After coming so close to a conference championship and falling short, four players on the women’s tennis team still have a chance to have a championship season by achieving individual goals in the So. Cal regionals at Fullerton tomorrow.
Briana Dalo, La Marano, Tracy Kavanaugh and Kim Nguyen are making the trip to Fullerton for the two-day event. Dalo and Marano will each be competing in individual matches as well as doubles. Kavanaugh and Nguyen will pair together for doubles as well.
“Dalo and Marano have an excellent chance of winning regionals and making it to state in their individual matches,” coach Steve Van Kanegan said. “That’s only if they go there prepared and play confident, though.”
Should any of the women win their matches at the regionals, they would advance to the state championship in Palm Desert May 6-8.
At the Ojai Tournament last weekend, Dalo, Nguyen and Kavanaugh had their final tune-up for regionals. All fell early, with Nguyen falling in her singles match 6-0,6-2; Dalo lost her singles match 7-5,6-4; and the doubles team of Dalo and Kavanaugh fell short, 6-4,6-3.
The fourth member going to regionals, La Marano along with Evetta Nettles and Michelle Morse, did not go to Ojai.
“The players had a great time there and it was good for them to see what college competition looks like,” Van Kanegan said. “I feel they learned a lot from it.”
This was the 10th straight season that the Warriors have finished either in first or second place in the South Coast Conference, and with a 8-3 (6-2) record, the Warriors had one of the best winning percentages in the state.
“This was not a disappointing season at all because we don’t have superstars like Cerritos does. We were in the hunt to win the championship until the final day, which says a lot about this team,” Van Kanegan said.
Van Kanegan has a chance to have the entire team; Kavanaugh, Dalo, Marano, Nguyen, Nettles and Morse, all return for next season because this was their first year playing at EC. They are able to compete two years at the community college level.
Van Kanegan liked the improvement of the players over the course of the season and is confident that each woman will come back a much better player.
“Michelle is the most athletic player on both the men’s and women’s tennis team,” Van Kanegan said. “Tracy and Kim need to refine their games, and Nettles will get better as the season goes. She should be a good player next year.”
For Dalo and Marano, the future remains bright. But both still have a lot to prove for this year and each hope they can get a chance to play in the state championship with a good showing at the Fullerton reginals.
“I’m excited at getting the chance to qualify for the state championship,” Dalo said. “But to get there I need to play better than I have been because the competition is getting harder to win. I need to really focus.”
