The badminton team came back from a recent loss with a 4-1 win against Athenian High School in today’s game after breaking their undefeated streak in a game against University High School.

The team turned their March 22 loss into a learning opportunity to come back stronger for today’s match, according to coach Sarah Garlinghouse.

“We hadn’t played Athenian yet so it was a fresh team,” Garlinghouse said. “We were optimistic about our performance because we had an extra week to practice, whereas the other schools were on spring break.”

Captains Nora Hanak, Willa Hegarty, Julia Praegar and Kendra Harvey combine their strengths to mentor the underclassmen so that they can improve their skills and have a fighting chance at starting positions on the team.

“In any sport, when you lose, there is greater motivation to improve your skills for the sake of yourself and for your team,” Hanak said.

The most important thing the team took away from their loss against University, and applied to today’s match, is to ignore the score and try hard no matter the circumstances, according to junior Maya Shur.

“No matter how far ahead the other team is, we have to just keep playing our best and remember not to give up,” Shur said. “It doesn’t mean we can’t pull through even if the other team is ahead.”

In the practices between the game against University and today’s match, the upperclassmen on the team were helpful in bringing up the energy and getting teammates motivated, according to freshman Grace Boudreau.

“They constantly reminded us that the more work you put in, the better you get,” Boudreau said. “They also taught us that no matter what it’s just important to try your hardest and always give 100 percent.”

One of the great assets that the badminton team possesses is that players are able to make light of any mistake or loss that they encounter, according to Hanak.

“One of our team’s greatest strong suits is everyone’s ability to stay positive, no matter the results of the match,” Hanak said. “Although we always hope to win, losses are often the greatest opportunities for growth.”