Match 10 - at Johnson

Varsity 0-7

JV 3-4

The varsity result was closer than the score as 1 & 2 doubles could have gone either way. JV needed a doubles win.

The question now is, "what do we learn from this?" In part, I hope that we start to realize that the first step (most important step?) in winning in believing that you can. This is not a simple decision, but a realization that you prepared as well as possible. Give this some thought.

Also remember that 'hustle' is not a skill, it is a choice.

Highland on Thursday.

Match 9 - Humboldt at home

Varsity 7-0

JV 7-0

Dominating performance girls. Another stellar job done by the doubles teams (all won in 2 games)) and 2 of the 4 singles matches were done in two. If you saw Mai Kou's third game against Shiny you saw a gem. She had great shot variety and all of them (yup all) seemed to be working. She looked great. Law is still undefeated and still has not lost a game. Doua played a great singles match and Kia held her opponent to 12 points in game 3. Doubles team Da and Kelly won their first game together 21-5 and went on to win in 2. Another good win for Mel/Nit and Mai/Panny. On JV, only one match went to 3 games and most of you held your opponents to under 10 points per game.

It is always important to try and play your best no matter the opponent. Sometimes it is harder to get yourself up for the games you should be favored. I think we showed good focus on Friday.

Monday we are "Kickin' it East side" when we travel to Johnson to take on the Governors.

Another reminder that Wednesdays game at Highland is now on Thursday.

Match 8 - at Harding

Varsity: 1-6 - We looked lifeless and beaten at times. Do we need to think about some changes for the second half of the year if we want to be part of the top St. Paul teams? We are 3-3 in conference - tied with 2 teams we lost to (Harding and Como).

Excellent work Melissa and Nitsan who beat one of the top doubles teams in the state.

Junior Varsity: 2-5 - Some very close matches here (Hannah, Si Poo) could have swayed the victory either way. This was Hannah's and Natalie's first JV loss of the year. Law is still undefeated and won very easily. Law is a natural attacker on the court. Also, a very nice job to Panny & Nancy who won in 2 games playing double for the first time.

Humboldt at home on Friday.

Match 7 - Como Park at home

Varsity: 3-4
JV: 6-1

Some thoughts:

• It was like a playing a slightly different version of ourselves - good balance up and down the lineup with some good bird control
• Nice wind by Kia (dominated in the 3rd game), Kalia (had a great game 2 for the win) and Melissa and Nitsan won in 2 games. They fought off 5 CP game points in game 2 to win 22-20. They are still undefeated, 7-0.
• Serves were more rushed than they needed to be

Now, make sure the disappointment we feel transforms into improvement and not to self-doubt. It is very easy to pick either one. The season is not even half over. Let's get some momentum for the second half on Wednesday.

Another dominating performance on JV. The 6-1 match score pushed the JV record to 6-1. All but one point came in 2 games (Law, Natalie, Hannah, Nancy, Mai/Panny, Ia/Ong)

C-Squad won easily: 7-0. Keep it up. Great game by Angelina. She outlasted the Como girl in 3 games.

Kevin Anderson (from Out and About) was there. He took some great pictures and posted some highlights on the Doua/Da game.
Check it out.

Match 6 - At Arlington

Varsity 7-0
JV 6-1
The score at Arlington does not tell the complete story. They had some good players that returned the bird well and showed good court awareness. We did a couple of things better team-wide that proved to be the difference:
-good game focus (understandably, given Arlington's week)
-nice movement on doubles
-bird placement on singles

Way to go singles! We did not loose a scheduled match (14-0) and eleven of them were done in 2 games.
Other fun facts:
-Doua played her first varsity singles match in 3 and a half years of varsity badminton
-Ia/Ong held their opponent to 13 points in 2 games.
-Kelly/Mai & Ka Lia all had a close first two games but dominated in the third
-C-squad was a perfect 7-0

We have fun week ahead of us - eat healthy and get plenty of sleep.

Match 5 - Eden Prairie at home

Varsity: 4-3
JV: 7-0 (Sweet!)

Way to go girls! That is a good Eden Prairie team and we beat 'em twice. I am truly sorry I missed it - I was at the Twins game with my family. Starting at about 2:30 I started looking at the clock hoping things were going ok. Movement was slow leaving the park and when we sat in traffic, I knew that the game would be over by the time I got there.
So since I was not there for the win, lets hear it!
Post some comments to acknowledge, congratulate, question, or observe.
I will read them at practice!!

Match 4 - Highland at Home

Varsity: Central 5, HP 2
JV: Central 6, HP 1
Good work defending our home court today. There were some close matches that could have gone so the 5-2 score is somewhat deceiving. The two wins at 1 & 4 singles were the difference.
Mai Kou won in two very close games. First by 3 and the second game went to overtime. She came back from a late-game, 6 point deficit for the victory.
Sue won in three games. The first 22-20 and the third 21-11. She dominated game 3! Mostly out of choice.
Kia lost her match in the third game, 19-21.
Our doubles all won their matches in two-games.
Doua/Dala held the HP girls to 6 points in the second game and Mel/Nitsan to 11 in the first.
There were some slight signs of over-confidence at times for some of our doubles teams. Don't take much for granted when playing the other schools best players. They don't need much room to wiggle-room to take control of a game. Focus is key.
It was interesting that a similar theme surfaced in both Kia's three-game loss and Sue's three-game win. That is, tempo. When Sue went to game the rubber match, she was determined to set the pace of the match. She seemed to take look at the previous point as an opportunity to learn something about her opponent. Her strengths, weaknesses and tendencies. It was nice to see. Kia had the hustle and determination but could have slowed the pace to keep her head clear.
However, know this: out thinking your opponent does not mean you won't get outplayed. There is always a great deal of sweat and grit that goes into a win. Balancing the physical game with the mental game is always the trick. Try and pace your game to be aware of both.
-----
C-squad: 4-3

Match 3 - Johnson at home

Three was an not a magic number for us today. We lost 3-4 Varsity and 3-4 JV against a good Johnson team. Really at this point of the season, I think just about every school would classify themselves more a 'good' team than a 'great' team. There is so much season left to play. Furthermore, there is just so much to learn. Even for a team. like us, that has mostly seniors.
I read a quote from a legendary college basketball coach (John Wooden) the other day that I thought might strike a chord with our upperclass-women. It went something like, "It is what you learn after you know everything that counts."
Varsity singles, your next step is clear. You will need to out work your opponents. Maintaining is not going to be enough.
Varsity doubles, you have a target on your backs. Just about every team knows your experience and past successes. Guess what? Every other team is going to try and do what our singles are going to do - out work you to beat you. Maintaining is not going to do it.
You are skilled players. Now what are you going to do?

Match 2 - at Humboldt

Nice Win at Humboldt Girls. We played well and showed that we can focus on the task at hand. I primarily think that we won mostly because we made fewer mistakes. This sounds like a KGO (Keen Grasp of the Obvious) statement but there are generally 2 ways to decide a game. Either you outplay someone through better preparation and skill OR you beat yourself though mental mistakes that gives your opponent points. I am talking about unforced errors. I think that we made hit fewer 'out-birds', had better serves, and made sure that if we lost, it was because they made the shots they needed to. But we didn't lose: 6-1. Great work Varsity.

Congrats to our firery-freshman, Law who took her first opportunity to play varsity by the horns and won easily 21-15, 21-16. She played with great poise and intelligence. Keep it up!

Also winning:
-Mai Kou in 2 games against a girl who has played number 1 singles for a few years
-Kia who seems to like to go to 3 games - we can get you another game Kia if you want more court time....
-Da/Kalia: had to make-up a team here to accomodate an emergency. Once they got familiar with each other they cruised.
-Melissa/Nitsan in 2 games. The other team didn't score enough in 2 games to win 1 game, Nice.
-Kelly/Mai are starting to look like the pair we know them to be. Won their first game as a team in 2010.

JV Notes
-all 7 matches were in 2
-closest anyone got was 16 points in a game

C-Squad
-Sou Kou dominated in 2 games
-Tia played the JV, 3 girl and won in 3 close games

Next up, Johnson for our first home game.