Two mighty badminton teams engaged in a clash of the titans last Wednesday. When the smoke cleared, one battle-weary team stood holding the coveted conference championship.

EC was able to beat the favored Pasadena City College Lancers 13-8 to win the South Coast Conference title last week, an amazing feat considering it was the Warriors’ fifth consecutive crown. Friday, the women beat L.A. City College 14-7.

EC played Irvine Valley College in a playoff game Wednesday, but scores were not available at press time.

“I’m really satisfied with our championship,” coach John Britton said. “It was enjoyable to see the players improve over the course of the season.”

“The former soccer players on the team didn’t have much experience coming in, but they got tougher,” Britton said.

The Warriors were able obtain a victory over the Lancers because, among other things, it played with a full team for the first time this season.

“Everybody showed up. We were at full strength,” Britton said.

Some of the players believed that they gave their best effort of the season.

“I played the most exciting match I have played all season,” Ida Leong said, who won her doubles match with partner Danielle Ruedas.

“The game was neck-and-neck. We won the first game, but fell in the second,” Leong said. “In the third game we exchanged points, but we came out on top.”

Against L.A. City Friday, some of the women ran into a little trouble, but were still able to prevail.

“I played terrible,” Yanni Ma said. “My opponent was too big. She was tall and strong, and was a little overpowering.”

The next stop for the team is Wednesday against a solid IVC team in a playoff match-up. EC will then travel to the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club Friday to continue the playoffs.

Finally, the team will make a trip to Fresno next week to compete in the state championships.

With four members of the U.S. National Team, IVC may be one of the best teams in the country.

“We do not have high ambitions going into this game,” Britton said. “But we’ll do our best.”

“The only way we can win the match is if all of their players somehow have catastrophic injuries and they can’t play,” Britton said with a smile on his face.

“It will be a good experience,” Leong said. “It will give us a chance to play against the best.”