Badminton defeats Rowland HS

By BELINDA KUO

STAFF WRITER

 On Tuesday, March 19, varsity badminton beat Rowland HS with a score of 13-8.

 As the first of the season, the game served as an indicator as to the progress of the team as a whole. Following the few pre-season games, this match proved the team’s developing skills. The game also served as an “elite” game, in which points awarded for winning go toward the team’s eligibility for California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).

 According to head coach Thai Pham, the addition of new members [is] a major challenge during pre-season, but improvement in all members is evident.

 “On the girls’ side, everyone is improving since everyone is [a returned] and we only lost one senior on the girls’ side,” Pham said. “But on the guys’ side, we have a lot of newcomers on varsity. We are basically starting from scratch with the boys. They are improving, but it is going to take much longer to get them into game-shape.”

 According to co-captain Crystal Yang (12), the game is a wonderful start to the season.

 “I am pretty proud of how we performed yesterday because everyone tried really hard,” Yang said. “We have been practicing really hard on teamwork, endurance and footwork because when we are on court, everyone [can become better at footwork]. [Our diligence] really showed [at the game]. ”

 Furthermore, player Serena Zheng (11) explains her thrilling experience at the game.

 “I played two games of doubles, one game for mixed [and won] three points for the team,” Zheng said. “[Our players found the game] not too hard and not too easy, and seeing our team cheering for our teammates on the [junior varsity] team [lifted my spirits]. There are some really good players on Rowland’s team, so I am really happy that we pulled through.”

 Badminton’s next game is at home against Walnut HS on March 21.