Coming into the game undefeated, the Matadors held up their streak at this year’s senior night on May 12 to place first in the league. The eight seniors were honored by playing the first round in varsity one positions before going out for dinner with the team when the games were finished. They also received gift bags prepared by the team, along with posters that had decorated the walls of the Field House.

Feature match, varsity one doubles: seniors Evan Lin and Brandon Tran

Playing their last game on the MVHS badminton courts, Lin and Tran came prepared to take home a victory. With their teamwork, high serves, and smashes, they were able to outdo their opponents and win a decisive match 15-8 and 15-7.

“I was saying before tonight if I lost the game, I’d be so sad because this is senior night,” Tran said. “We [might have] had a lot more spectators, but it’s just another game for us, and we had to win.”

Ahead 5-3, the pair started off strong and managed to hold the lead throughout the remainder of the game. Tran’s height allowed him to intercept many of the flat shots from Wilcox opponents, allowing MVHS to maintain their momentum, while Lin kept long rallies in the back court.


One of these rallies, filled with net skimming shots, ended in the Matadors’ favor, extending the lead to 9-6. Making good judgment calls at the line, Lin and Tran scored six points in a row pulling further ahead to 13-6. Although Wilcox opponents smashed down the middle, creating trouble for the pair when deciding who to return the shot, Lin and Tran won the game 15-8.

The next game followed just as smoothly, with MVHS again taking the lead from the start. Straying away from the usual team serving techniques, Lin and Tran served high and far to throw off their opponents. Up 7-0, they continued to capitalize on Wilcox errors to score points of their own.

“We’ve been playing together for three years, so we’ve gotten a lot of experience playing with each other’s styles,” Tran said. “We’re really good at setting each other up, and although we played individually, we did open up opportunities for each other.”

Lin then shot a drop to the far right corner out of reach of his opponents to put MVHS up 9-1. The pair continued to move Wilcox around the court to tire them out, and the opponents weren’t able to keep up with the swiftness of both Lin and Tran.

After a drop cross court from Tran, the team finished the game 15-7, stepping off the court for the last time in their high school careers.

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