She Wins Because She ‘Plays Like a Guy’ : Girls’ player of year: Coach calls junior Doan Nguyen the most talented female ever to play for Estancia.

Off the court, Estancia junior Doan Nguyen is graceful, feminine and is a talented artist.

Alhambra Keppel badminton Coach Harold George has a different perception after watching her play.

At the Southern Section Individual Championships last month at Cypress College, Doan (pronounced Doe-Ann) and her mixed-doubles partner, Chau Nguyen, beat Keppel’s previously undefeated Junior Nationals championship team of Johnny Le and Nhi Phung, 15-12, 15-6, in the final.

“She plays like a guy,” a frustrated George said after watching Doan repeatedly return Le’s hard smashes.

“She’s Robocop,” Chau Nguyen said. “She’s amazing out there. She gets every smash. What can’t she do? She’s like a robot on the court. They don’t understand. She’s so powerful. She plays like a male. She’s my doubles partner, not my mixed doubles partner.”

Nguyen, The Times’ Orange County girls’ badminton player of the year, compiled a 115-0 record this season in doubles, mixed doubles and singles.

“Guys always assume the girl is weak,” Doan said. “I show them differently.”

With the victory over Le and Phung, she became the first player to win three consecutive Southern Section mixed doubles titles. She also teamed with Concha Gil to become the first player to win the girls’ doubles championship the same year.

Teaming with Chau--who is not related--in mixed doubles, Doan finished 42-0. The girls’ doubles team compiled a 71-0 record. In the 4-A dual meet championship final against Nogales, Doan played singles for the first time this season and won both matches to ensure the Eagles’ 12-7 victory for their second consecutive 4-A team championship.

“I had a problem: Keeping from hitting the birdies to the doubles lines,” Nguyen said of her singles matches. “I had to get adjusted. I hadn’t played singles since my freshman year, but I remembered how. I like doubles better than singles. It’s a lot harder (in singles).”

Estancia Coach Lillian Brabander retired after the season. Since 1974, Brabander’s teams have compiled a 329-28 record, 14 league championships and three section titles. She praises Doan Nguyen’s talents.

“(Doan) is the most talented female I’ve ever had,” Brabander said. “She’s on a par with any female in the Southern Section.”

If Doan can more than hold her own against boys, it’s probably because she was tested early on by her brother Danh Nguyen, a senior, who was a member of the Eagles’ Southern Section championship boys’ doubles team this season.

“We started playing in the back yard with a string tied across (the yard), back and forth when I was about 13 or 14,” said Doan, who immigrated to this country with her older brothers and sister in 1976 after a harrowing escape from Vietnam. She lives with her father in Costa Mesa. “We argued a lot. Badminton is played much more seriously in Asian countries, but I actually play it for fun.”

Like her partner, Chau, Nguyen probably will quit playing competitively after she graduates from high school next year.

“I want to go to UC Irvine and major in criminology,” said Nguyen, who has a 3.7 grade-point average. “I’d like to learn more about behavior and I like working with people.”

Brabander explains the role the sport plays in Doan’s life.

“(It’s) strictly a high school sport for her,” Brabander said. “She’ll play one more year and then she’ll quit even though she has great potential. I’m not surprised to hear she’s interested in studying criminology. It would fit in with her personality.”

And, if she goes into law enforcement, what better occupation could there be for someone called “Robocop?”

All-Orange County Badminton

FIRST TEAM

BOYS

Player School Yr. Comment Chau Nguyen Estancia Sr. Section singles, mixed- doubles champion. Sang Kim Garden Grove Sr. Two-time section individual semifinalist. Danh Nguyen Estancia Sr. Undefeated, Two-time section boys’ doubles champ.

GIRLS

Player School Yr. Comment Doan Nguyen Estancia Jr. Undefeated in mixed, girls’ doubles. Anh Loi Ocean View Sr. Two-time section individual semifinalist. Jennifer Chiu Buena Park Jr. Section singles champion.

SECOND TEAM

BOYS

Player School Yr. Comment Linh Doan Estancia Jr. Section boys’ doubles champ, 52-7 individual record. Sutham Chansawangpuvana Katella Sr. Led team to 3-A semifinals. Hung Tang Santa Ana Sr. Boys’ doubles semifinalist with twin brother, Tung.

GIRLS

Player School Yr. Concha Gil Estancia Jr. Linda Luong Costa Mesa Jr. Doa Pham Garden Grove Sr.

Player Comment Concha Gil Undefeated, section girls’ doubles champion. Linda Luong Reached singles quarterfinals. Doa Pham Garden Grove League champion, 32-3 record.