By Betty Kaldas
On Tuesday, Mar. 24th, the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Barons went against the Gahr High School (GHS) Gladiators. The Barons dominated the court with a full sweep of a score of 21-0.
The game began with mixed doubles matches, with seniors Ethan Thai and Lynna Tran starting off. Thai and Tran immediately got into the mindset of the game, focusing only on scoring points quickly. They worked together using Thai’s long distance hits from the back half of the court and Tran’s speed and agility in the front. They quickly figured out their opponents style of play and overpowered them with one hit after the other, eventually winning with a score of 21-8.
While Thai and Tran were demolishing their opponents on the court, juniors Kenneth Nguyen and Sage Nguyen had similar luck. Kenneth Nguyen hit hard smashes that often left their Gladiator opponents fumbling. When Kenneth Nguyen was unable to hit the birdie back, Sage Nguyen came in clutch with her quick hits down to the floor of the court that scored them a majority of their points. After two sets of wins, the Nguyen duo won with a score of 21-14.
The third and final mixed doubles match won as well, starting off the badminton game with a win streak for the Barons. Juniors Justin Ho and Chloe Do played with just as much effort as the other two pairs, not needing much as they easily squashed the opposing pair with hit after hit. Ho made multiple smashes that won them instant points, while Do continuously tripped up her opposite by hitting the birdie to the side unexpectedly.
After three consecutive wins in mixed doubles, girl’s singles matches began. Representing the girls stood freshman Keira Chan and sophomore Han Ngo. In each of their games, the girls played with both strength and speed as they continuously gained points. Both Chan and Ngo easily defeated their opponents, winning with scores of 21-3 and 21-6 respectively.
Following the girls singles was the boys singles matches. Playing for the boys stood junior Trevor Phoung and senior Atharva Rao. On their courts, Phoung and Rao also played their best and effortlessly won their matches. Just like the girls, the boys beat their opponents with scores of 21-8 and 21-2 respectively.
With wins in all sections of their game thus far, the Barons continued playing with pride as they continued to the girls doubles matches. The pairs playing for the girls included junior Chloe Do and senior Sage Nguyen as well as sophomore Trish Tran and junior Jasmine Cao. Just like the rest of the games, the girls effortlessly defeated their opposing pairs. After quick games, Do and Nguyen defeated their opponents with a score of 21-6, while Tran and Cao won with a score of 21-5.
The final section of the game was the boys doubles matches. The pairs representing the boys included senior captain Ethan Thai and junior Ares Nguyen as well as juniors Kenneth Nguyen and Justin Ho. Similarly to the girls, the boys doubles pairs won their games with ease, ending their matches with scores of 21-6 and 21-9 respectively.
The Barons next home game will take place on Tuesday, Mar. 31st against Whitney High School.
