Badminton

Mary Alice Gildea, a homemaker and former state badminton champion, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Towson resident was 95. Mary Alice Carroll was born in Oil City, Pa., and raised on Greenway. She was a graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School and made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon. In 1930, she married William P. Gildea Jr., who became chief executive officer of the Falconer Co., a downtown commercial printer. He died in 1971, and their only child, William P. Gildea III, died in 1992.

BEIJING - From Laos to Maryland. From his birth name, Khankham, to his legally changed name, Bob. From training in California to competing in the Beijing Olympics. And now back home. The journey for Bob Malaythong has had many unexpected turns, not the least of which involves his spot on the U.S. doubles badminton team. What probably wasn't surprising, though, was how good today's foe, host country China, proved to be. "They just didn't make any mistakes," Malaythong said. "Everybody makes mistakes, and it just took them awhile to make mistakes.

Patapsco's Jessica Griebel has heard all the talk before. She's been told by classmates and acquaintances that she should play a "real sport" and not waste her time with badminton. She has a message for them. "Come and play me," she says. "I'll change your mind." Yesterday, Griebel changed a lot of minds, defeating Dulaney's Clare Boronow, 17-14, 15-4, to win the Baltimore County girls badminton championship at Pikesville. The sport, offered in Baltimore County schools since 1974 (boys began play in 1984)

In a recent TV commercial, he plays Lau, the hapless badminton player whose leg is impaled by a shuttlecock launched from the racket of baseball's "Big Papi," David Ortiz. In his native Laos, he's known as Khankham Malaythong. But here, in his adopted homeland, you can call him Bob. "I am Bob now, legally," says Malaythong, 26, pulling his U.S. passport out of his pocket as evidence. You also can call him one of more than a dozen Marylanders competing in the Pan American Games, which began yesterday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

City College's dimly lighted gymnasium is home to one of the most successful spring sports teams in the City-Wide league.While the lacrosse, baseball, tennis, softball and track and field teams are in full view practicing on the school grounds, the girls badminton team practices in near obscurity in the gym.With rackets that are less than a half-inch thick and weigh less than a pound, the Knights (7-0) have wielded their way past their competition.The team has won the City-Wide championship the past two years and, if it continues its dominance this season, could be on the way to its third.

Pikesville (15-0) topped visiting Dulaney, 9-2, in the Baltimore County badminton championship yesterday. Brian Grochal, Jared Scheff, Sarah Kahn and Jay Turakhai won their singles matches, while Rachel Blank and Erin Geller, Mike Guberman and Shawn Shapiro, David Brownstein and Carly Pitler, Ian Levy and Mike Soforenko, and Hyein Yoo and Prethi Gaddam took the doubles matches in convincing fashion. The win marks the Panthers' ninth title in 12 years, including a streak of three straight.

Bryn Mawr's badminton team, coached by athletic director Maureen Sanborn, blanked Roland Park Country School, 7-0, last week to complete a 9-0 season and a two-year, 18-0 campaign for its second straight Association of Independent Schools regular-season crown.Going 8-1 for the second straight year were top singles senior Rhonda Smith, the Mawrtians' top doubles team of sophomore Lisa Parks and senior Ann Boonn, and the No. 2 doubles team of senior Toya Fields and junior Keirston Woods. Heather Brownlee, the No. 2 singles, went 9-0 for the regular seasonBryn Mawr also captured its second straight AIS tournament crown Monday, with Smith winning her second consecutive title, and Boonn and Parks downing their Roland Park opponents.

In a recent TV commercial, he plays Lau, the hapless badminton player whose leg is impaled by a shuttlecock launched from the racket of baseball's "Big Papi," David Ortiz. In his native Laos, he's known as Khankham Malaythong. But here, in his adopted homeland, you can call him Bob. "I am Bob now, legally," says Malaythong, 26, pulling his U.S. passport out of his pocket as evidence. You also can call him one of more than a dozen Marylanders competing in the Pan American Games, which began yesterday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Rick Wiker went looking for his favorite Olympic sport in the TV listings the other day. It is a game of rocketing smashes and fluttery drop shots, of leaps and lunges, power and finesse. But, as Wiker found, it is a game you won't be seeing on television. The sport is badminton, and by now you are probably laughing, or uttering one of the tired catcalls long used by sports columnists and the meat-and-potatoes masses whenever the subject of Olympic badminton comes up: Wimp sport. Backyard barbecue diversion.

Pikesville badminton coach Marlene Honkofsky called the scene "hysterical." One recent afternoon inside Pikesville High's gym, some football players decided they'd try their hand at badminton, challenging members of the school's team. After all, how much trouble could those skinny, little badminton players give the football hulks? Plenty, as it turned out. "They're decent athletes, but they couldn't come close to keeping up with my kids," Honkofsky said. "And we've had soccer players go by, and they have good footwork and all this, and they get killed.

Alvin Raymond Flesher, a retired engineer and model builder, died Thursday at Sinai Hospital of head injuries after falling from a tree he was trimming at his Parkville home. He was 71. Mr. Flesher was born in Houtzdale, Pa., and was raised in Pittsburgh. He earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering in 1958 from the University of Pittsburgh, and served in the Air Force for three years in aircraft maintenance. In 1962, he moved to Baltimore when he took a job as an engineer at Martin Marietta Corp.

Nicole Dortch, Samuel L. Banks SPORT BADMINTON GIRLS STATS -- Dortch, a junior who has run cross country and been a member of the varsity dance team, is in her first season on the badminton team. A student of modern dance in middle school, she has performed spiritual dancing at her church. SIDELINES -- Carrying a 95-percent academic average, Dortch has wanted to become a surgeon since she met Dr. Ben Carson, the prominent neurosurgeon, when he operated on her cousin at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

1:25 -- Amount of time separating Notre Dame Prep's top five runners as the Blazers won the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference team cross country championship last week. Julianna Rubino was the first Blazer to cross the line, in sixth place in 20:23, while Mary Bolgiano, the fifth Blazer, finished in 21:48. 5 -- Consecutive years Perry Hall's girls soccer team has reached the Baltimore County championship game. In addition to last week's 1-0 title victory over Sparrows Point, the Gators won crowns in 2001 and 2002.

Pikesville (15-0) topped visiting Dulaney, 9-2, in the Baltimore County badminton championship yesterday. Brian Grochal, Jared Scheff, Sarah Kahn and Jay Turakhai won their singles matches, while Rachel Blank and Erin Geller, Mike Guberman and Shawn Shapiro, David Brownstein and Carly Pitler, Ian Levy and Mike Soforenko, and Hyein Yoo and Prethi Gaddam took the doubles matches in convincing fashion. The win marks the Panthers' ninth title in 12 years, including a streak of three straight.

Mary Alice Gildea, a homemaker and former state badminton champion, died of congestive heart failure Wednesday at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Towson resident was 95. Mary Alice Carroll was born in Oil City, Pa., and raised on Greenway. She was a graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School and made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon. In 1930, she married William P. Gildea Jr., who became chief executive officer of the Falconer Co., a downtown commercial printer. He died in 1971, and their only child, William P. Gildea III, died in 1992.

IT'S A LITTLE before 9 p.m., and Chris Vaccaro has just arrived home from another nearly 15-hour day at work. The doorbell rings, dinner arrives, and while Vaccaro, the athletic director at Digital Harbor, should stop to eat, who's got the time? Rosters for the coming spring sports have to be readied, there are questions over whether there will be enough eligible kids to stock the junior varsity badminton team, and the baseball diamond at Swann Park isn't ready for his team to play. In other words, there's a ways to go before Vaccaro will be able to eat in peace.

BEIJING - From Laos to Maryland. From his birth name, Khankham, to his legally changed name, Bob. From training in California to competing in the Beijing Olympics. And now back home. The journey for Bob Malaythong has had many unexpected turns, not the least of which involves his spot on the U.S. doubles badminton team. What probably wasn't surprising, though, was how good today's foe, host country China, proved to be. "They just didn't make any mistakes," Malaythong said. "Everybody makes mistakes, and it just took them awhile to make mistakes.

Amanda Macht of Pikesville was a gold-medal winner in mixed doubles at Thursday's Baltimore County badminton championships. Her last name was misspelled in Friday's sports section.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 11/10/98

For nearly 50 years, the members of the Loch Raven Badminton Club have assembled to play the game they love. These days, the club has about 100 members. "We have everything from beginners to very skilled players," said Joel Smith, the club's president and a member of about 25 years. "Our members come back year after year to keep playing." The club shows that the county's recreation programs aren't just for kids. Officials with the county's Department of Recreation and Parks don't keep numbers on how many of the more than 300,000 who signed up for its programs last year are adults.

YOU DIDN'T hear about this here, OK? But if you think badminton - something more competitive than the summertime, backyard variety - might be your sport but that Howard County doesn't offer any opportunities to play at that level, there actually is a place to play. It's in Columbia - has been since 1972, says Columbia Badminton Club founder David Gardner, an Oakland Mills village resident who still plays regularly. It has been in the same place, Harper's Choice Middle School, since 1974 or 1975, says Gardner.