Aside from being a little sad that she would no longer be able to be a part of the badminton team next semester, Tanile Barnes was pleased with the team’s performance this season.
“I played for the badminton team last year as well and really got to love the game,” she said, “I’m going to miss playing for EC.”
The Warriors won 20-1 against the Compton College Tartars last Wednesday, which was an impressive ending to an otherwise disappointing season.
Next, the Warriors will be competing in the South Coast Conference individual championships on May 6.
“It’s exciting, all the teams will be there, it should be pretty good,” Barnes said. “I remember last year’s tournament was a lot of fun and short.”
However, not everyone shares Barnes’ eagerness. Vanessa Reid, first time badminton player said she is nervous about the upcoming competitions and hopes that she will be able to get a little more practice time before the tournament.
If the players win at the individual championships the players will then move on to the semi-finals.
The teams ends the season with a record of 4-8; all four of the wins came against Compton, blowing them out time and time again.
Despite losing all the matches against more competitive schools like Pasadena City College and East L.A. College, coach John Britton said it was important for the Warriors to play against them because it was a great learning experience.
“Our scores kept improving throughout the season, but not enough to win the match,” he said.
After playing 12 matches this season the players on the team said they feel they have come a long way from where they started out.
Due to budget constraints, it is still unclear whether or not there will be a badminton team next semester, Britton said.
Nonetheless, if badminton is given a chance to return next semester for another season, Vanessa Reid, Kumiko Noguchi and a handful of other players will return as well.
“It was a mostly inexperienced team and it was good to see the improvements made by them,” Britton said. “Another year under their belt and they will be much better.”
