By Kevin Sears
On Thursday, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) varsity badminton team clashed against the Marina Vikings, continuing their streak of 7 wins to 0 losses with another win. The Barons conquered the Vikings with a score of 14 to 7.
Right from the get-go, FVHS seized an early lead with their varsity mixed doubles duos dominating their initial sets. Varsity mixed doubles 1, junior Jayden Chung and sophomore Lynna Tran secured a convincing score of 21-12 with Chung showcasing powerful smashes throughout the game. Likewise, mixed doubles 2, senior Raymond Trinh and junior Ashley Chu followed up this success with a controlled 21-13 finish.
Moving into the second set, both teams worked to preserve their advantage, but Chung and Tran were fiercely contested, with a close loss of 18-21. Trinh and Chu, on the other hand, were able to secure a match victory with a satisfying score of 21-12. Throughout the game, Chu proved a formidable opponent, showcasing potent smashes.
“In my doubles games, my smashes were strong, and my defense was pretty open, but something that I can improve on is my footwork. Always footwork, sometimes I think I have pretty good placement with the bird, but sometimes I forget to move, or I blank out. I don’t really know why,” said Chu.
To finish their match, with a set score of 1-1, Chung and Tran utilized swift professional clears to secure an overwhelming 21-11 victory over their competitive opponents to take home a match win.
Maintaining their streak, both duos employed top-notch teamwork to win both match points within the first two sets each. In the first set, Chung and Tran stole away with a score of 21-19, while Trinh and Chu took home a score of 21-17. The second set followed closely, with Chung and Tran, again, winning 21-17 and Trinh and Chu overwhelming their opponents 21-10.
Varsity’s mixed doubles game ended its trilogy with a victory by sophomore Atharva Rao and senior Claudia Nguyen working in tandem to secure a score of 21-13 in their first set and 21-19 in their second set.
Moving into girl’s singles, Marina made a game-changing come-back against singles 1, Tran, and singles 2, freshman Haruka Koyama. Tran faced off against a formidable adversary, causing a 10-21 loss in the first set and a 12-21 loss in the second set for the match.
Likewise, Koyama would lose 6-21 and 9-21 in her set. Things looked slightly better in the first set of their second match with a score of 17-21 for Tran and 11-21 for Koyama, who tried to employ decisive lift shots to turn the tides of war, but both would, unfortunately, lose both match points.
However, this comeback did not last for long, as the boy’s singles winners Chung and Mathew Pham overcame their opponents. Jumping into the first set, Chung and his opponent would host long rallies and lobs, until Chung decided he had enough and finished his opponent with either a smash or a precise clear, resulting in a 21-3 and 21-6 victory for his first match and 21-6 and 21-5 for the second. Pham, similarly, controlled the court marked by a double match victory, losing only 1 set in the first match.
Similarly to girl’s singles, girl’s doubles fought hard and had a close game but lost 3 sets to 1. Girl’s doubles 1 Nguyen and senior Trang Le were neck and neck during their first match, winning the first set 21-15 and losing the second set 17-21.
While they lost the third set 12-21, they returned to the second match with another close victory. Girl’s doubles 2, Chu and sophomore Chloe Do fought hard, but both sets in both matches went to Marina.
Closing the match with boy’s doubles 1, Trinh and sophomore Trevor Phuong, and doubles 2, Rao and senior Andrew Hoang, took home a double match victory, brandishing a powerful prowess for smashes and sniper-esque returns. Trinh and Phoung won both of their matches in only two sets, with their first set scoring 21-10 and the ending set scoring 21-18. Equally, Rao and Hoang showcased a similar capability, with each match finished in only 2 sets.
“I feel like Marina is very good at badminton, but Fountain Valley can put up a good fight against them,” stated senior Captain Sophie Ho.
