Skyline College Women’s Badminton concluded a successful season with outstanding single and doubles performances at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Badminton Championships contested at beautiful Irvine Valley College on May 8-9. Skyline College was represented in singles by MJ Phan (Woodside High School) and in doubles by Phan and Rachel Lum (George Washington High School)
In singles competition, Ms. Phan, the second ranked singles player in Northern California, dropped her opening match to Cassandra Ka of San Diego City College placing her in the consolation bracket. From there it was smooth sailing for MJ as she routed two consecutive opponents earning a spot in the consolation finals against Melody Zhou of Fresno City College. In an extremely competitive final, Phan was triumphant in consecutive sets earning her second consecutive Consolation State Championship in singles.
In doubles play, the team of Phan and Lum entered the competition ranked fifth in Northern California. They quickly dispatched their opponents from San Diego Mesa in the opening round. Their second round opponent was the third ranked pair in Southern California, Carmina Ortiz and Eugenia Mendez of Pasadena City College. This match ended up going into a decisive third set which had multiple lead changes until Phan and Lum emerged triumphant by a score of 22-20. This victory put the dynamic duo into the state semi-finals for doubles where they were ultimately eliminated by Alice Liu and Megan Hsioa of DeAnza College.
Congratulations to Coach Jan Fosberg and the players and coaches on a great 2015 season.
Article by Tony Brunicardi | Photo by Jan Fosberg