Badminton beat crosstown and in-league rival Henry M. Gunn High School to near a more even record at 5-6 on the season. This is a great win for the team coming on the heels of a bad 9-21 loss to Monta Vista High School over a week ago.

Despite the loss at Monta Vista, both the top player and doubles team in mens won for Paly, as sophomore Michael Chau won along with the senior combo of Joshua Ng and Eric Chiang.

“Monta Vista is a very tough opponent due to their program and off-season training,” assistant coach Arne Lim said. “It is difficult for Paly to emulate Monta Vista’s success because people at Paly do so much.”

Monta Vista and Gunn are both good teams — especially Monta Vista, which is leading the league.

“We had lots of split games (going to a third set), so I was happy to see that we were super competitive and worked hard to win,” junior team captain Samarth Venkatasubramaniam said.

The team is fourth in league right now but it is possible with two games left to squeeze into third. Their next game up is against Lynbrook High School which will then lead them to the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) and Central Coast Section (CCS) playoffs.

Each event is represented by every school in SCVAL as this is an auto-bid tournament. On the other hand, CCS is reached by single players and the team expects to have five players reach the tournament for their regular season play.

It is difficult for Paly to emulate Monta Vista’s success because people at Paly do so much.

Arne Lim

Paly Badminton Assistant Coach

“Our longterm goal is to send some pairs and individuals to leagues then CCS,” Venkatasubramaniam said.

The sophomore Chau has been a bright spot for the team this season losing only two games, which would most likely put him as the third seed at CCS.

Looking forward, some players will also be competing in Norcal regionals for the first time.

The team seems to be clicking at the right time and the tighter losses have given them hope for the future. Their record is already a great improvement on last year’s losing season in which the team hoped to use as a rebuilding season.