Desperate to avenge its last loss against Pasadena City three weeks ago, the women’s badminton team found the outcome of yesterday afternoon’s rematch against the Lancers to be déj? vu, losing 15-6.
EC, 3-4, has lost both of their matches against Pasadena, but the team has a season sweep of its own brewing.
They will attempt to remain undefeated against Compton when they have an away match at Compton Wednesday.
“Pasadena is a very talented squad,” John Britton, coach, said. “Last time we faced them, they had their No. 3 player playing as No. 1.
“This time, they had their real No.1 and No.2 players,” he said.
The Warriors started their match against Pasadena City falling behind 5-1 after their first round of games.
Pavithra Wijratne won her singles match, earning one point for the Warriors’ total for the match.
“I played very well in the first singles match against their best player,” Wijratne said. “Our team is showing a lot of improvement.”
Among the players improving are No. 5 Illiana Gonzales, who, despite losing both her singles matches, was able to force a third set only to see a victory for her team slip away.
“I came close to winning, but I need to work on my footwork in order to improve,” Gonzales said.
The Warriors flipped their players for the second singles match, which left No. 2 player Samira Yakubu scheduled to play Pasadena City’s No. 1 player in a match that would determine the winner of the match.
“In that match, I was super frustrated,” Yakubu said. “I took her to the third set, and I should have won.”
Yakubu came back strong for the doubles match, pairing up with teammate Wijratne to win both of their matches and add four points to EC’s match total.
“The last time we faced this team, Samira and Pavithra were only able to win one of their two doubles matches,” Britton said. “This time, they were able to win both, which is an improvement from the last match.”
The next match against Compton could bring the Warriors back to an even record and third place in the South Coast Conference.
“Compton gave us a really tough match last time, and we squeaked out the win, 11-10,” Britton said. “We should be able to play better next time around.”
