Badminton has had a reputation for being one of Perry’s best athletic teams for the past couple of years, having a win streak of 82. However, Perry has met their match, and been bested by Chaprell. Up until Oct. 12, the team had won all of the matches this season, with their opponents never earning more than three points. On senior night, the team lost a difficult match to its toughest competitor, Chaparral.  

Coach Lerina Johnson suspects one of the factors affecting the loss was a stalling tactic employed by their opponents. According to Johnson, Chaparrals players would often halt matches with the intent of throwing Perry off their game. Considering the continuous nature of badminton, stalling the game can play a role in the mindset of players, and interrupt their flow. “Tactics like untying and tying shoes, putting in eye drops during match play and wiping shoes.  We let that affect our mental game and it changed our focus,” said coach Johnson. 

The team was prepared for a tough competition, knowing that Chaparral was their biggest competitor, and the pressure may have affected the players’ game as well. “It was just a really tough match,” said senior Jayden Montano, “we still played really well, there were just certain things we could’ve worked on more and now we know…next time we see them, we’ll do better.”

Up until this game, the team had a five year win-streak, with a record of 82-0, having not lost a match since the 2016 season. But this loss, while unfortunate, is not something the girls are trying to dwell on. “It definitely gave us something to base off of, like what we did wrong, and how we can improve from there,” said senior Emma Cross, “it kind of gave us more of a drive.”

 Perry finished the season with a 13-1 record, in addition to winning an invitational hosted by Chaparral. The team went into the championship season as Premier Region champions. For the single and double championships on Oct. 22 Montano and Cross placed fourth in the state for the DI Doubles championship. 

Coming off of the loss straight into championships meant the girls were heavily prepared. “We practiced like everyday, really hard, so it helped us improve a lot,” said Montano. 

Continuing on, team matches started on Oct. 25 against Xavier Prep, with Perry winning every match , 5-0. The next match will be on Oct. 26 against Corona del Sol, and students can support the team for free in the main gym at 6:00 pm.