Kayla Wu helps Great Neck South girls badminton claim back-to-back LI titles
Great Neck South girls badminton players, from left, Emilia Chiu, Bernice Wong, Sarah Hao, Shuhang Xia and Kayla Wu pose for pictures after their 7-0 win over Ward Melville in the Long Island Championship at Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School on Thursday, June 1, 2023. Credit: James Escher
Great Neck South defeated their county champion counterparts, Ward Melville, 7-0, in the Long Island girls badminton championship on Thursday June 1 at Plainview Old Bethpage-JFK middle school.
Great Neck South’s dominance throughout the season remained undeterred as they took all but one match in straight sets, claiming back-to-back championship titles. First singles was a heavyweight matchup between Nassau’s individual tournament champion Kayla Wu and Suffolk’s individual tournament champion Delaney Hart that Wu took with ease, winning in straight sets 21-6, 21-10.
“I definitely felt the pressure to win again,” Wu said, “I wasn’t getting many quality shots in the beginning of my match, but as I got the ball rolling, I got more confident, and my hands stopped shaking.”
Great Neck South has won both Long Island girls badminton championships since it was reintroduced last year. Despite pressure to repeat, they’ve been prepared for this moment.
“We start practice sitting down in a circle and [my girls] share techniques with each other on how they focus on the court,” Great Neck South coach Allison Gottfried said. “Our attention to mental toughness throughout the season put everyone in the right frame of mind to perform at their best level today.”