DIAMOND BAR >> The Diamond Bar High School badminton team equalled greatness Saturday morning.
The Brahmas defeated visiting Cerritos 18-3 to win their sixth consecutive CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship, matching the title streak of Villa Park from 2001-06.
“When we won our first one six years ago, I was just happy,” Diamond Bar coach Kemp Wells said. “I thought we’d be pretty good for a couple of years. But then three years ago when these (current) seniors were freshman, they were scoring two, three points in the final match and I thought we might have a shot of catching Villa Park.
“It’s been a long road for six years. But the players have been tremendous. They’re willing to switch partners and it’s no problem. They almost do it effortlessly.”
It was Diamond Bar’s eighth consecutive appearance in the finals and 10th overall. Cerritos was in a championship match for the first time since 2010 when the Dons won the Division 2 title.
“It feels good from my freshman to my senior year I’ve been able to be on this team and contribute to a record-breaking team,” Diamond Bar’s Justin Lam said. “It feels real good to be part of this.”
Seniors and co-captains Lam and Jasmine Huang finished team competition undefeated all four seasons, including a 17-0 record this season.
“Outside of school, you do not experience this,” Huang said. “I feel like we help each other out and support each other. It’s empowering.”
Lam scored straight-set victories with Mirabelle Huang in mixed doubles and with Owen Che in boys doubles. The mixed doubles team defeated Leo Ruan and Jacquelyn Kan 21-18, 21-18 and Ben Lou and Janice Hui 21-17, 21-9. The boys doubles team defeated Ruan and Lou 21-17, 21-16 and James Han and Thomas Nguyen 21-14, 21-13. Jasmine and Daniel Huang won a mixed doubles set, 21-9, 21-18 against Ash Vitha and Esther Kim and Jasmine Huang and Angela Zhang split their girls doubles sets, losing to Kan and Janice Hui 21-8, 21-16 and defeating Emily Liu and Cindy Byun 21-10, 21-6.
“As as co-captain, to see all the players growing makes me feel real good,” Jasmine Huang said. “I feel like I’ve been improving.”
The top-seeded Brahmas’ closest match in the playoffs was a 13-8 victory over Mira Costa in the semifinals; Diamond Bar beat the Mustangs in last year’s final. No. 2 seed Cerritos (17-1) defeated previously unbeaten Long Beach Poly 15-6 in its semifinal match.
“They have a lot of players that are training weekly, daily,” Cerritos coach Jason Osako said. “They have a lot more experience than we do.
“We knew it was going to be extremely tough. It was an honor just to make it this far and still a very successful season.”
“For the past few years we’d only been getting to the semifinals and losing,” Lou said. “Coming to the finals was a big deal for us.”
Lam and Mirabelle Huang won the CIF-SS individual mixed doubles title last year. Kan and Hui defeated Jasmine Huang and since-graduated Gwen Wang for the girls doubles title. Ambrose So, who won a mixed doubles match with Angela Zhang and two boys doubles matches with Alvin So on Saturday, won a CIF-SS boys doubles title last year.
The CIF-SS individual tournament is Thursday and Friday at the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club in El Monte.
