Glendale Wins Pair of Titles in Badminton

The Glendale High girls’ and boys’ doubles teams each rallied from losses in their opening games to win Southern Section badminton championships Friday at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Twins Angela and Christian Armendariz of Glendale won an unprecedented fourth consecutive girls’ title by beating Bev Bitanga and Marie Nool of Palm Springs, 7-15, 15-8, 15-4. On the boys’ side, Jung Lee and Eric Chu, unseeded in the tournament, defeated Joe Chantharath and Michael Trinh of Rosemead, 7-15, 15-7, 15-11. It was the first time any Glendale boys’ team had advanced beyond the semifinals of the Southern Section tournament.

Although her team lost, Nool found solace in the fact that she and her partner were able to take the Armendariz twins to three games--something that has happened just four times in four years.

“I thought it was a miracle,” Nool said of the first-game win. “I guess we got a little overconfident.”

Angela Armendariz was not fazed by the loss.

“We can’t get started,” she said. “But after we get going, it starts looking better.”

Said Bitanga of the Glendale team’s dominance: “Since they’re graduating, it makes you want to flunk and play again next year.”

In April, the Armendariz twins, undefeated in high school competition, won their second consecutive national 18-and-under doubles championship.

Lee and Chu, who played singles most of the season, were familiar with their Friday opponents: They beat Chantharath and Trinh in a practice match at the beginning of the season. But that didn’t make their task in the final any easier.

“They had to fight (for) every single point,” Glendale Coach Pat Rogerson said.

Rogerson added that Lee and Chu’s toughest match came in the second round against top-seeded and previously unbeaten Garden Grove. Glendale fell behind, 12-1, in the first game before rallying to win.