BRYN MAWR, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr badminton program welcomed Swarthmore and Haverford to the Class of 1958 Gymnasium for a Tri-College tournament. During competition, Bryn Mawr and Haverford competed as a team against Swarthmore. Additional excitement arose when Swarthmore only brought two female players, which resulted in the Bryn Mawr women's doubles teams competing against Swarthmore's men's and mixed doubles teams. The matches were tight, but Swarthmore ultimately took home the win 8-7.
Bryn Mawr's Sarah Gao competed in both the men's first singles and men's second doubles to earn a win in both matches. In her singles match, Gao competed against Koyo Asakawa (21-18, 21-14). In men's doubles, Gao teamed up with Haverford Sherry Sun to compete against Koyo Asakawa and Reishiro Kawakami (21-14, 21-17).
Catherine Fu (Bryn Mawr) played in both women's first doubles and second mixed doubles. First competing in women's doubles, Fu teamed up with fellow Owl Jacqueline Liu, but Swarthmore took the win (22-20, 21-14). Next, Fu competed alongside another fellow Owl Cordelia Li for mixed doubles, playing another close match, but this time grabbing the win (21-16, 14-21, 21-14).
Jenny Jiang competed in both the second and third women's doubles, pairing with a Bryn Mawr athlete in both matches. Jiang and Celeste Bloom won the first game at second doubles (21-19) but were unable to close out the second game. Swarthmore won in the third game (19-21, 23-21, 21-10). At third doubles, Jiang competed with Natalie Ariza, but the Owls fell in two sets (21-10, 21-6).
Tied 7-7, Christine Wang and Tina Zhao closed out the Owls' matches at third mixed doubles. Competing as a women's doubles team, the match was a tough one, but Swarthmore inched out the win in two games (21-10, 21-15) and won the day 8-7.
Multiple Bryn Mawr badminton athletes had great feedback about the day:
- "It was great being able to play and meet other people in the TriCo who care about badminton. We also hope to see many of them during Main Line Doubles, a tournament we host annually."
- "It was a good opportunity to play with trico to have more experience of badminton games!"
- "I hope in the future I can get more games with other colleges as well."
The Owls will return on February 25th at 12:00 P.M. to host their annual Main Line Doubles tournament in the Class of 1958 Gymnasium.
