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As if two times weren’t enough, Lancers’ badminton proved themselves triumphant as they beat ELAC in their third conference game against each other with a 20-1 victory.

Ayumi Kuriki/Courier
Hong Yan Liu (the right) and Sarah Thaw (the left) strive to win doubles against East Los Aangeles College at Pasadena City College on Friday, April 14, 2017.

Earlier this season, the Lancers swept both games against ELAC with a 20-1 win at home and a 19-2 win away.

Coach Jennifer Ho remembered coming into badminton’s first game against ELAC nervously because of their title as 2016’s SCC doubles champions.

“I was more nervous then, but I walked into today’s game much more confidently, as well as earlier games since the first game,” Ho said. “It’s hard for me to tell what ELAC’s strengths and weaknesses are and if they improved, but what I know is that my girls are a strong group.”

Freshmen Sarah Thaw and Natalie Ong saw strides this season in the team, and they’re glad to see it showing through their clean winning record. Both agreed that the team’s success comes from Coach Ho’s thorough training, who still require them to practice during spring break and maintain a healthy lifestyle outside of school.

“Practice is more than just here at the gym,” Ho said. “They need to get good grades, eat healthy, and avoid injuries, because one of these can prevent them from playing well.”

Thaw and Ong won all of their games and noticed individual improvements in themselves later in this game.

Taylor Gonzales/Courier
PCC badminton player Sara Thaw playing in a game against ELAC on Friday, Aprul 14, 2017 at Pasadea City College.

“For me individually, my stamina has improved so I don’t tire out in the middle of the game, but I’ve also worked on communicating with our partners while playing to stay in-sync,” Thaw said.

“My shots are more [inwards] towards the court and accurate,” Ong added. “My stamina also got better too, I can play throughout a game without tiring too soon.”

While the Lancers have made improvements, Thaw and Ong acknowledged that ELAC has improved as well.

“Like us, [one of their players] made more accurate shots, and just rarely made mistakes in today’s game overall,” Ong said. “So both teams improved overall.”

Badminton has one last conference game against El-Camino on Wednesday, April 26 before wrapping up the season at the South Coast Conference Individual Tournament, where the team hopes the streak continues.

“I know earlier I said I wasn’t nervous,” Ho said. “I’ll be confident until we play against Orange Coast later at the tournament. Then I’ll be nervous again.”

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