After finishing its first round of Southwest Conference matches undefeated, the women’s badminton team reached the top of its conference ladder.
The Warriors faced off against L.A. City here last Wednesday and won, 19-2. They also played against Compton and beat it, 21-0, last Friday. EC’s overall record in conference play is 4-0.
The women will play in the Pasadena Tournament at Pasadena City, Saturday at 9 a.m.
There will be doubles and singles tournaments and every player will play as an individual.
“It will be the first chance to see players from other conference,” coach John Britton said.
Britton said that some players from these other conferences are nationally ranked and powerful, so it won’t be easy for the women.
“I’m kind of afraid of the tournament because I’m not sure how (the) other players play in that tournament,” Sok Ian Leong said.
Britton said that it would be a good learning experience for each player.
“We know that other teams have good quality players. We don’t have any players of that caliber in our conference,” Britton said.
In the game against L.A. City, the Warriors played without No.1 Tomoe Okaguchi but won with a good score, 19-2.
Arielle Lombardi, Okaguchi’s doubles partner and the team’s No. 2, played with Danielle Ruedas in their doubles game and won both their games.
“It was really interesting because my partner (Okaguchi) was not here today and I had never played with Danielle before and we won,” Lombardi said.
Sophomore Menique McShane played her first singles game and won in straight sets, 11-7, 11-5.
“I think I did quite well. I was very nervous because it’s the first time I’ve ever played with someone from a different college, so I’m really relieved now,” McShane said.
Britton said that this game was a good opportunity for the Warriors because every player has a chance to play and they responded well.
In the game with Compton, the Warriors won, 21-0, but Britton said it was a disappointing game.
In contrast to EC’s eight players, Compton only had three.
“Unfortunately, Compton’s top two players were much weaker than we anticipated,” Britton said. “And because they lacked some players, we weren’t able to complete in all the games.”
However, sophomores Yu-Chin Huang and Yee-Chiam Chiang experienced their first doubles game, 15-7, 15-1.
Britton said that the last four games were relatively easy for the Warriors, but the upcoming matches will not be easy.
“It’s nice to be on top of the conference now,” Britton said. “But we will be competing against other conferences which are a lot stronger and far more experienced than we are. Hard times are ahead.”
