Harding wins third straight badminton championship

When St. Paul Harding won the St. Paul City Conference badminton tournament last week, coach Tracy Hrouda was a bit perplexed. She couldn't figure out how a team that had only one player in the finals could finish first.

By the time the Knights won their third consecutive state championship on Wednesday at Burnsville High School under similar circumstances, Hrouda already had her answer.

"We're just a good team,'' she said.

The Knights beat Eden Prairie 5-2 in the finals for their seventh state title in the past eight years. No. 2 seed St. Paul Johnson beat St. Paul Central in the third-place game.

Central did not win No. 1 singles or No. 1 doubles, but carried the rest of the matches. Stephanie King, Crystal Yang and Alma Yang won their singles matches, and the teams of Gao Thaog and Kazoua and Chao Xiong and PaNhia Vang captured their doubles matches.

St. Paul Johnson was the only team to defeat Harding during the regular season. Eden Prairie coach John Becker was "pleasantly surprised" when his team beat Johnson after losing twice to the Governors during the regular season.

"I knew if we played our best we had a chance,'' Becker said. "I didn't think we played that well when we lost to them. This was the same setup as last year. We were the third seed and beat Johnson in the semifinals.

"Now it's just getting over the hump that is Harding.''

The Knights will lose seven seniors to graduation, but Hrouda figures to have a large talent pool to choose from. Seventy-two girls participated in badminton at Harding this season, enough to field a varsity and junior varsity team.

"Fifty girls just played for fun,'' Hrouda said.

It's a good bet 72 had fun.