Paly’s varsity badminton team hopes for more encouraging results in its upcoming match against Cupertino High School after falling to Monta Vista, 4-26, in Tuesday’s home game.

There was a general sense of disappointment after Paly players struggled against the Monta Vista Matadors.

“I’ve never played this bad[ly] in my life,” junior Andy Baek said.

Varsity No. 1 boys’ singles’ player junior Ivan Zhou struggled throughout two sets and fell, 4-15, 6-15.

Other players found themselves in similar situations. At varsity No. 1 girls’ singles, junior Hillary Yuan was unable to score a point in her match. Although varsity No. 2 singles junior Michelle Tran played solidly against her opponent, Tran was ultimately defeated, 7-15, 6-15.

“I think I did pretty well considering Monta Vista is really good at badminton,” Tran said of her overall performance.

Likewise, the varsity No. 1 girls’ and boys’ doubles teams both lost their matches. Seniors Crystal Wang and Connie Yang lost quickly, 6-15 and 1-15, while seniors Auster Chen and Kevin Dai were more of a challenge to defeat. Chen and Dai won the first game 17-14, but the duo lost their momentum. They lost the second and third game, 14-17, 3-15

In spite of the general trend in match results, freshman Karine Hsu and senior Justin Hsi coordinated effectively at varsity No. 1 mixed doubles. After two games of quick rallies and returns, Hsu and Hsi won a clean victory, 15-6 and 15-8.

The junior varsity team also fell to Monta Vista, 3-12, leaving many players dissatisfied at both their scores and their performance.

“I felt like I could have won, but I did terrible,” freshman JV No. 2 Jessica Jin said.

JV player Baek expressed frustration at a loss that began as a probable victory. Baek injured his right shoulder shortly after the match began, but refused to forfeit, instead continuing to play with his dominant arm. Later on he rallied with his left hand as the pain increased. Baek lost his match, 21-23.

“I should have bageled him, easily,” Baek said.

Paly (1-4), has struggled against Monta Vista for several years.

“They’ve [Monta Vista] been at the top for many years,” coach Kara Prentice said.

According to Prentice, Monta Vista came in second in the De Anza league last year, after Gunn High School.

Despite Paly’s loss, Prentice believes that the team is doing well in the season.

“In general, they’ve been playing really well, playing good,” Prentice said. “Line ups have been changing a lot and we’re filling up the holes where people are gone.”

The badminton team will face Cupertino High School at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Paly. According to Prentice, Paly has not played Cupertino in years because the Cupertino team just moved up from the lower El Camino division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League this year.