In leading up to the official start of the 2019-20 athletics campaign at Irvine Valley, which starts on Aug. 27 with the IVC men's soccer team hosting Rio Hondo and the Laser women's soccer team playing at San Diego Mesa, the Irvine Valley athletic department will count down the top 10 sports stories from the 2018-19 school year.
The No. 10 story on the list is the solid season that the Irvine Valley women's badminton team had. The Lasers just missed out taking a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title, finishing second and ended the year with a record of 6-3 overall. Irvine Valley then had two of its players make a run all the way to the title match in doubles at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship at Pasadena City.
Irvine Valley's women's badminton team won six of its first seven matches of the spring 2019 season, including beating conference favorite San Diego City, 11-10, in a match at home on Apr. 5.
The Lasers fell to San Diego City the second time around, 14-7, but still had a chance to capture a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title with a win over Grossmont in a make-up match on the road on Apr. 24.
But the Griffins topped the Lasers, 12-9, meaning that San Diego City ended up earning the conference crown.
Irvine Valley still had things to play for individually in the postseason and the doubles team of sophomore Chien Tu and freshman Lulu Yan made the most of its opportunity.
Tu and Yan, who were seeded second, won three straight matches at Pasadena City College to reach the championship final.
IVC's Tu-Yan powered past Pasadena's Xiaoming Yao and Jessica Lee, 21-15, 21-19 in their semis match.
The doubles championship produced a first for Skyline College as the duo of freshmen Katie Tan and Paola Candolada swept Tu and Yan, 21-12, 21-18. Skyline had reached the doubles finals in both 2004 and 2008, and finally made it to the winner's circle this season. Irvine Valley reached the doubles final for the first time since 2011.
Yan won a match in the singles bracket before being knocked out in the second round.