(front row) Jenny Liu, Shirleen Chen, Yuan Wang, Erin Yokote, Amy Shan, Danica Chong and Shawn Wong. Photo by Chris Broadhurst
In a sport overshadowed by other high school athletic programs, Mira Costa’s badminton team continues to make a name for itself.
The Mustangs recently reached the finals of the CIF Division 1 Team Championships for the first time, giving back-to-back champion Diamond Bar all it could handle in a 12-9 loss in a match played at Long Beach Poly.
When Mira Costa jumped out to a 2-0 lead, it marked the first time this season that Diamond Bar fell behind in a match. After trailing 9-5, Mira Costa rallied to pull within a point at 9-8 before eventually dropping the match. Considered the top high school badminton team in the nation, Diamond Bar has lost only one match in the last three seasons.
Led by senior team captains Zach Friedman and Yuan Wang, Mira Costa’s 10-person squad finished the season with an 11-2 record with both losses coming at the hand of Diamond Bar. The Mustangs lost to the Brahmas 18-3 earlier in the season.
“The CIF Championship was the most competitive, engaging, difficult match our team has ever played,” Friedman said. “Several CIF officials are saying that it was the closest and most well-played final ever. Our team performed admirably, and I don’t have any regrets.”
With the lack of local high schools fielding badminton teams, Mira Costa plays as a freelance team across five leagues. The Mustangs dominated Lakewood 18-3 before defeating San Marino 13-8 to reach the finals.
“Reaching the finals meant that we had accomplished a goal set a long time ago,” Mira Costa Coach Rocky Wilson said. “For the past four years we had only made it to the semi-finals. While we did consider it an honor to tie for third in CIF each year, making it to the finals meant the team had grown and improved.
“We spent a lot of time preparing ourselves physically and mentally to give them (Diamond Bar) an honorable challenge. Our preparation paid off and was obvious to them when we got to an early lead, and then kept up head-to-head until the last three matches. We made them sweat for the first time in their season. I walked away feeling very proud of our players. The players walked away knowing that what was once thought impossible is now a future possibility.”
Wang feels not only was reaching the finals, but the championship match, was the highlight of the season.
“When the score was 8-9 with Diamond Bar leading, there were three matches being played simultaneously,” Wang explained. “All of them went to three games (so they were very contentious) and each of them could have determined the outcome of the playoffs.”
Players and coaches in the badminton program hope the success of the season will help increase interest in the sport of badminton not only at Mira Costa, but in other South Bay communities.
“My hope is that this victory will promote participation in badminton at Mira Costa, especially since so many critical team members are graduating this June,” said Wang, who will be attending Princeton in the fall. “Badminton has been in decline in the South Bay, so my hope is that our plaque would have some effect in revitalizing future South Bay teams to challenge the historically dominant teams around the San Gabriel Valley.”
Wang said all players on Mira Costa’s team have played at least three years at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club (MBBC).
“We (Mira Costa) have always had a pretty good team due to our geographic proximity to MBBC and our player base, but with this accomplishment, I think the school is going to take the team more seriously,” Friedman said.
Like Wang, Friedman plans to continue playing badminton in college while enrolled in the USC Thornton School of Music.
”They don’t have a school team per say, but they do have an intramural squad that represents the school,” Friedman said. “In addition, due to the proximity of USC to Manhattan Beach, I am able to continue playing at MBBC, which is an incredible circumstance due to the caliber of players at MBBC.”
Wang, who has played at MBBC for a decade, and Friedman agree that much of Mira Costa’s success can be attributed to the club.
”Playing at MBBC is a quasi-prerequisite to play on the team,” Friedman explained. “Badminton isn’t like basketball. You have to learn the game on actual badminton courts that are set up to play, well, badminton. Being so close to MBBC, we have the unique opportunity to play with world-class athletes and learn from some amazing coaches through the club. This experience is invaluable to our success, and we can’t thank the people enough at the club who let us use their facilities.”
This year marks the 21st edition of the Junior International Tournament-Wes Schoppe Memorial hosted by the MBBC where top players from around the world compete in boys and girls singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches in six age categories.
Over the years, most of the players who represented their countries in the Olympics and National Teams from the Pan American zone have played at MBBC.
The tournament will be held Monday, July 29 through Sunday, Aug. 4. The MBBC is located at 516 18th St. in Manhattan Beach. For more information regarding the tournament, visit mbbcjr.com.
