Birdies flew back and forth over the courts of the Student Recreation Center on Friday and Saturday.

Eastern hosted the girls Illinois High School Association state badminton tournament this past weekend.

High schools from around Illinois brought teams and individuals to compete in the singles and doubles championship tournaments.

Players, coaches, parents and spectators filled the Rec Center.

Carl Sandburg High School, in Orland Park, Ill., won the team championship.

Mari Georgiadis of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. won the individual championship.

Maggi Van Grondelle and Tomoyo Tsurumi of Palatine High School won the doubles championship.

Angela Wu, a freshman from Fremd High School in Palatine, Ill., said she got involved in badminton because her father plays. Wu described her father as a recreational player, who plays at a high level.

The key to winning at the state badminton championships is mental toughness, Wu said.

“The person who keeps calm usually will win the match and play their best,” said Wu.

According to Breanne Vergonet, a junior from Oswego High School, all of the matches at the state tournament are very competitive.

“You never really know who’s going to win each match,” Vergonet said. “The seeds don’t really mean anything at the state level because everyone’s so good.”

Many tournament matches were played at the same time the players were asked to call ins and outs on their opponents’ hits that came close to the line.

This was done until the third- and first-place matches in both singles and doubles. During those matches, officials and line judges were used to call the game.

Stacey Lambert, IHSA assistant executive director, was in charge of the badminton state tournament. Lambert said players were expected to be fair and honest when making calls.

“Badminton is like golf or tennis in that it is based on the integrity of the players,” Lambert said. “We rely on our players to do the right thing in making those calls.”

Lambert also said three officials from USA Badminton roamed the courts to make sure the game was played fairly and were available to all players if a problem occurred.

According to their website, USA Badminton is the official national ruling body for badminton.

When asked after a match how she felt about her opponent’s calls, Wu said she had no problem with them.

“So far I think my opponents have a lot of integrity and I trust their calls,” Wu said.

Wu also said she worried about calling in or out on her opponents’ hits but after awhile she learned to trust her instincts.

Vergonet said she had no problem at all making the calls.

“If my opponent hits the line then it’s an amazing shot, and they deserve the point,” said Vergonet.

Jordan Boner can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].