PCC Women’s Badminton Hosts Southern California Title Match

Pasadena City College women’s badminton is 21-0 in South Coast Conference matches since head coach Jennifer Ho took over the program to start the 2015 season. The Lancers closed out their SCC title run with a 9-0 record on Friday behind a 17-4 win at East Los Angeles.

PCC will take an undefeated 11-0 overall record into the Southern California Championship on Wednesday, May 4 when the Lancers host Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champion Irvine Valley. To be played at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium, the title match will begin at 3 p.m.

The Lancers will have their hands full against IVC, a team that went 9-0 in conference. PCC’s doubles had another setback in the ELAC victory. Rebecca Tzou and Sandra Maw, the defending individual CCCAA state champions in doubles, lost for the second time against the Huskies’ duo of Jean Buenaflor and Selena Lieu, 21-10, 21-16. Buenaflor-Lieu also blew past PCC’s No. 2 team of Eugenia Mendez-Ana Espinoza, 21-8, 21-11.

PCC’s singles also were tested more than it had been all year in the Friday regular season finale. Tzou beat Buenaflor, 21-10, 21-12, in No. 1 singles but then had to overcome a 1-0 sets deficit to defeat No. 2 Lieu, 10-21, 21-13, 21-14. Lancers No. 2 Maw also twice overcame being a set down, before getting past Buenaflor, 14-21, 21-15, 21-15, and Lieu, 16-21, 21-15, 21-17.

Mendez swept her two matches at No. 3 while Espinoza need three sets to win over ELAC No. 4 Han Le, 19-21, 21-19, 21-5. Espinoza swept No. 3 Katherine Vong, 21-6, 21-8. Both PCC No. 5 Diana Resendiz and No. 6 Hong Yan Liu each swept their two matches as PCC went a perfect 12-0 in singles play v. the Huskies.

“Doubles will be tougher against Irvine Valley too,” Ho said. “They have experienced, older players. We are strong in singles but you can score eight points in two top four doubles matches. We have a challenge to get to the state final.”

IVC is led by Jurate Foes, the 2014 and ’16 PCAC individual singles champ, Cora Tanuwidjaja, and Tracey Nie.

Pasadena is just 1-8 all-time in SoCal title matches, winning its lone regional crown in 2010. That year was also the only team state final reached by a Lancers team, losing then to City College of San Francisco, 11-10.

If PCC beats Irvine Valley, it would face Fresno City College in the state team dual final on Thursday, May 12. The CCCAA State Badminton Championships are also hosted at PCC this year with the individual tourney portion on May 13-14.