Up until the championship game, the girls’ badminton team was unstoppable; then they hit a roadblock.

On May 17 in a heartbreaking defeat, the Cardinals lost the championship title to the Washington Eagles with a score of 2-3.

After losing the first two singles games, the Cardinals made a comeback, winning two doubles games.  However, despite a close fight in the last doubles match, they were unable to win.  The match ended 2-1, with scores of 21-9, 17-21 and 19-21.  “I think we had a tough time with the pressure that was going around,” junior first singles player Oriana Chiu said.  “We didn’t play the best because of that.”

The Eagles were prepared for a fight.  “Wash came out on fire.  They had nothing to lose,” coach Christine Hosoda said.  “We competed, but unfortunately in the end, they wanted it more.”

Nonetheless, this season had its successes for the Cardinals.  “They were in it for each other,” Hosoda said.  “The closeness in scores shows they came together in the end.”

On May 14 the Cardinals smashed their way to the championship with a 5-0 victory against the Balboa Buccaneers in the playoff game.  The Cardinals previously destroyed the Buccaneers 5-0 in a regular season game, and were well-prepared to crush them again.  “It was just like any other game,” sophomore alternate Carmen Leung said.

On May 10 and 11 the Cardinal doubles teams dominated the All-City tournament; for the first time in Lowell badminton history all the top pairs placed.  Second doubles players junior Christina Chiu and senior Zoie Chow placed third, third doubles players Karen Lei and Stephanie Khin placed second and first doubles players junior Bettina Dea and sophomore Jenny Wong clinched first.

The Cardinals breezed through the first rounds of the All-City tournament, but the atmosphere intensified when the teams moved into the semi-final round and first doubles pair Dea and Wong took on second doubles pair Chiu and Chow.  Dea and Wong defeated Chiu and Chow 2-1, with scores of 17-21, 21-18 and 21-19.  “This was a very close game, considering we're both from Lowell,” Dea said.  “Playing a Lowell team makes it harder because both teams know one another’s strengths and weaknesses, making it more challenging to win whereas playing another school's team is slightly easier since we don’t know each other.”

In the championship round, Dea and Wong faced teammates Lei and Khin.  After two intense games, Dea and Wong pulled out on top, winning 21-13 and 21-16.  “I felt glad when my partner and I won,” Dea said.  “Without Jenny, I would definitely have not been able to pull it through at All-City.”

The Cardinal singles players also fought hard, though they did not place.  Chiu finished fourth overall and senior Leta He was eliminated from the tournament in the second round.  “Being put into a position in which I already had to play against the ultimate first-place winner in my second round, I felt quite a lot of pressure,” He said.  “However, I didn't expect to beat such an experienced player, so I made sure I enjoyed the match…I didn't feel as bad because I knew that wasn't the last anyone would see of me on a badminton court,” referring to the upcoming championships.

Five of the eight starters competed in the top rankings for the first time this year.  Despite a lack of experience, the team succeeded because of the hard work they put in throughout the season.  “It was really cool that our school won all three places for doubles and we couldn’t have done it without the push that Ms. Hosoda gave us,” Khin said.   “Her hard training and coaching has really paid off and it showed at All-City.”

The Cardinals recognized their weaknesses early on in the season and worked to heighten their skills.  “Our skills have improved tremendously,” Dea said.  “Our communication with our partners definitely helped throughout the game.”

Next year’s players look towards another championship team.  This year’s team was comprised mostly of skilled underclassmen and juniors.  All but two players will be returning in the spring.  The team’s experience will give them an edge that the Cardinals hope to use to their advantage.  “We’re a pretty young team, so I think we’ll be in good shape next year,” Chiu said.

Another addition will make next season’s team even stronger.  Next year, AAA badminton teams will be going co-ed.  There will be one girl singles player, one boy singles, one pair of girls doubles, one boys pair and one co-ed pair for each team, and there will only be five starters for the girls to make room for five boys starters.  Hosoda has not yet decided how the change will affect next season’s roster.  Because only two players are graduating, “next year we will have six starters for the girls, but we can only use five,” Hosoda said.  “Everything will be different because of the new format.”

As an early contribution to the team, this season several boys acted as managers for the team.  They hope to play in real games next season, but the competition at other schools already looks tough.  “As I observed at the All-City tournament, Balboa, Washington and Lincoln, they all have fabulous guy managers that are super good in badminton,” sophomore Kaiming Tan said.

MVP

The Lowell’s pick for MVP this season is junior first singles player Oriana Chiu.  Chiu is the top ranked player and an integral source of leadership for the team.  “Skill-wise she is the best player on the team,” Hosoda said.  “She also does lots of good stuff off the court in terms of putting together fundraisers and filling in the team about meetings.”

Chiu is an inspiration to her team.  “She’s always working really hard, pushing herself and pushing the team,” Leung said.