Badminton standout caps O.B. High School career as a champion

With a career win-loss record of 70-4 and four All-County awards, Oyster Bay High School senior Courtney Kowalsky has dominated the badminton courts in Nassau County for years. One of the few accolades missing from her singles career was a county championship, until this season earlier this month when she defeated Jericho High School rival Jia Zhang in a closely contested match, 21-16, 21-18.

“The entire match was nerve-racking,” Kowalsky admitted.

Zhang got the best of Kowalsky in previous showdowns. This year, Kowalsky decided to take a different approach. “I just try to forget my surroundings and who I’m playing against,” she said. “I focus on each point at a time. I also learned how to finesse the birdie instead of using power, which gave me an edge.”

Kowalsky, 18, added that once she won the championship-clinching set, she was speechless. “It was an unbelievable experience, and I literally couldn’t say a word,” she said. “All I thought to myself was, wow, I finally did it.”

Kowalsky went the entire season without losing a set in any of her singles matches. She said that changing her mentality on the court was the biggest difference in her overall play this season. “I didn’t think that I could beat everyone, because all of my opponents played great this year,” she said. “I just really focused on myself and treated each set as a new match.”

A two-sport standout, Kowalsky also dominated the tennis courts. She won five team Most Valuable Player awards, six All-County awards, and four All-State awards. She explained that the similarities of the two racket sports helped her, but understanding the differences was one of the biggest factors in her be successful. “The swings and the tactics are almost the same,” she said, “but you need to know how to handle the movement of the ball or birdie.”

She described Greg Bilello — her high school tennis and badminton coach — as the greatest contributor to her success on both courts. “I’ve shared all of my accomplishments with him,” she said. “I honestly couldn’t do it without him, and it’s been amazing to work with him every step of the way.”

Kowalsky will continue her tennis career at Brown University this fall, where she hopes to improve her skills and make a positive impact right away. Her excitement to play at the collegiate level made it a little difficult for her to describe her other goals. Simply put, she wants to win.