Loara Able to Hold Off Magnolia to Win Title

CYPRESS â€”  Magnolia battled down to the wire, but Loara withstood the pressure and won its first Southern Section Division II badminton title Thursday with an 11-8 victory at Cypress College.

With second-seeded Loara (19-1) leading 9-8, Magnolia (14-5) needed an upset from sophomore Peter Lee to have a chance at the title.

Having lost his first match to Sophea Kiet, 9-15, 15-12, 12-15, Lee faced Loara’s No. 1 player, Sopath Ho. Lee came out strong and took the first game 15-4, before Ho split the match with a 15-8 victory in Game 2. And with only one other match in progress, the crowd watched as Lee and Ho battled into a tiebreaker, where Ho finally overcame Lee, 5-4, and clinched the championship for Loara.

Loara alsorecorded two crucial victories in doubles.

For the girls, Sheila Soldivillo and Nina Mai split games with Patty Guyenne and Kathy Phillips, before narrowly getting the victory, 5-4, 6-15, 5-3. And in boys’ doubles Thach Le and Steve Lee, after losing their first match to Anh Nguyen and Phong Trinh 15-12, 12-15, 9-15, recovered to knock off Magnolia’s No. 1 team of Duy Tran and Dung Pham 14-5, 15-4.

“My boys’ doubles was key,� said Loara Coach Diane Sweeney. “Also Sopath and Sophea had a big day for us. The main reason we won is that our team has depth.�

Loara won three of its four boys’ doubles matches. Tuan Nguyen and Howie Te swept 15-9, 15-9; 15-0, 15-4, the Saxons’ only sweep in the match.

Magnolia got sweeps from Boris Chung, a Southern Section individual finalist and Joyce Cabuhat, a semifinalist.

Chung defeated Ho, 3-0, 0-3, 15-8 and Kiet, 15-9, 12-15, 15-12. Cabuhat defeated Sharon Myuong, 11-3, 12-10 and Melva Wong 11-7, 11-3. Chung and Cabuhat also picked up the only victory for Magnolia in mixed doubles, defeating Tuan Nguyen and Myuong 15-10, 15-9.

Loara’s Lee and Mai defeated Anh Nguyen and IngPhansavath 15-8, 14-17, 15-9 and Te and Wong defeated Trinh and Guyenne 15-8, 15-1, to round out the mixed doubles play.