Palo Alto High School’s badminton team (3-5) will face its cross-town rival Henry M. Gunn High School today in the Big Gym at Palo Alto High School.

According to sophomore and mixed doubles player Alby Leng, the competition between the Gunn and Paly badminton teams this season has been more heated than usual due to an unexpected upset.

“The reason there is a rivalry this season is because we beat them them [Gunn] when we weren’t supposed to,” Leng said.

Defeating Gunn, one of the highest ranked teams in the league, served as an important turning point in the Viking’s season. Paly is still currently unseeded, but doing much better than expected, according to sophomore player Angus Huang.

“We still have quite a few games to play, but as long as we don’t lose them, the upper league’s opinion of our badminton team will change for the better,” Huang said.

In addition to winning their last matchup against Gunn, Viking morale has increased after winning their last fews matches and has helped the team develop and really mesh together, according to Leng.

“Players on varsity tend to talk with each other a lot more now [compared to earlier in the season],” Leng said.

The Vikings will face the Titans at 3:30 p.m. today in the Big Gym at Palo Alto High School.