By Tadzio Garcia
After a team loss in the SoCal Regional Finals April 30, East Los Angeles College bounced back and swept the South Coast Conference singles and doubles finals yesterday in Manhattan Beach.
The Huskies finished in first through fourth places in the SCC individual singles competition and took the top two spots in the doubles finals to send six athletes to the badminton state singles and doubles finals.
The state championships will be held at De Anza College in Cupertino, May 9 from noon to 5 p.m. and on May 10, noon to 4 p.m.
ELAC sophomore Khanh Dinh beat teammate Yuki Tai for first place followed by Huskies Suki Kwan (third place and Jasmine Florencia Zhan Wong (fourth place).
ELAC’s No. 1 badminton doubles team of Dinh and Wong won the final’s match against the ELAC No. 2 team, Tai and Kwan. As a result Tai and Kwan took second place.
ELAC lost the SoCal Regional Finals, at home, to San Diego City College 17-4 on April 30 preceded with a 20-1 home win against Skyline College of San Bruno on April 25.
The Huskies completed the regular season undefeated with a 13-0 overall record and 12-0 in South Conference play. ELAC won it’s second consecutive SCC badminton title (they tied with Pasadena in 2013) and its first outright SCC title since 2008.