Carlmont’s coed varsity badminton team kicked off its first game of the season with a 29-1 victory against the Capuchino Mustangs on March 5.
“Going into the game, I thought I would have fun and win because this school is one of the easier ones to play against,” said senior Micah Cheng.
Cheng is the team captain and winner of the girls’ singles division of the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) in 2023. Cheng helped contribute to the team’s 29 points by winning both of her matches, 21-5 and 21-6.
The Scots’ points were earned from a combination of all the players’ efforts. Badminton competitions consist of 15 matches. In each match, the team that wins two games first wins the match. Depending on the seeding of the players, these matches can be worth three, two, or one point. All the matches combined amount to 30 points.
The Scots are looking to improve their skills this season, with the ultimate goal of winning PAL, according to Ria Smilovitz.
Freshman Karena Ling has been playing badminton for over five years, and as her first game playing for the Scots, her mindset was focused on winning. According to Ling, her objective this season is to win the singles division in the NorCal Championship.
It’s really a mental game because you are usually playing as an individual or sometimes with a partner, but your game is not fully not depending on another person, but instead on how well you play.
— Micah Cheng
“I was going to try to win as quickly as possible, but halfway through, I realized that was a bad plan, so I started to rally,” Ling said.
To achieve their objectives, the Carlmont players also acknowledge that there are areas where they need to improve.
“Going into the game, my partner and I believed that we were going to win the game, and we did, but I definitely need to work on my footwork,” Smilovitz said.
This season, the team as a whole is working to support each other as well as people interested in joining the sport.
“It’s really a mental game because you are usually playing as an individual or sometimes with a partner, but your game is not fully depending on another person, but instead on how well you play,” Cheng said.
