Badminton Remains Undefeated in Moore League

The badminton team beat Lakewood and Wilson. They are in first place in the Moore League with an undefeated record.

The Jackrabbits beat Lakewood 20-1 last Thursday, April 10 at Poly, the biggest win over Lakewood since head coach Steve Meckna took over the program. Senior Karl Luciano, who was out for three weeks due to an ankle injury, won both of his singles games.

“The most important thing about Karl’s matches is they showed that he is back. He played very well at about 85% of his full strength,” said Coach Meckna.

The boys doubles team of seniors Andy Nguyen and Chai Vue swept their games, and all the girls teams won their games, extending the girls singles teams’ winning streak to 40. On Tuesday, April 8, the team beat Wilson 16-5 at Wilson’s gym. Early that day, the mixed doubles team of senior Amanda Phou and junior Vattanak Ry won 4 of 5 very close games.

“Winning the mixed games early were very important. That set the momentum going our way,” said Meckna.

The boys doubles team of Nguyen and Vue continued the momentum by winning both of their games. Luciano made his first appearance since his injury, winning 1 of 2 singles games. The girls teams swept all of their games. The boys singles and mixed doubles team retain talent from last year, returning Ry, the returning Moore League boys singles and mixed doubles champion, Phou, the returning Moore League mixed doubles champion, and boys singles player Luciano, who has been slowed down by injuries.

An improved area has been the boys doubles team. Last year, opponents would construct stronger boys doubles team when playing Poly because Poly’s boys singles teams were much stronger. Nguyen and Vue have turned the boys doubles team around from being the laughingstock to the best in the league.

The real secret weapon is the girls team as a whole. The girls have won 76 of 80 games in Moore League, with girls singles undefeated in league play. Poly played Cabrillo, the second best team in the league, on April 15. The score could not be reported due to press time restraints.