Muskies off to badminton finals

After competing in the regional qualifier in Atikokan on Wednesday, more than half of the Muskie badminton squad will move on to the finals.
“It went well, it went very well,” noted Fort High teacher Greg Ste. Croix, the badminton athletic director.
“It was a different result from what I expected,” added coach Manami Alexander. “I thought the junior teams didn’t do as well as they did in the exhibition tournament.
“Everyone did very well but it was a lack of tournament experience, I guess,” she said.
Out of the 22 badminton players who got on the bus to Atikokan Wednesday morning, 13 will be heading to Kenora next week for the NorWOSSA finals.
They include:
•Sandra Ruttan/Kim Murray (junior girls’ doubles);
•Adrian Bondett (senior boys’ singles);
•Tyson Storkson/Matt Armstrong (senior boys’ doubles);
•Jamie Booth/Siobhan Devlin (senior mixed doubles);
•Chantel Shine and Tara Svoboda (seniors girls’ singles); and
•Ashley Dyson/Ann Phung and Jennifer Lawson/Sarah Paterson (senior girls’ doubles).
During Wednesday’s qualifier, the Muskies faced off against opponents from Rainy River, Atikokan, Whitefish Bay, and Ignace high schools, with the top three in each division advancing to Kenora on April 18.
The top two finishers at the NorWOSSA tournament will qualify for the NWOSSAA tourney April 25 (also in Kenora) in a bid to represent the region at the all-Ontarios.