair won the first game, fell in the second and took the third.

FIRST SINGLES
This was the most interesting of the three singles matches today. Xiong started off with a three point run. Vohnoutka answered right back with a run of three on her own. She added another three run after a Xiong side out to make it 6-4. Xiong took advantage of three errors to take an 11-9 lead. The smash game kicked in for Vohnoutka with three straight points off smashes to make it 15-13. Xiong tied it at 15 and the game was tied three more times, the last at 20. Vohnoutka was on the verge at 20-19, but a shot that sailed wide tied it up at 20. Vohnoutka ended the first game with two straight smashes.

The EP Senior used that momentum to launch game two with five straight points (again with three smashes). The Side out game was controlled by Vohnoutka .750 in this game. She also had two more runs. Xiong got close with a five point run to make it 12-10. Most were hitting errors on drop attempts or smash attempts by Vohnoutka. Xiong served deep and the momentum shifted back to Vohnoutka. She had an 8-3 run to finish.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS:
Vohnoutka 12/20 .600; Xiong 8/20-.400
RUNS OF 3+:
Vohnoutka 6, Xiong 3
POINTS:
Vohnoutka 43
Winners 27: Smashes 18, Clears 6, Drops 1, Soft Drives 1, Drives 1
Xiong Errors 16: hitting 14 (Net 6, Wide 3, Deep 3, Fans 2), serving 2 (Deep 2)
Xiong 33
Winners: 12: Drives 5, Smashes 2, Clears 2, Soft Drives 1, Aces 1, Drops 1
Vohnoutka Errors 21: hitting 21 (Net 11, Wide 5, Deep 3, Fan 2)
Time: 14:40

SINGLES
1. Katie Vohnoutka (EP) beat Mee Xiong 22-20, 21-13
2. Stephanie King (H) beat Nicky Wade 21-16, 21-8
3. Crystal Yang (H) beat Zyue Chen 22-20, 22-20
4. Alana Yang (H) beat Janet Stewart 21-12, 21-7
DOUBLES
1. Becca Wade/Larysa Eteneuer (EP) beat Mai Ngia Xiong/Mor Xiong (H) 21-7, 16-21, 21-15
2. Gao Thao/Pa Nyia Thao (H) beat Samantha Klemp/Heather Blake 21-19, 21-12
3. Chao Xiong/Boa Vang (H) beat Cailin Hawkins/Victoria Phoung 21-11, 21-15

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Harding 3-1 .750
Games: Harding 6-2 .750
Points: Harding 161-126 .561
decided by 10+: Harding 2-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Harding 2-1 .667
DOUBLES
matches: Harding 2-1 .667
games: Harding 5-2 .714
points: Harding 127-115 .525
decided by 10+: Eden Prairie 1-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Harding 1-0 1.000

MATCH 3
EDEN PRAIRIE eagles 7, BURNSVILLE blaze 0

Eden Prairie swept host Burnsville in the final match 7-0. The tightest contests came at doubles with EP's 2nd doubles Samantha Klemp and Heather Blake dropping the first game before bouncing back and winning the next two; and Cailin Hawkins and Victoria Phoung pulling the same trick at third doubles. They needed to go extra points in game two to tie it up.

FIRST SINGLES
Vohnoutka broke free from a 7-5 game with a 12-0 run in game one. Once again the smash was working as the EP senior had 9 for the first game.

Vohnoutka controlled the side out game in game two. She did not have such a massive run in game two, and the smashes weren't as frequent, but the results were similar. Her biggest run was a six point margin taking her from an 11-7 lead to 17-7. The Smash did return for the final point.

FIRST SINGLES NUMBERS
SIDEOUTS:
Vohnoutka 12/15-.800; Hogenson 6/15-.400
RUNS OF 3+:
Vohnoutka 5, Hogenson 1
POINTS:
Vohnoutka 42
Winners 22: Smashes 14, Drives 5, Clears 2, Soft Drives 1
Hogenson Errors 20: hitting 17 (Net 8, Wides 6, Deep 2, Fan 1), serving 3 (Deep 2, Net 1)
Hogenson 18
Winners: 5: Clears 2, Drops 2, Smashes 1
Vohnoutka Errors 13: hitting 12 (Deep 5, Net 4, Wide 3); Serving 1 (wide)
Time: 11:10

SINGLES
1. Katie Vohnoutka (EP) beat Ciara Hogenson 21-7, 21-11
2. Nicky Wade (EP) beat Adrienne Sherman 21-14, 21-19
3. Zyue Chen (EP) beat Claire Weiss 21-17, 21-14
4. Janet Stewart (EP) beat Bea Soderholm 21-13, 21-13
DOUBLES
1. Becca Wade/Larysa Eteneuer (EP) beat Amy Linblad/Natalie Leiker 21-14, 21-14
2. Samantha Klemp/Heather Blake (EP) beat Lisa Dennnis/Soogin Moon 18-21, 21-18, 21-14
3. Cailin Hawkins/Victoria Phoung (EP) beat Ashley Kolstad/Leah Kolstad 13-21, 23-21, 21-8

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: Eden Prairie 4-0 1.000
Games: Eden Prairie 8-0 1.000
Points: Eden Prairie 168-108 .609
decided by 10+: Eden Prairie 1-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Eden Prairie 1-0 1.000
DOUBLES
matches: Eden Prairie 3-0 1.000
games: Eden Prairie 6-2 .750
points: Eden Prairie 159-131 .548
decided by 10+: Eden Prairie 1-0 1.000
decided by 3-: Eden Prairie 2-1 .667

Next up: tomorrow

Burnsville's Week

#1 posting 3.22.2008
badminton news & information

BURNSVILLE'S WEEK
The Savage Pacer has more on the Burnsville week with the opening loss to Como Park followed by the win over Arlington on Wednesday.

The Thisweek paper talks about the on-the-job training for this year's crop of players. Only three returning players have varsity experience.

Next up: tomorrow?

Out & About: Burnsville/St. Paul Arlington

#2 posting 3.19.2008
badminton news & information

BURNSVILLE blaze 5
ST. PAUL ARLINGTON phoenix 2

Burnsville swept the doubles and took two singles matches in a 5-2 non conference win over St. Paul Arlington. The win that put the Blaze over the top came at third doubles, with second doubles coming in later. The doubles contests were tight, but Burnsville pulled away in games three with margins greater than 10 in second and third doubles.

FIRST SINGLES
This contest went back and forth but Novia Josiah prevailed over Ciara Hogenson in two tight sets 21-18, 21-16. Hogenson led in game one 9-7 after three straight points. Josiah tied it at 10. Hogenson got the side out with a smash for point 11 and added a Josiah hitting error for point 12. Hogenson last lead came at 14-12. Josiah ran off three straight to take the lead with a clear/drop/clear sequence. Hogenson tied it on a Josiah hitting error. The game was tied at 17 when Josiah broke away with a drive to the right sideline followed by two Hogenson hitting errors into the net. Josiah fanned on game point, but got it on another Hogenson hitting error into the net.

Game two had a few more runs. Hogenson led 6-3 with four straight points, 3 on Josiah errors. The second game had more service errors with three total. Hogenson kept the lead until at 9-8 Josiah ran off four straight points, all Hogenson hitting errors. Hogenson tied it at 14 on three straight drives. Josiah finished the game off with a 7-2 run as she was able to squeeze points off her serve while getting the side out on Hogenson's serve.

Yesterday the two set match lasted about 8 minutes. today that was the length of the first game. Overall the match lasted a healthy 17:28.

SIDEOUTS: Josiah 18/24-.750; Hogenson 12/25-.480
SERVE RUNS: Josiah 3, Hogenson 3
POINTS:
Josiah 42
Winners: 25: Drives 13, Clears 6, Drops 3, Smashes 2, Ace 1
Hogenson Errors 17: hitting 16 (Net 12, fan 2, wide 2); serving 1 (wide 1)
Hogenson 34
Winners 21: Drives 11, Smashes 7, Drops 2, Clears 1
Josiah Errors 13: hitting 10 (wide 6, net 2, fan 2), serving 3 (wide 2, net 1)
Time: 17:28

After that match I watched the third game of second doubles. At that point the match it was tied up and Burnsville needed one more win for the victory. The Blaze pair of Lisa Dennis and Soogin Moon established control early on with three straight points thanks to Arlington errors. The lead mushroomed from 3-1 to 14-4 after five Burnsville services. The last was a six point service run with five coming on Arlington errors (three of which were fans). The two split after that 5-5. I only had 19 points at the end for Burnsville.
The same problem as last year--not saying the score loud enough or not being aware of the score is still around.

SINGLES
1. Novia Josiah (A) beat Ciara Hogenson 21-18, 21-16
2. Adrienne Sherman (B) beat Pahoua Yang 21-16, 21-11
3. Claire Weiss (B) beat Kazoua Yang 21-8, 21-15
4. Lee Yang (A) beat Bea Soderholm 21-15, 13-21, 22-20
DOUBLES
1. Amy Lindblad/Natalie Leiker (B) beat Cha Her/Kia Her 21-18, 21-19
2. Lisa Dennis/Soogin Moon (B) beat Nancy Vang/Zee Lue Xiong 23-25, 21-17, 21-9
3. Leah Kolstad/Ashley Kolstad (B) beat Wendy Moua/Hayat Ahmed 20-22, 21-12, 21-8

BY THE NUMBERS
SINGLES
Matches: 2-2
Games: Burnsville 5-4 .556
Points: Burnsville 174-148 .540
decided by 10+: Burnsville 2-0 1.000
decided by 3 or less: St. Paul Arlington 2-0 1.000
DOUBLES
matches: Burnsville 3-0 1.000
games: Burnsville 6-2 .750
points: Burnsville 169-130 .565
decided by 10+: Burnsville 2-0 1.000
decided by 3: 2-2

Next up: Tomorrow morning