Cementing a 12-0 record after their 21-9 blowout victory against Fremont on April 29 and 24-6 senior night victory over Los Gatos on April 22, the badminton team had many reasons to celebrate the 2025 season.
The Falcons finished in first place in the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League. Next year they might move up to the upper De Anza Division.
To kick off the senior night, the seniors did their annual walk-out where each senior strolled in in their costumes, soaking in their final year of badminton as a Falcon.
Video by Rohit Thomas
Seniors do their walkouts to kick off a much-anticipated senior night.
The team also honored their 16 seniors with speeches, gifts and shark onesies to celebrate. Star seniors who are graduating include all the captains — Avi Taneja, Brady Smith, Richard Li, Samanvi Boppana and Han Yeung.
Taneja and junior Ishir Gupta played boys No. 1 doubles and won both games 21-14 and 21-15.
“It was a tough match and our opponents pushed us with smart shot placements, but Ishir and I played well in the end and I’m happy we got a win on my senior night,” Taneja said.
Freshman Jayden Mar and Boppana played mixed No. 1 doubles and also won 21-11 and 21-7.
“The first few points of the game were a little rough, but we were just trying to have fun and laughing between the points,” Mar said. “Samanvi ended her final home game with a good stress-free win and I’m happy I was the one to play with her for senior night.”
Adding to the team’s success this year, three nationally ranked players qualified to CCS through league finals. Freshman Selina Xu and Boppana played girls’ doubles, and Mar played boys’ singles. Xu and Boppana, along with Jayden, each placed 3rd overall in their respective events, falling in the finals of their consolation brackets with scores of 23–31 and 26–31, respectively.
After ending a rough season last year with a single win, the Falcons bounced back with an undefeated season and look to continue the winning trend in the upcoming seasons.
“This season has been an incredible turnaround,” Taneja said. “With Coach Brian Liao and a determined mindset, the team worked hard in practices and it clearly paid off in games.”
