Badminton International in Wisconsin
As befits the international and new Olympic sport of indoor badminton, the 4th annual Brooks’ Badminton Bash has a distinctively international cast, albeit with plenty of local color. Held on 21 January 1989, and again hosted by the University of Wisconsin Badminton Club, the tournament drew 50 participants from round the globe. While it must be admitted that they did not come to Madison just for this competition (some acknowledged that they also attend classes), the prospect of well-played badminton always seems to draw a crowd, and local players delight in meeting and competing with skilled and gracious foreign-born athletes. This year’s draw was impressively international. Three of the Open Singles semi-finalists hailed from abroad: Yang Rong from China, Ongkowijoyo Onggowarsito from Java, and Marcel Husson from Denmark. The Womens competition was dominated by 15 year old Victoria Watson, a visiting student from New Zealand, and if accents are to be believed, there were a few Brits (by birth at least) as well. Much to the delight of both, Thai UW student Duangkamol Chartprasert was to have been paired with local Thai Apichai Kookasemkit, until Chai was felled by leg cramps in the Open Doubles.
A full draw of 16 in Open Singles lead off the day’s matches. Two erstwhile UWBC regulars, Marcel Husson and David Brenneis, were paired in the lower half of the A semis, with Brenneis winning 15-9, 15-9. The upper half of the draw proved the strongest as eventual champion Yang Rong tangled with a determined Onggowarsito and, drenched with sweat, emerged with a very close 17-14, 15-12 win. In the finals, Rong has less difficulty (15-10, 15-1) with at-home-from-college Junior Brenneis who had competed in crew not badminton while away. The B level competition was beautifully evenly matched with contests going 3 games. When the dust finally settled, Tony Rattarangsi had outlasted Michael Rousse 10-15, 15-8, 15-10.
In the womens events, Vicki Watson rode to the top of her competition. In the Singles, she was only slightly tested in the finals by Mary Saecker, 11-7, 11-1. Paired with Saecker in the Doubles, they coasted into the finals but there found stiff resistance in the Chicago team of Sharon Robertson and Karen Taylor, winning 8-15, 15-2, 15-13. It was a real treat to see youngsters Jeremy Glomb and Kris Taylor play hard and well in the Doubles and the Mixed.
A pair of juniors, Watson and Brenneis, gave their seniors a few lessons in the Mixed Doubles as they made their way through the draw with seemingly little difficulty, besting Judith Maiyor and Al Lee 15-7, 15-7 in the finals. The Mixed included 4 pairs of mothers and sons, 2 of whom were champions – Susan and John Cartlidge in the Cs and Nancy and Dan Hayes in the Ds.
One could see the final match-up in Open Doubles coming. Unless there was an upset, A and B Singles champions Rong and Rattarangsi were going to be matched against the A and B runners-up Brenneis and Rousse. The former were tested by Steve Engle and Chai Kookasemkit in the semis (15-6, 15-13) while the latter were pushed by Al Law and Sammi Lee (15-8, 15-11) in the other semi. The tide shifted radically in the first two games, for Brenneis/Rousse 15-7 then for Rong/ Ranttarangsi 15-4, but the deciding game was a barn-burner. Behind 10-13, Brenneis/Rousse drew even at 13, and with the games set, they closed out the victory, 18-14, to win a measure of revenge. The victors capitalized on good net play, smash potential, and smash defense from both partners. It was the kind of contest one likes to show-case for an A finals match.
A well-run tournament depends on the efforts of many, often anonymous volunteers. The director would like to thank publicly Paul Malischke, Michael Rousse, Lor Thao, Fred Coleman, Sara Brenneis, and Pat Fox without whose help the tourney would not have been such a “smashing” success.
RESULTS:
OPEN SNGLES
A Rong def. Brenneis (15-10, 15-1)
B Rattarangsi def. Rousse (10-15, 15-8, 15-10)
C Coleman def. Cartlidge (16-18, 15-9, 15-3)
D Fox def. Wong (15-11, 15-4)
Womens/Jrs Singles
A Watson def. Saecker (11-7, 11-1)
Consol Shallcross def. D. Hayes (11-12, 11-2, 11-3)
Open Doubles
A Brenneis/Rousse def. Rong/Rattarangsi (15-7, 4-15, 18-14)
B Law/Lee def. Bauer/Chin (15-10, 15-11)
C Melendrez/Husson def. Cartlidge/Fox (15-11, 17-16)
D Thao/Ferber def. Knapp/Watkins (15-11, 15-10)
Womens/Jrs Doubles
A Watson/Saecker def. Taylor/Robertson (8-15, 15-2, 15-13)
Consol Gozdowiak/Blandino def. Unat/Mastricola (15-8, 15-7)
Mixed Doubles
A Watson/Brenneis def. Maiyor/Law (15-7, 15-7)
B Woodruff/Erhorn def. Unat/Thao (15-0, 15-2)
C Cartlidge/Cartlidge def. Engle/Chartprasert (15-6, 15-10)