(Ashlyn Register is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Centennial High School for AZPreps365.com)

An email about a badminton pre-camp was the start for Emma Karr and Lucy Bubar.

Karr and Bubar walked into pre-camp the summer before their Centennial freshman year not knowing they would become the first two players in program history to play all four years on the team.

“I didn’t really know that it was a sport,” Karr said. “I didn’t think I was going to play a sport in high school.”

Bubar had some experience playing badminton with her mother in her backyard for fun, but she didn’t know any of the rules or what the lines meant going into her freshman year.

“I was actually one of the lowest (ranks),” Bubar said. “I didn’t go to the away games, so it was just a lot of practice to figure out the game.”

Karr and Bubar worked their way up throughout the years and are now the No.1 and No.2 single players for Centennial (1-3). They are also the No.1 doubles team.

The underclassmen look up to them as leaders on and off the court.

“They are both such strong leaders,” sophomore Sarah Wolff said. “They are amazing competitors. They are constantly motivating everyone on the team and inspiring everyone to be better.”

But Bubar and Karr’s leadership skills are polar opposite from each other. Bubar is the “voice of the team,” said coach Abbigail West. She is always cheering on her teammates and trying to help them improve.

“I like being in that leader position,” Bubar said. “I automatically go to it almost, and not in a cruel leadership way, but a kind leadership way because I want to be friends with the girls. I want to be an influence to them.”

Karr isn’t as outgoing, but is supportive. West described her as quiet and Karr  doesn’t see herself as a leader.

“She (Bubar) is definitely a leader, where I am someone who takes directions,” Karr said.  “We work well together because of our opposite personalities.”

Wolff and the other underclassmen look up to Karr and Bubar on the type of player they want to be in coming years.

“They definitely make the team what it is,” Wolff said.  “They help the new people a lot. This is my second season, and they are still helping me grow.”