Desjardins finish in top eight at OFSAA

It was a good run while it lasted.
It took two of the top three ranked teams in the province to sideline Simone and Natalie Desjardins at the all-Ontario badminton showdown in Milton last week as the Muskie sister duo posted a 2-2 record to finish in the top eight of the girls’ doubles division.
“The girls played really well, and the experience the girls got from this will be important for next year,” said Muskie senior coach Manami Alexander.
“Their performance this year means that they will be one of the seeded teams next year if they make all-Ontarios again,” she added.
An encore may not be in the offing, though, as Simone stated during practice for the all-Ontarios last week that she would prefer a return to singles action, in which she had qualified for OFSAA last year.
At the same time, Natalie voiced her desire to participate in mixed doubles play with partner Jason Pattison, which was the original plan for this year until Pattison broke his wrist during the Fort Frances Badminton Club’s open tournament.
The fact Simone (Grade 10) and Natalie (Grade 9) were one of the youngest teams at the all-Ontarios didn’t deter them from winning their first two matches last Thursday, both in two-game sweeps.
But they faced a monumental task in Friday’s quarter-final round against the No. 2-ranked team of Jennifer and Lorraine Lepere from St. Paul High School (Toronto)—the eventual silver medallists.
A 2-0 loss to the Lepere duo put the Desjardins into the ‘A’-event double elimination pool, where they next drew the third-ranked team of Bonnie Lam and Janica Chan from Riverdale Collegiate Institute (Toronto).
Pouring everything they had into the first game, the Desjardins almost pulled off the upset before being edged 17-16. Lam and Chan then brought their ‘A-game’ in the second one, brushing aside the Muskie pair 15-1.
“[The Desjardins] played really well in the first game, but [Lam and Chan] analyzed Simone and Natalie’s game, and in the second, our girls couldn’t figure out how to push them any further,” noted Alexander.