Blazers badminton wins four consecutive championships

In her 14th season with the Notre Dame Preparatory School badminton program, Head Coach Therese Maguire knew her team of 25 was going to be strong – but strong enough to capture another championship?

Indeed, the 2008 Blazers were strong enough, deep enough and talented enough to pull off yet another championship title, the Towson team’s fourth consecutive.

The seniors, who offer strong leadership, occupied five starting positions and helped guide the team to a 12-1 overall record with their lone loss to The Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore.

The team, led by its No. 1 doubles team of seniors Sam Constantine and Katie Hershner, also walked away with IAAM title honors on May 2 at Garrison Forest School, Owings Mills, after the dynamic duo defeated Stephanie Martin and Sarah Mohan from Institute of Notre Dame, Baltimore, in two games.

It was the perfect ending for Constantine and Hershner, who’ve been playing doubles together since their freshman season. Last year, Constantine and Hershner were runners-up to Friends School of Baltimore’s Eva Trust and Emily Carabelas. This year, with one final stab at a title honor, the top doubles team was not going to be denied.

“I think it was having a strategy,” said Constantine, who will attend Towson University in the fall. “We know what we want to do and how to place shots.”

The No. 2 doubles team of Karlie Hartman and Jess Liu are also four-year varsity players and display a quiet, yet strong leadership for the team.

Carly Sommerville, Rebecca Gutherie and Lindsay Ercole anchored singles play.

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