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BY SETH GREEN

In print | February 21, 2008

Swarthmore Badminton triumphed over Haverford College on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

For those of you who have never attended a Badminton match, perhaps a few words about the sport are in order.

A badminton match is, in many ways, strikingly different from other athletic events. There are no referees or line judges, so players are relied on to make close calls. As a result, as Kim Kramer ’10 points out, players are very honest and easy-going.

In contrast to other sporting events, badminton players extend exceptional levels of cordiality and camaraderie across the net to their opponents. A match between Cole Armstrong ’10 and Alex Warres of Haverford was peppered with remarks like “nice shot” after a well-placed return.

Kramer thinks this is partly explained by the lack of physical contact. Badminton matches are quiet, with little to be heard other than whizzing shuttlecocks and casual sideline conversation. Though matches themselves are intense, the atmosphere surrounding them is peaceful.

The role of the coaches is very different than in other sports as well. According to Armstrong, Swarthmore coach Bhavin Parikh tends to be hands-off during matches, giving pointers when necessary, but typically saving most instruction for practices.

Badminton games are played to 21 points, and a match is won by taking two out of three games. A team can only earn a point on its own serve, and the serve goes to whoever won the previous point. There are singles and doubles matches, with slight rules changes accordingly.

At Swarthmore, only women’s badminton is varsity; when men do play women, it is counted as an exhibition match, with the women earning the default win.

This is often the case, as it was on Tuesday night, since Robert Manduca ‘10 and Armstrong were the only players on the men’s team, and Haverford came to the Lamb Miller Field House with four men in tow.

The lack of men on the team is difficult, Manduca said, because he and Cole play against each other a lot. They play at “about the same level,” and it is difficult to move forward because of the lack of variety in their practicing environment. Most of the men they play, Manduca said, “are really, really good.” Still, he won both matches on Tuesday, a result with which he was very pleased.

When asked for comment, Armstrong said, “I have to get back to the court now.” It’s a good thing he did, because Armstrong won both matches easily, dominating by scores of 21-3 and 21-5. Unfortunately for the Garnet, since he was playing a woman, the win ultimately went to Haverford. “In other words,” Xiang said, though Armstrong appeared to be dominating, “he is actually losing.”

Armstrong said that though this particular match was not competitive, he finds that closer matches can get very intense, even if they are just exhibitions.

The character of a match largely depends on the players in it, for as Armstrong said, “Pressure on us comes from ourselves, not outside sources.”

Kim Kramer ’10, who won both of her sets, said the team has been doing “more footwork recently, [which] was helping.” Though it was “really hard,” Kramer noticed a difference.

The work focused on making the steps of a match automatic and increasing agility, and the hard practice definitely appears to be paying off in the team’s matches.

At the moment, Kramer is ranked in the top 20 in women’s badminton in the country (among adults, not collegiate players). Though she added the caveat that ranking is dependent on attending specified ranking tournaments, she is still one of the most competitive players in the nation.

Kramer is excited for National Collegiate Championships, which will be hosted by Swarthmore from March 21-23.

If you have never been to a badminton match, Kramer recommends going to this one, as the quality of play, especially in the final stages, should prove to be excellent and exciting.

Highly competitive teams like UC Berkeley and Stanford University will be attending, and many of the nation’s top ranked players will compete.

Patricia Kelly ‘08 is greatly anticipating Nationals. "That’s what we look forward to. It’s going to be amazing," she said.

A year ago, Kramer was the women’s singles champion at the 2007 Northeast Collegiate Badminton Tournament; perhaps similar success awaits her, as well as standout Maithili Paraikh ‘11, at this year’s competion.

Alice Xiang ’10 calls the team “really supportive.” This is essential on a team that is comprised of people of many different skill levels. Alice started as a first-year and it helped her to have a supportive network.

This network has helped greatly in the development of a strong core for Swarthmore’s new and improving badminton team.

Editor’s Note: Robert Manduca is Photo Editor of The Phoenix but had no role in the production of this article.

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