Student Services Building Remodel Student Services are temporarily located in alternate locations.
Student Services Building Remodel Student Services are temporarily located in alternate locations.
Fresno City Collge dominated the bottom four singles contest, 8-0, as the Rams captured the 2019 CCCAA women's badminton state championship, 12-5, over host Pasadena City College Thursday, May 9th at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.
Fresno finished the year with a perfect 9-0 record in a now tying PCC,2-2, in state titles since 2016. The Lancers (9-3) won the state titles in 2017 and 2018. Ironically, the Rams won for the second time on PCC's home floor as they did when they picked up their first-ever title in the sport in '16.
FCC head coach Panhia Vang has the distinction of directing a state champion team in her first year of coaching after she won as the Rams' top singles player in 2016.
"Its's an awesome feeling,"Vang said of winning as a head coach. "We worked hard and our whole team played well. Our No. 2 player Uyen Napier stepped up for us and got better during the second-halk of the season."
Napier recovered from a loss to PCC's No.1 Xiaoming Yao in the first round by first teaming with Rams' #1 player Soua Kong to win v. the Lancers No.2 doubles pair of Jessica Lee-Huyen Diep, 21-6, 21-19. In the third round singles, the 37 year-old Napier, from Vietnam, scored a win over PCC's #2 player Lee, 21-12, 21-19.
"Badminton is a sport where in a team setting everyone has to contribute,"Napier said. "We had a true team and some of the others we faced had some great No. 1 or No. 2 players but not a whole team. Playing for Coach Panhia was so helpful because she knew what to prepare for, and what it was like as a player playing at state only a few years ago. Her training from the start of the season was very strong and helped us improve."
The Fresno lower ladder players, #3 Nari Chang, #4 Stephanie Tran, #5 Dominique Yang and #6 Shakaila Eddings each swept two singles matches each while Yang-Eddings tallied a win in #3 doubles over PCC's Nicole Ching and Annjie Li, 21-8, 21-6.
Fresno City 12, Pasadena City 5
#1 Soua Kong (Fresno) loses to #2 Jessica Lee (PCC), 21-18, 12-21, 21-13
#2 Uyen Napier (Fresno) loses to #1 Xiaoming Yao (PCC), 21-13, 21-11
#3 Nari Chang (Fresno) d. #4 Huyen Diep (PCC), 21-9, 21-3
#4 Stephanie Tran (Fresno) d. #3 Sophia Nguyen (PCC), 21-18, 21-16
#5 Dominique Yang (Fresno) d. #6 Emilee Kintanar (PCC), 21-4, 21-13
#6 Shakaila Eddings (Fresno) d. #5 Nicole Ching (PCC), 21-6, 21-10
#1 Kong-Napier (Fresno) d. #2 Lee-Diep (PCC), 21-6, 21-19
#2 Chang-Tran (Fresno) loses to Yao-Nguyen (PCC), 21-18, 21-12
#3 Yang-Eddings (Fresno) d. Ching-Annjie Li (PCC), 21-8, 21-6
Kong loses to Yao, 21-16, 21-18
Napier d. Lee, 21-12, 21-19
Chang d. Nguyen, 21-19, 21-19
Tran d. Diep, 21-10, 21-9
Yang d. Ching, 21-8, 21-7
Eddings d. Kintanar, 21-10, 21-4
