ELAC badminton wins second conference match

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The East Los Angeles College Huskies badminton team moved into second place in the South Coast Conference with a 20-1 win against El Camino-Compton Center.

According to Huskies Head Coach Qui Nguy, the ELAC lineup changed from the usual top-six seeded players to give more freshmen experience with time on the court. “This provides all the girls on the team an opportunity to play,” said Nguy.

It was an exciting overall match with an improved Compton team that included four close sets.

One such match was ELAC’s No. 6 Vanessa “Yong” Xian Liang’s (China Taishan No. 1 HS) comeback win vs. Compton’s No. 5 Amanda Palacio 21-19, 7-21, 22-20. Liang responded with quick play in the third set to win the extended third set.

Another three-set match ended with Compton’s No. 3 singles player freshman Yixi Gonzalez (Locke High School) winning 21-19, 19-21, 21-14 against ELAC’s No. 4 player for the day, Ky “Ying” Feng (China Hualuogeng School).

The SCC standings include Pasadena City College in first place with a 1-0 record, ELAC in second place at 2-1. El Camino College stands in third place at 1-2. Compton falls to 0-3.

The Huskies return to action on Friday, March 18 at Pasadena in the Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.

Singles Results

No. 1 Jean Mornelle Buenaflor (South El Monte HS) def. No. 2 Liliana Castellanos 21-1, 21-1, 21-15; def. No. 1 Laura Rosas 21-1, 21-0.

No. 2 Serena Lieu (Sierra Vista HS) def. Rosas 21-7, 21-8; def. Castellanos 21-7, 21-9.

No. 3 Katherine “Un” Vong (Mark Keppel HS) def. No. 4 Xochitl Briseno 21-16, 21-13; def. No. 3 Yixi Gonzalez 21-19, 21-18.

No. 4 Ky “Ying” Feng lost to Gonzalez 21-19, 19-21, 21-14; def. Briseno 21-12, 21-10.

No. 5 Stephanie “Jia Min” Li (Mark Keppel HS) def. No. 6 Jamia Smith 21-4, 21-5; def. No. 5 Amanda Palacio 21-18, 21-16. 

No. 6 Vanessa “Yong” Xian Liang (China Taishan No. 1 HS) def. Palacio 21-19, 7-21, 22-20; def. Smith 21-7, 21-7.

Doubles Results

 No. 1 Buenaflor/Liang def. No. 2 Castellanos, Smith 21-2, 21-8; def. No. 1 Rosas/Gonzalez 21-8, 21-10.

No. 2 Lieu/Vong def. Rosas/Gonzalez 21-9, 21-10; def. Castellanos, Smith 21-7, 21-6.

No. 3 Li/Feng def. No. 3 Briseno/Palacio 21-10, 21-16.

story submitted by Tadzio Garcia