Davis Badminton claims sectional title

PHOTO: Senior Vidushi Jain sprints to the other side of the net to save the birdie.

Photo by Saadya Mahmood

By Chase Bruno

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The Davis High badminton team placed first in the CIF Sac Joaquin Section tournament with a total of 45 points on May 17. The team had by far the most points in the tournament, with Lincoln High in second place with 21. 

The team has not won sections since 2008 and looks forward to continuing their season and the upcoming NorCal regional tournament. “Going on to NorCal has been literally the dream from the start of the season because we knew that it’s a very hard goal to accomplish and that hasn’t been accomplished in a long time,” head coach Chris Lossin said.

The Devils dominated the doubles half of the tournament, with teams placing both first and second. Seniors Michelle Hsu and Jennifer Lee won to give the team 8 points towards their total score. “We were able to work together, and our rotation was really good today,” Lee said.

Freshman Michelle Shan led Davis in the singles tournament, placing fourth in her first year on the team. “(Shan) has really impressed us because of her absolute commitment to every point that she fights for, and literally going to absolute exhaustion,” Lossin said. 

Coach Dan Su credits the team’s success this year to the selective tryouts and intense practices. “We have really intense tryouts, and we only take the most promising candidates, and then from the raw talent we can nurture and develop it,” Su said.