Fear set in as Andrea Flores, first-year badminton player, prepared for her first singles match at the 2011 South Coast Conference against an East Los Angeles player known as “The Toughie” by her peers.

“This was my first time playing at the tournament and I was a little scared not having played before,” Flores said. “But she was pretty tough; she was East L.A.’s No. 4 player.”

Although Flores lost and was not able to make it to the finals, which would have made her eligible to compete in the state championship taking place Friday, two of her teammates did.

The doubles tandem of Tanille Barnes and Kumiko Noguchi will be heading to San Francisco today to compete at the State Championships against colleges from Northern California as well as qualifying teams from Southern California.

“We beat two East L.A. teams and that’s how we ended up placing,” Barnes said. “It felt really good. We hadn’t beaten any other team besides Compton the whole season, so it felt great.”

However, Barnes said the pressure of competing at the tournament was immense and was nothing like the matches the team played throughout the regular season.

“It’s a lot of pressure on your body and mentally,” Barnes said. “You don’t know how long you’re going to be playing and then you don’t want to loosen up cause if you lose your game, that would be it. And of course if you win, you have to be strong for the next game.”

“It’s different than playing a few games on a regular day; it’s just a lot harder playing in the tournament.” Barnes added.

Despite the fact that none of the other team members placed in the finals, Barnes said the team was excited for Noguchi and her success.

Flores said the fact that two of her teammates managed to go to the state championship was her most memorable moment of the season.

Among those who were proud of the duo was coach John Britton, who said he had faith in the players and anticipated that Barnes and Noguchi would qualify.

“I’m very pleased they’re getting a reward for the effort they put into the play and for the effort they put into the competition,” Britton said “it’s great to get recognition by reaching the state finals.”

Britton added the team had improved greatly over the course of the season but had not improved enough to match the opposition’s strength.

“Of course there is always something to improve on,” Barnes said. “We aren’t professionals, but I think we all did pretty well this season, especially the players who were playing the game for the first time.”