The badminton team came off an exciting win,  beating their rival Gunn High School on Tuesday after having lost their past five games, and making their current record 2-8. The team hopes to regain their strength in upcoming games.

The team’s current record is due in part due to their size. This year, the team is smaller than ever, as the absence of players who graduated last year negatively affected its performance this year. Junior Aidan Bannon says the team has struggled due to the decrease in players on the court.

“Unfortunately, our team seems to be smaller than ever, as many have not returned to play this year,” Bannon said.

Championed by their new coaches Jesi Marquez and Alex Adamethe, the team had hoped to win more games this year.  However, it is staying hopeful as the players work towards winning future games.

“Our greatest strength is our unity, as even though we don’t all play on the same court, everyone cheers their teammates on and does their best to help everyone else perform their best.”

Junior Aidan Bannon

The team can all agree that their greatest collective strength is their community. Junior Laura Kim said that the team’s enthusiasm in cheering one another on boosts spirits.

“We have players cheering on teammates all the time during games. And on days where we have away games, there is always some sort of Paly cheer going on in the bus ride,” Kim said.

Though the team has been facing challenges this year, they hope to improve in the future.

“I hope that we can break through and continue to bring the big wins,” Kim said. “There is potential in a lot of the players, and I’m excited to see our team strengthen throughout the season.”