Fourteen wins, zero losses over the regular season. An 11-0 clean sweep against Pasadena City College — the opposing conference leader and second in the state — to secure the team state championship, the third team championship in four years.
The numbers spell out a story of pure dominance delivered by the Mountain Lions and clearly set the women’s badminton players apart as De Anza’s top team.
On May 8, the Mountain Lions faced the Pasadena City College Lancers for the 3C2A state team title. May 9-10 saw the individuals tournament, where qualifying players from across California community colleges competed for the singles and doubles honors, at City College of San Francisco.
De Anza took all three championship titles.
“This is the most self-driven team I’ve had,” Head Coach Mark Landefeld said. “The most effective team. I think the results bear that out.”
For both the semifinals of singles and the final match of doubles, it was Mountain Lion versus Mountain Lion.
In the semifinals match of singles Makayla Than, 18, business major and No. 3 seed, won an upset over teammate MaiLan Vuong, 19, business major and No. 1 seed, 21-18, 21-17.
Landefeld said he was “a little” surprised at the result.
“It would be fascinating if I didn’t know one of my players was going to lose,” Landefeld said. “(Vuong) could have easily ended up a finalist and a champion this year.”
“In the past, we would just play for fun, but … (Vuong) would win all the time,” Than said. “I think this was my best performance.”
Than went on to play Fresno City College’s Pj Yang, 19, business major, in what Landefeld described as “a revenge match.”
Yang had previously beat Than in the Coast Conference semifinals, making Yang a No. 2 seed.
The match went to three games, with Than rallying twice — once to take the first game 21-18, and again in the second after trailing 14-19. Than made a five-point push but came up short, losing 19-21 to tie the match.
“I was trying to rush it too fast, and I noticed it, and I took a breather,” Than said. “I reset myself and then I started doing what I normally do. Relaxed.”
Than led the entire third game, winning 21-17 and closing the match as the singles champion.
“She’s really good at keeping her mental, now. I’ve definitely seen a difference,” teammate Vuong said.
“They’re one of our toughest opponents,” Yang said. “I’m definitely ready for next year (against) them.”
Vuong went on to win the doubles title with partner Natalee Lam, 19, business major, defeating teammates Jenny Thai, 19, psychology major, and Karina Chow, 18, cognitive science major.
Landefeld credits sophomores such as Vuong and Thai for motivating their team after they “kind of got beat up” last season, and he highlighted freshman performances, such as Than’s and Chow’s, as examples of what to expect in the future.
“(Than) goes into the next season with the confidence of a returning state champion,” Landefeld said. “There’s something in the cupboard for next year.”
