When your team enters as top seeds, expectations are understandably high.

The Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School Lakers badminton team nearly had all their players enter the Muskoka-Parry Sound badminton tournament as top seeds, with just a few exceptions.

They were led by strong performances by the senior squad with three firsts, a second place and a third on their way to a fourth consecutive senior team Muskoka-Parry Sound badminton championship hosted by St. Dominic Catholic Secondary School (SDCSS) on April 10.

Lakers coach Michael Quemby said there is added pressure with being the favourite.

“I’m proud for the kids. They all came through. It’s one thing to be ranked number one, but it adds more pressure to you and you have to live up to that,” he said. “I’m very proud of them all for maintaining their cool and playing their game.”

He knew he had a formidable squad to start the tournament, but was impressed by the sportsmanlike attitude of his players as mentioned by a few opposing teams. They lauded his players on how they praised others during match play.

The MPS men’s doubles final was anti-climatic in a good way for Quemby who saw his McLean Brownlee and Derek Janssen team take the game by forfeit against fellow Lakers Bruce Burdett and Kenny Cunningham for a one-two finish.

The two teams traded partners for a fun match after Brownlee and Janssen took the first match.

The senior girls doubles team of Rachel DeCaire and Mara Goodyear lost their opening match against Huntsville High School Hoyas, but strung together consecutive wins, even finding vindication against the Hoyas team of Olivia Ross and Chelsea Babb for the MPS title.

They were a complementary pair from the very start, even though they are separated by a few years, Quemby said of his ladies team. The two work well together and are a “contrast of players,” he said.

“Mara is very calm and cool, relaxed. Rachel runs all over the place and gets everything,” he said.

The top-seeded mixed doubles team of Jacob Schandlen and Serena Deketele dominated their opponents in MPS, even though both players had to make adjustments leading up to the tournament.

Schandlen was a singles player while Deketele was on a ladies doubles team the previous year. Deketele, a strong player in ladies doubles, had challenges staying up front, a position traditionally held by girls on the mixed teams. Schandlen also had his challenges making the switch to doubles from singles with a tendency to hit cross-court. It was a hard habit to break.

Rounding out the result was Michelle Monk who captured third place for ladies singles.

The juniors, who were depleted since several played among the seniors, did not perform as well and finished in third at the junior MPS tournament hosted a few days later at SDCSS on April 15.

It was highlighted, though, by Rylen Boyd’s second place in men’s singles.

“We just tried him at singles and he just blew us away with his coachability. He really listened to everything that was told to him and put it into effect immediately,” said Quemby. “His game improved so much just through that and he’s a very determined young man.”

Boyd had made the switch to singles from doubles, but could not accept the berth to GBSSA because of teachers’ nomination to a leadership camp on the same day as the tournament.

The men’s doubles team of Adam Schandlen and Grant Moss fell short of first with a second-place finish when the team lost its focus.

Quemby added much of the credit is owed to the long-standing help from former competitive player Curt Hillman. He has been a part of the coaching staff for more than eight years.

Additional coaching and playing experience came from the local Nighthawks Badminton Club run by Warren Brownlee.

Quemby said next year the team looks good. Three Grade 9 students — Goodyear, Burdett and Cunningham — are expected to play again. He said the coaching staff put them into the seniors to give them an opportunity to play in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships, believing the three are good enough to play at that level. Juniors are exempt from the all-provincial competitions.

The coach knows his team earned this title because of skill, but most importantly, for the collaborative atmosphere the players have adopted that influenced the strong badminton culture at the school for the strong team.

Despite the results, Quemby was really happy with the newer players to the team who discovered their enjoyment for the sport, even though they were nervous about competition.

“It’s all about having fun. We wanted everyone to go out and enjoy themselves and they did,” he said.