Lian Wang
On May 6, the top players of Aragon’s badminton team competed in the Peninsula Athletic League Badminton Championships, following a three-day qualification tournament earlier in the week.
Athletes competed in five divisions, hoping to finish in the top four of their division to qualify for the Central Coast Section tournament later in the month. Both tournaments were run in a double elimination format, meaning that players must lose twice before being fully eliminated. Each school could have two players, or teams, in each division.
“Unlike league, where you’re playing to win a team championship, when you go to PALs, it’s all individual,” said head coach Linda Brown. “So some doubles teams break apart, and some single players join together to try and make stronger teams.”
“Yan came out on top with an upset victory, giving him the final qualifying spot for Saturday’s championship”
During the first three days of the competition, the Dons showed themselves as one of the strongest schools at the event. In boys singles, both players, juniors Anthony Yan and Zach Lee, made it to the round before qualification.
However, they found themselves facing each other for the final qualifying spot for the championship. After a fierce competition going deep into the third game, Yan came out on top with an upset victory, giving him the final qualifying spot for Saturday’s championship.
Girls doubles was the leading team from Aragon. The duo, composed of senior Tiffany Ye and freshman Chin-ray Kong, placed second in the qualification tournament, only ever losing to San Mateo, who was undefeated throughout both the qualification and championship tournaments.
Aragon’s main success came through their boys doubles teams. Throughout the qualification tournament, both Aragon teams were dominant in their matches. Aragon’s top team, composed of senior Derek Nan and spearheaded by freshman William Ye, went undefeated throughout the three days. Aragon’s second team finished in third place behind them after only losing to the other Aragon team and in a very close game with Mills.
Although the leading boys doubles team went undefeated through qualification, there was still hope for improvement.
“William and I are a new pair,” Nan said. “[So], we don’t really have time to work on our rotations [and] smashes as a team. We just have to learn from each game.”
Going into Saturday, all the qualified members were hopeful for their chances due to placing well during the qualifying tournament. Yet, with the Ocean Division players entering the scene after their own qualifying tournament, competition would remain fierce throughout the day.
Yan, despite his strong showing during the qualifying tournament, struggled to find his footing in the opening matches on Saturday and was quickly sent to the lower bracket. Once there, he would play a tough match against Capuccino, winning the first set 21-19 but falling just short by trading points in the second two games.
Ye and Nan again went undefeated throughout all of Saturday to again take home the first place prize in the tournament. They remained dominant in the scoreline, often winning in only two games.
“It [felt] way harder because we already know each other,” Nan said. “We already know how they play [and] they already know how we play. [At the same time it’s] easier for them, and also easier for us to know how to beat them.”
“Liu and Ogasawara pulled out a win with a final score of 25-23”
Aragon’s other duo, composed of senior Daniel Liu and junior Aidan Ogasawara, had a much more exciting event. Coming in as the third seed, they soared through their opening match before taking a tough 0-2 loss against a well-coordinated Carlmont team.
Once in the lower bracket, the team had a grueling fight against South San Francisco to confirm a qualifying spot for CCS. After splitting the first two games in close competition, the team sent the third set to overtime meaning that they had to win by two. After being one point away from elimination many times, Liu and Ogasawara pulled out a win with a final score of 25-23.
“After we lost [to Carlmont], we got our thinking right,” Liu said. “We stopped panicking [and] we were fully ready to compete. That’s what helped us stay calm when we lost our first set of the three. If we mess something up, we can reset and not focus on the mistake.”
Despite being qualified, the duo would still face more challenges on the day. After the South San Francisco win, they had a tough match against Mills, the team they had lost to in qualification, and once again narrowly came out on top in overtime during the third game. The team then finally fell to 0-2 Carlmont once again to confirm their third place finish at the event in addition to their spot in CCS.
Girls doubles had a similar performance as in qualifying. They defeated Jefferson, Menlo Atherton, and Burlingame, but were unable to overcome San Mateo who once again went undefeated without dropping a set. After losing to San Mateo twice, Ye and Kong confirmed their second place finish and secured a qualifying spot for CCS.
“We were paired up [at the] very last minute,” Ye said. “According to that [timeframe], we did pretty good. We’re really consistent overall. We hit it in open spaces and we also tell each other when to rotate.”
Looking forward, the three qualified doubles teams hope to perform well at CCS and thus qualify for the NorCal sectionals later in the year.
“I’m hoping that they all make a good showing,” Brown said. “You never know what you’re going to face. But I think we have a good shot. Our doubles teams are really good. And I think they’ll make a good showing.”
The CCS Championships were on May 13 in San Jose.
