Freshman Kollipara Wins State Badminton Title

The youngest competitor at the state badminton finals on Saturday at Downers Grove North High School came away with arguably the biggest prize.

Latin's Karishma Kollipara won the state singles title. She is only the second Chicago student to do so and the third freshman in the history of the Illinois competition.

She turns 14 in June.

In only her third year of competitive badminton play and her first Illinois High School Association badminton event, Karishma had no idea how well she would do in the state qualifying sectionals round the previous week. She won. But the state meet added more unknowns--a larger roomful of competitors she had never seen in competition.

After the first day of state competition on Friday, Karishma had won her three matches, giving up a total of 8 points in the process.

On Saturday, eight players were left in the competition, including the top seeded defending champion, Iliana Nikova of Maine East, and two other players seeded in the top 10.

But Iliana and one of the other top 10 players fell in the quarterfinal round. And when only four players were left to vie for the state title, three of them, including Karishma, had been in the Hinsdale South sectional and Karishma already had seen them play.

After winning a relatively tough semifinal match against Leah Witkov of Downers Grove South, Karishma's title match came down to a rematch of the sectional final: Karishma faced Amy Pauly of Hinsdale South. Amy had taken out the seventh seeded Saori Nakagawa of Schaumburg in the semis, a game after Saori had ousted Iliana.

And the finals rematch was even more decisive than the sectional final had been. Karishma won 11-5, 11-2.

So Latin, a school without a badminton team, will add a state badminton championship banner to the walls of Field Gym.

A fitting place? Maybe next to that of another young Latin athlete who dominated the court, Laura Granville, Class of 1999, who won the state tennis championship in 1996 as a sophomore.

Karishma's Road to the State Title:

Winner of the Hinsdale South sectional, May 5, 2005
(see previous story in Latin Today)

State tournament, May 13 and 14, Downers Grove North:

Friday's results:
1st Round: def. Blaire Hufford, Glenbard North, 11-3, 11-0.
2nd Round: def. Cori Dionisio, Hinsdale South, 11-2, 11-0.
3rd Round: def. Emily Sawin, Lincoln-Way Central, 11-1, 11-2.

Saturday's results:
Quarterfinals: def. Stephanie Miarecki, Lincoln-Way East, 11-7, 11-0.
Semifinals: def. Leah Witkov, Downers Grove South, 11-2, 5-11, 11-4.
Finals: def. Amy Pauly, Hinsdale South, 11-5, 11-2.

© 2005 The Latin School of Chicago