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Thump, thump, thump.
Thump,thump, thump. Hearts are pounding.The fans are on the edge of their seats, holding their breaths. It isthe third game of the championships — the game that decided if the Cardinal’sbadminton team would have a chance of winning. OnMay 14, after losing the first two matches, sophomore player Christina Chu , onthe sidelines, found the game against Washington so nerve-racking she coveredher eyes at times. “It was a really cool experience watching,” Chu said. “It’sthe most tense game I ever witnessed.” Afterwinning the next two matches, the score was tied 2-2.It was up to players senior Christina Lee and sophomoreNaomi Leung. The pressure was somewhat relieved when the last match turned outto be against an opponent Lee and Leung had faced previously. Knowing theopponent’s weaknesses and potential, Lee and Leung were confident. The final match began fairly easily. Lee attacked herEagle opponents in their weak spots, and vigorously landed the birdie in placesthe opponent could not reach. “It was all on us, “ Lee said she told Leungduring the game. In the end, the Cardinals’ true potential showed as theyaced the final match, winning the championships 3-2. OnMay 12, the Cardinals won the playoff game and destroyed the Mission Bears,beating them 4-1. Lee and her partner, junior player Zoie Chow, playedexceptionally well — their scores were 21-4 and 21-11. “The playoff gameagainst Mission was fairly easy for us,” Lee said. Li said she saw the game as good. “I think Mission wasnervous and so they didn’t play as well as they usually do,” Li said. “That’swhy badminton is so difficult; despite a player’s efforts, if you’re notmentally strong, you will play a difficult game.” On May 7, the Cardinals played another close gameagainst the Eagles, beating them 3-2. With the first and second double matcheslost, the game was intense. “It was my match thatdetermined if Lowell would win or not,” Lee said. “Luckily, my partner and Iplayed pretty well and pulled through.” Initially,Lee and and her partner sophomore player Naomi Leung did not know their gamewas key in determining the outcome of the match. “We found out our match wasimportant after we won,” Lee said. “We were thankful that we didn't find outbefore we played or else we would have been under a lot of pressure during ourmatch.” Chow said she found the game brought out their best. “Itseems that the Washington people tried harder then we did,” Chow said. “Theyfought their way through each match and made it a tough match for us.” However,Chow said she is ecstatic that Lowell won and made it to playoffs undefeated. On April 30, the Cardinals played an intense matchagainst the Galileo Lions. The Lions had improved from last year and was muchbetter than the girls anticipated. Nevertheless, the Cardinals won 21-18 in thefirst set and 21-15 in the second. Junior player Leta He said she thought the doubles gamewas well-played and Lee agreed. “Our coach, Ms. (Christine) Hosoda, tells usnever to give up, and we didn't,” Lee said. “We fought through it and that washow we won.” Duringthe course of the Galileo game, Chow and Lee’s teamwork stood out again becausethe two players helped each other keep focused. “During the game, I made tonsof mistakes that almost cost my partner and I,” Chow said. However, Lee did not blame Chow for any of her mistakes,helping her calm down when Chow faced discouragement. “There was one point inthe game where I felt that there was no way we can beat our opponent and wasabout to give up on the game, but my partner read my mind and told me to hangin there and finish,” Chow said. OnApril 28, the Cardinals went up against the Mustangs and won their sets 21-9and 21-17 respectively. Though the game started out even, the Cardinals made alate run and pulled away from their opponents. “We played by strategy and wepicked on their weaknesses,” Lee said. “We were hitting the birdie to wherethey were not and we won quite a few of our points from that.” Chowand her partner Lee considered Lincoln’s first doubles match as their toughestopponent throughout the season, according to Chow.But the Cardinals were confident coming into the game,holding an undefeated 5-0 record. “There was a lot of pressure for the startersto win each match and keep the record going,” Chow said. Anotherreason for the intensity of the match was due to it being Senior Day, whichmeant it was the last home game for the seniors. “I didn't want to let mysenior partner down in front of her family members and give Lee a bad memory ofher last home game at Lowell,” she said. Inthe end, Chow found the game easier than she had expected. “The score wasn'tthat close,” she said. “I was glad to see how much we improved since thebeginning of the season. We got a nice win against Lincoln.” Leehas a goal for the team next year and that is to work even harder so they canbring back more medals. Similarly, Wong said she wants to practice hard nextseason and strives to be a regular. “I saw the hard work through the eightregulars at championships and it motivated me to want to work hard,” Wong said. |
