Note: We were not able to cover Badminton’s CCS as it took place after this issue’s final deadline.
Six of Aragon’s top badminton players advanced to PAL Finals. In the boys singles match, junior Nathan Zhang lost 15-2, 15-2 to Burlingame.
In the boys double match, senior Sam Bunarjo and Jaehee Park won the first round of matches, but lost the second round to CSUS. They were moved to the loser bracket, where they lost against Terra Nova 15-10, 15-7.
Bunarjo comments, “I felt pretty crappy because I came down with the stomach flu the past few days so I wasn’t able to play my 100 percent, so it was disappointing for me and my partner both… and the coach too.”
He continues, “It was our first time playing number one boys doubles for the whole season, so it was different for us.”
In the mixed doubles match, senior Nicky Tao and sophomore Emily Mi proceeded to the loser bracket match having lost against South San Francisco. In the loser bracket match, the two won against Burlingame, then lost against Mills. Mi reflects, “We have our on and off days. Today was an off day.”
In the girls single match, 2012 CCS champion, sophomore Candy Zhang, went undefeated. Zhang dominated in the final match with 15-4, 15-6. Zhang reflects, “I felt pretty confident about PAL finals.”
Looking to the season as a whole, Coach Linda Brown says, “We have three freshman starting in the boys doubles, and we have a lot of new players that are coming up from exhibition last year. There’s 24 players that play varsity—12 boys and 12 girls. Then, everyone else is on exhibition.”
Senior Jaehee Park remarks, “Mix doubles was really hard this year, but the team really picked up. We solidified by roles.”
Sophomore Vivian Shen reflects “In general, the past three years, Aragon has actually been champion. But this year, we lost the championships and tied third with South City.”
Candy Zhang, Nicky Tao, and Emily Mi all advanced to CCS.
