SCC Win Streak At 24 For Badminton

In her third season as head coach of the Pasadena City College women's badminton team, Jen Ho has never lost a South Coast Conference match. And at 24 consecutive wins and a 3-0 record thus far this year, it doesn't appear she will anytime soon.

On Friday, the Lancers moved around its regular ladder and won easily over host El Camino College, 20-1. Ho played Natalie Ong, who has been the team's No. 3 player, at No. 1 singles and she didn't disappoint as she beat ECC's No. 1 Ivy Tolentino, 21-11, 21-4, and downed No. 2 Samoen Kong, 21-7, 21-10. JunTing Huang was at No. 2 singles and recorded a 21-13, 22-20 win (over Tolentino) and a 21-16, 21-16 victory over Kong.

Playing No. 3, Noemi Diaz won two matches while No. 4 Janin Herrera split her matches, including El Camino's only point scored by Phoebe Torres in a 21-18, 22-20 win over Herrera. Chaw Thinzar Mon won two matches at No. 5 as did May Hy at No. 6. 

PCC's top player Sarah Thaw was held out of singles, and coupled with Hong Yan Liu with the pair winning No. 1 doubles over Tolentino-Kong, 21-11, 21-9. Thaw-Liu also romped over Phoebe Torres and Amanda Lee, 21-6, 21-11. At No. 2 doubles, Mon-Hy outlasted Tolentino-Kong, 21-18, 18-21, 21-9 and beat Torres-Lee, 21-18, 21-11. 

On Feb. 24 at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium, the Lancers rolled past East Los Angeles, 20-1. At No. 1 singles, Thaw beat last year's CCCAA state singles consolation champ Jean Buenaflor, 21-7, 21-18, and downed Quan Zhang, 21-11, 21-8. Liu lost to Buenaflor, 8-21, 24-22, 21-16, but defeated Zhang, 21-11, 21-19. Ong, Amy Huang, Mon and Annie Ly each won two singles contests each. 

Thaw-Liu scored a No. 1 doubles win over Katherine Lai and Buenaflor, who was half of last year's state doubles champion squad, 21-13, 21-12, and beat Liting Wu and Zhang, 21-10, 21-14. Ong-Huang scored two wins while Mon-Hy won its lone No. 3 doubles.

Ho's overall PCC coaching record stands at 28-2 in dual matches. She also has coached the 2016 state individual champion in graduated Rebecca Tzou and the 2015 doubles champions in Tzou and Sarah Maw, the older sister of current No. 1 Thaw. Pasadena made it to the state championship match last year, the first time for the Lancers since 2010 (an 11-10 loss to Fresno City College).

The Lancers makes their annual trip to the North Region next week. PCC plays at De Anza College on Friday, Mar. 10 in a 5 p.m. non-conference match. PCC then plays at the Coast Tournament on Saturday, Mar. 11, also held at De Anza, located in Cupertino.