Natalie Guzman is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Trevor G. Browne for AZPreps365.com

Trevor Browne badminton defeated rival Maryvale High School 7-2, claiming its second win of the season.

Despite Maryvale’s home court advantage, the Bruins came up with the win, overcoming two losses in singles and five of their nine matches going to a third game.

Trevor Browne coach Danell McPhaul said he had never seen so many split matches in a game. In fact, both of the team’s losses went into a third game. Only varsity No. 4 and No. 6 lost in singles.

Maryvale and Trevor Browne are less than a 10-minute drive away from each other in the Maryvale Village in Phoenix. For football, the rivalry has gone on for at least 40 years – and, according to a 2015 AZ Central article, was once the highlight of Phoenix’s West Side high school football.

McPhaul said the rivalry brings a different intensity to the game.

“They want to try a little bit harder, no matter how the season has gone,” he said. “These girls really want to come out victorious and say, at least at the end of the day, they either beat Browne or Maryvale.”

That’s what Trevor Browne did – beat Maryvale. But before the match, girls like varsity No. 3 Jocelyn Ayala were excited.

“Especially in a rivalry game, we want to win,” Ayala said. “That’s what makes it 10 times better.”

Ayala won her singles match, 21-16 and 21-11, but said she felt that Maryvale’s light blue lines for the court is what ultimately cost her points.

“I think I lost 10 points because I couldn’t see the line,” Ayala said.

Ayala and her doubles partner, Mariana Quintero, won their match for doubles No. 2 and were the last players on the court, as they went to a third game after Maryvale won the second game 15-21. However, Ayala and Quintero won their match after fixing mistakes, such as body positioning and out-of-bounds shots.

Quintero won her singles match, but said she also felt she struggled with body positioning and hitting the net.

Doubles No. 3 for Trevor struggled with communication and drop shots from Maryvale. However, they too won their third game 21-18, making it a close match.

When it came to losing the second game and their close third game, freshman and doubles No. 3 teammate Zeiynap Hernandez said the hardest parts were “making mistakes and not communicating with my teammate.”

With the win over Maryvale, Trevor Browne advances to a 2-11 record, while Maryvale ends the season winless.

“Everybody is a first year [player] and I started basically with nobody and I had to recruit,” said first-year Maryvale coach GG Fregoso. She said she is hopeful for a better season next year.

Trevor Browne has more veteran players than Maryvale, with many girls on the team playing two or three years, helping them in their win. In fact, there is only one senior on the team, Captain Birydiana Cervantes.

Cervantes said this match will help the team fix mistakes ahead of state later this week.

The AIA Badminton State Championship for Division 1 singles and doubles starts on Friday, October 20, at Independence High School in Glendale.