De Anza Repeats as 3C2A Badminton Champion Besting Undefeated Mesa
Cupertino, Calif. – A decisive two-set singles win by Karina Chow gave host De Anza College a repeat 3C2A Women's Badminton Dual Team State Championship Thursday evening.
The Mountain Lions led unbeaten Southern California champion San Diego Mesa, 10-6, with the matchup of No. 1 singles still in progress. Chow won the game, 21-17, 21-19, over Yumi Nguven -- giving the Olympians their only season setback by an 11-6 team score.
"I didn't realize it was the final point," said Chow, who then looked at the scoreboard -- just as she was about to be mobbed by teammates. "Coming in, I wasn't thinking I was going to win. I had lost to her before."
First team to score 11 points wins – and ends the competition.
"We've been chasing them all year," said De Anza coach Mark Landefeld.
De Anza (11-3) lost a pair of matches with Mesa this season. Mesa finished the year 8-1.
On Thursday, the team score was knotted, 3-3, after the first round of singles. De Anza won both opening No. 1 vs. No. 2 games -- but Mesa went 3-1 in the other contests.
Chow took her first round singles match over Mesa No, 2 Anna Heiner-Moeller, 21-13, 22-24, 21-15. Makayla Than, the reigning state singles champion -- in the No. 2 singles position for De Anza -- defeated Mesa No. 1 Yumi Nguyen, 21-9, 21-16.
De Anza and Mesa split the first two doubles, with De Anza winning the third game to move narrowly ahead at the midway point. Chow and Than, in No. 1 doubles for De Anza, defeated the Mesa duo of Heiner-Moeller and Christina Nguyen, 21-8, 21-9.
The Mountain Lions then took firm control in the ensuing singles matchups of same seeds, winning four of the five games – including Than beating Heiner-Moeller – to set-up the dramatic ending.
Nguven, a freshman, will compete in state individual singles and double play Friday and Saturday at De Anza. Chow is a returning singles quarterfinalist who also teams with defending singles champ Than in doubles.
Chow is a graduate of San Jose's Evergreen Valley High School, where she competed in the CIF state championships in doubles.
Landefeld has now won six state team titles, including back-to-back in 2013-14, 2022-23, and now 2025-26.
3C2A Championships Final Results
De Anza (Coast Conference) 11 vs. San Diego Mesa (South Coast Conference) 6
First Round Singles
Karina Chow (De Anza) d. Anna Heiner-Moeller (Mesa), 21-13, 22-24, 21-15
Makayla Than (De Anza) d. Yumi Nguyen (Mesa), 21-17, 21-13
Trang Tran (Mesa) d. Hayden Ky (De Anza), 21-18, 13-21, 21-18
Christian Nguyen (Mesa) d. Lindsey Le (De Anza), 27-25, 21-8
Risa Ohara (De Anza) d. Alexa Izazaga-Salas (Mesa), 21-5, 21-10
Crystal Micu (Mesa) d. Teresa Wan (De Anza), 21-19, 21-15
First Round Doubles
Karina Chow/Makayla Than (De Anza) d. Anna Heiner-Moeller/Christina Nguyen (Mesa), 21-8, 21-9
Yumi Nguyen/Trang Tran (Mesa) d. Lindsey Le/Risa Ohara (De Anza), 24-22, 21-19
Hayden Ky/Teresa Wan (De Anza) d. Crystal Micu/Alexa Izazaga-Salas (Mesa), 21-9, 21-18
Second Round Singles
Chow (De Anza) d. Y. Nguyen (Mesa), 21-17, 21-19
Than (De Anza) d. Heiner-Moeller (Mesa), 21-9, 21-16
C. Nguyen (Mesa) d. Ohara (De Anza), 21-16, 21-19
Le (De Anza) d. Tran (Mesa), 21-9, 21-13
Adrienne Lee (De Anza) d. Micu (Mesa), 21-15, 21-10
Wan (De Anza) d. Izazaga-Salas (Mesa), 21-12, 21-13
Courtesy of Fred Baer, CCCSIA