Badminton team proves skills at NCS

The CVHS badminton season came to an end on Saturday, May 20 at the NCS Finals.  Ten people qualified from HAAL to move on to NCS, with varsity captain Judy Tian leading the way in second place along with first year badminton coach, Prasanna Venkatesh.
“HAAL went exceptionally well,” said Venkatesh.
With the badminton team’s close team win against such schools as Mt. Eden, the league champions, the team’s mindset going into NCS was one of confidence.

Unfortunately, most of the seniors left early that day as they needed to prepare for Senior Ball later that evening.

“I was definitely upset because there was a conflict with Senior Ball, because some of the qualifiers abandoned the team,” commented Venkatesh.

At NCS, the doubles team consisting of Ada Hui and Christine Wang, the team’s star players, placed third.

“It was great to get to know everyone in the league and see how they all came together to compete,”  stated Tian about NCS. “It was a fun environment and it was also really cool that everyone that was in that room worked hard to get there.”

Most badminton players practiced and trained for at least three months. Other players practiced more if they or the coach felt that it was necessary.
“We have improved a lot over the years,” commented Tian. “ This is the closest that we’ve ever gotten and I am proud of my teammates.”

“They all performed really well, and the juniors definitely have potential for next year, and I will know how to manage my team better for next year,” said Venkatesh.