National pride for St Mary's
The quartet of Mark Pratt, Santi Berry, Matthew Johnson and Lorenz Ramos had qualified by winning the Humberside regional qualifiers at the Hull Badminton Centre at the start of 2009 and then the Yorkshire Championships for the second year in a row after this.
The St Mary's squad had won the year 10 Yorkshire title last year but there was no clear pathway to a national level this time last year.
However, the introduction by Badminton England of the Center Parcs event meant the winners of the Yorkshire title would join eight other school teams at the Sherwood Forest Centre Parcs resort at the end of April.
Over 15,000 competitors started out at the onset of the event and in the end the four year 11 players from St Mary's finished among the top 20 players in the country after a good showing at the nationals.
The format for the day was to have three groups of three, with the winners of each group then contesting for the top three finishing positions.
St Mary's got off to a great start by beating Benfield School from Newcastle 4-1 in their first match.
They then came up against Wilson School from Surrey. In a closely fought match it was 2-2 going into the deciding game.
In a tense affair Wilson school managed to hold their nerve for a 21-20 victory despite the courageous efforts of Berry and Ramos in the final doubles match.
This meant that St Mary's would be in a new group, playing off for positions fourth, fifth and sixth spots.
St Mary's quickly recovered from their disappointment and produced some excellent badminton.
They were drawn against Charters School from Berkshire and Birkdale School from Merseyside.
First up was Charters School and Pratt performed well to win 11 points in his singles game against England player Jack Kinmond.
The boys then produced their best form and won their next four games to secure a 4-1 victory.
They then whitewashed Birkdale School 5-0 to secure fourth place nationally.
"This paid testament to the cohesiveness and talent of this team," said St Mary's badminton coach James Beetham.
"Reaching the finals reflects the talent and commitment shown by all the players.
"It was a fabulous day and if somebody had offered the team fourth place nationally at the outset we would have bitten their hands off.
"However, to come so close to being involved in the last three of the event was very disappointing .
"The standard of play was something to behold and proved great viewing for the many spectators who turned up to watch this event.
"The boys showed great spirit to bounce back and secure fourth place overall. They should be very proud of their achievements."
Results
Round 1- Group Stages
St Mary's 4-1 Benfield School
1 Mark Pratt 21-16 Ryan Jelley
2 Matthew Johnson and Lorenz Ramos 21-8 Jordan Jubb and Jordan Simpson
3 Santiago Berry 21-9 Matthew Shaftoe
4 Mark Pratt and Matthew Johnson 21-19 Ryan Jelley and Jordan Jubb
5 Santiago Berry and Lorenz Ramos 19-21 Matthew Shaftoe and Jordan Jubb
St Mary's 2-3 Wilson School
1 Mark Pratt 20-21 George Heinemann
2 Matthew Johnson and Lorenz Ramos 21-19 Yash Shukia and Anish Patel
3 Santiago Berry 21-20 Chris Gyton
4 Mark Pratt and Matthew Johnson 18-21 George Heinemann and Yash Shukia
5 Santiago Berry and Lorenz Ramos 20-21 Chris Gyton and Anish Patel
Round 2 - 4th to 6th Play Off
St Mary's 4-1 Charters School
1 Mark Pratt 11-21 Jack Kinmond
2 Matthew Johnson and Lorenz Ramos 21-19 Jake Lavender and Michael Bratt
3 Santiago Berry 21-20 Lee Bradberry
4 Mark Pratt and Matthew Johnson 21-19 Jack Kinmond and Jake Lavender
5 Santiago Berry and Lorenz Ramos 21-19 Lee Bradberry and Michael Bratt
St Mary's 5-0 Birkdale School
1 Mark Pratt 21-4 Sam Clucas
2 Matthew Johnson and Lorenz Ramos 21-18 Lloyd Dean and Ben Taylor
3 Santiago Berry 21-10 Jonathon Foster
4 Mark Pratt and Matthew Johnson 21-9 Sam Clucas and Lloyd Dean
5 Santiago Berry and Lorenz Ramos 21-8 Jonathon Foster and Ben Taylor
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