It was a close game for the Scots badminton team against Aragon on March 14, but they were able to finish with a win.
Carlmont won 8 out of the 15 matches, defeating Aragon by just one match. A challenging face-off was predicted by head coach Nathan Liang.
“It was going to be a hard match and it was going to be a close match, and I knew it from the start,” said Liang, “Aragon is such a great team with a great coach and we knew it would take everything for us to even make it close.”
And the Scots did just that. Dominating boys and girls singles, Carlmont kept a lead in the beginning of the game.
Devansh Tandon, a junior, played in the boys’ second seed singles. Tandon felt relaxed and ready to play Aragon due to his extensive badminton experience.
“I moved from India about 5 months ago, and I was looking forward to badminton season because I played in India for about 2 years,” said Tandon, “For the level of difficulty of my match, it was quite easy. In India, all matches are really hard and it’s very competitive.”
Halfway through the game Aragon was starting to gain a lead. The Scots were drawing back on scoring consistency, and Aragon won every girl’s doubles match.
“I knew Aragon was going to be a tough school to play. I definitely need to work on consistency and communicating with my partner,” said Pauline Sy, a senior who played in the girl’s second seed doubles.
With the help of encouraging words from head coach Liang, Carlmont was able to finish with a win.
Liang told the Scots, “Not to give up – Never give up during a game. No matter how down you are, take every point as though it was a separate game. Carry momentum with you, don’t let the pressure get to you and stay clear headed.”
Liang was exceptionally proud of his team after the close win.
“Our advanced players did very well and our less advanced players actually played better than I ever expected them to, they played really good badminton so I’m very proud of them. They deserve every victory today,” said Liang.
The Scots play Burlingame High School next on March 16.
