With their goals for this match set in their minds, the Warriors set out Friday to defeat the East Los Angeles Huskies.

“We were all really excited because we worked so hard,” Tanille Barnes said. “It was a tough game.”

However, even with the Warriors’ wholehearted efforts, it was not enough against East L.A. College, losing the match, 21-0.

The team’s next match will be played at Compton College against the Tartars Friday at 2 p.m.

In spite of the loss, the Warriors were pleased by their performance, Barnes said.

“We did a lot better than we usually do (with East L.A.,) and I think we’re much better now as a team than we were at the beginning of the semester,” Barnes said.

The players are still working on improving their clear shots, which is a shot hit deep to the opponent’s back court.

“There’s always something to work on but that is one thing that the East L.A. and Pasadena teams are much better at than us,” She said. “So we’re still trying to improve.”

First year badminton player Andrea Flores said the match turned out to be a great learning experience for the team.

“The East L.A. team is very competitive and you can tell they take the game very seriously,” she said. “So I don’t feel defeated, I feel good that I learned a lot from them.”

Flores added that even the lower ranking players on the East L.A. team were highly competitive, making it even harder for the Warriors to score any points.

“Our number three player played against their number five player and still had a hard time,” she said. “They’re a tough competition.”

While the players individual scores are getting better, coach John Britton said the other teams are just much stronger than the Warriors.

“No one enjoys losing but the great thing is that the girls aren’t getting disheartened,” he said. “They are enjoying playing and they’re defiantly getting better.”

Vanessa Reid, rising star of the team has been evidence of the team’s improvement with every passing game.

“The Huskies No. 5 player used to beat me by 21-2 or 21-5 before but now it’s at 21-12,” Reid said. “So I can see I’ve improved a lot.”

The Warriors’ star player, Kumiko Noguchi said in order to face more experienced teams such as East L.A. and Pasadena City College the Warriors need a lot more practice.

“Most of the East L.A. players have been playing for a long time and our team is mostly new players” she said. “We’re always hopefully that we will win but it’s very hard.”

According to the South Coast Conference 2010 women’s badminton standings report, the East L.A. Huskies won eight out of 12 matches.

The Warrior’s current record stands at 3-6 and with only three games left till season’s end the players hasn’t lost hope Barnes said.

“It’s odd but as the season is progressing we’re getting even more pumped about the games,” she said.