By Betty Kaldas
On Tuesday, Mar. 17, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) badminton team (6-1, 0-0 league) fought against the Cerritos High School (5-4, 0-0 league) Dons. Matches took place in the FVHS gym, with four games taking place simultaneously. The Barons came out on top with a score of 11-10.
Mixed doubles matches began first, with senior captains Ethan Thai and Lynna Tran battling it out on the court against their opponents, starting the games off strong. Tran played fiercely, hitting the birdie with quick speed and reflexes. Thai balanced out Tran’s speed with strong smashes and hits that left their opponents fumbling. Despite their resilience, Thai and Tran lost to Cerritos 16-21.
Meanwhile, senior Atharva Rao and junior Sage Nguyen were fighting just as hard for a win. Rao played with pure power, consistently smashing the birdie down with strength. Nguyen also played with speed and vigor, getting quick hits over the net and returning the birdie. Similar to Thai and Tran, the experienced duo lost to the Dons with a score of 11-21.
Despite a slow start to the games, mixed doubles matches picked up again with the Rao/Nguyen and Thai/Tran pairs competing against different opponents, in which they began to see wins for the Barons. Taking place on the same courts back to back, Thai and Tran continued with their balance of speed and strength as they powered over their opponents on the court. Their hard work was eventually rewarded when they won with a score of 21-9.
Rao and Phuong also succeeded in their second match, amping up their teamwork to the next level as they worked together to earn points through quickly tapping the birdie to an empty spot on the court and smashing the birdie down from a high hit. Their final score for the second match was 21-19.
After a mix of wins and losses for the mixed doubles matches, games continued with girls’ and boys’ singles. Sophomore Kiera Chan and senior Lynna Tran represented the girls and played excellently individually, winning with scores of 21-16 and 21-19, respectively. Representing the boys were Thai and sophomore Tri Le, who won with scores of 21-9 and 24-22, respectively. The Barons excelled in their games, as they won the majority of singles matches against the Dons.
After singles were the boys’ and girls’ doubles matches, where the Barons received mixed results. The first girls’ doubles match featured Nguyen and junior Chloe Do. The duo used quick and hurried returns to speed up their opponents’ plays and then slowing it down by using soft hits to the empty side of the court, leaving their opponents stunned. Meanwhile, Rao and Phuong immediately got into the mindset of the game, as they matched each other’s style and technique, playing quick matches and reaching 21 points with speed like no other pair. All four pairs played with rigor, their hours of practice paying off as the boys won the majority of their matches and the girls won half their matches.
The Barons’ next game will be on Tuesday, Mar. 21, away against Loara High School.
