Staff
Fort High birders had a dominant day in Kenora at the NorWOSSA championships yesterday (April 21).
Every local entry advanced to Monday’s NWOSSAA championships in Atikokan, where the senior players will battle for a chance to represent the region at OFSAA in Stratford from May 5-8.
Rory Bagacki won every set he played in the boys’ singles division, knocking off Dryden 1 by a score of 2-0 (21-8, 21-15), Dryden 2 by a 2-0 (21-7, 21-10) final, Thomas Aquinas 2-0 (21-9, 21-8), Beaver Brae 2-0 (21-14, 21-14) and Red Lake 2-0 (21-10, 21-11).
Both senior girls’ doubles teams also made it through, as Kimika Alexander and Chelsea Carlson topped the division, while Hannah Taylor and Jillian Berry finished second.
Alexander and Carlson defeated Taylor and Berry 2-0 (21-11, 21-13), and got past Dryden 2-0 (21-13, 21-15), Red Lake 2-0 (21-10, 21-6) and Beaver Brae 2-0 (21-3, 21-11).
Taylor and Berry, meanwhile, rebounded from the loss to their schoolmates by downing Dryden 2-0 (21-15, 23-21), Beaver Brae 2-0 (21-5, 21-6) and Red Lake 2-0 (21-4, 21-9).
The senior boys’ doubles squad won a heavily-contested division.
Robert Stevens and Spencer Pearse won all five of their matches, though some came by the slimmed of margins.
The duo dispatched Dryden 2-1 (19-21, 21-12, 21-17), Atikokan 2-0 (21-17, 21-12), Beaver Brae 2-1 (21-17, 20-22, 21-19), Red Lake 1 by a 2-1 (22-24, 21-14, 21-18) score and Red Lake 2 by a 2-0 (21-9, 21-14) final.
On the junior side, the boys’ doubles team of Andre Emond and Bryson Skirten won all five of their matches.
The pair got past Dryden 2-1 (14-21, 22-20, 21-8), Atikokan 2-0 (21-13, 21-12), Beaver Brae 2-0 (21-16, 21-11), Thomas Aquinas 2-0 (27-25, 21-13) and Rainy River 2-0 (21-19, 21-8).
Lastly, Cassandra Spade won every set she played in the junior girls’ singles division en route to advancing.
Spade downed Dryden 1 by a 2-0 (21-17, 21-14) score, Dryden 2 by a 2-0 (21-9, 21-14) final, Thomas Aquinas 1 with a 2-0 (22-20, 21-14) result, Thomas Aquinas 2 with a 2-0 (21-16, 21-17) posting, and Red Lake 2-0 (21-12, 21-12).
