The San Diego Mesa College tandem of Ally Fergusson and Hannah Grimm fell in a 22-20, 21-19 battle to Ashlee Goycoochea and Alexcis Morris from Grossmont College to finish second in the 2019 PCAC Pairs Championship.
The duo started the day with an impressive win over the tournaments #1 seed Aofiaolela Faa'agi and Desiree Elizondo also from Grossmont College 21-11, 17-21, 16-14.
In the other semifinal match, AlexcisMorris and Ashlee Goycoochea from Grossmont College defeated Kayla Boatright and Halie Hess 21-16, 21-11 setting up the final against the Olympians.
“Ally and Hannah definitely came to compete,” states head coach Kim Lester. “Their level of intensity was fun to watch and the energy they had all week was the best I’ve seen all season. Their refuse to lose attitude is one of the reasons why they were successful.”
“We have always enjoyed playing against Grossmont College,” adds Grimm. “They are very competitive but also have the best sportsmanship of any team.”
In another back and forth match, Fergusson and Grimm came up a little short from capturing the PCAC crown.
“Our semifinal match was emotionally draining, and it took a toll before going into the final match,” states Fergusson. Going into the final, I think we were physically and emotionally drained. We’ve put in a lot of work all season and seeing our hard work pay off during the playoffs made it all worthwhile. Although we came up a little short, we are proud of what we accomplished.”
Although the loss was disappointing, the Olympians have a lot to look forward to, including the upcoming regional playoffs.
The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference advanced 10 pairs teams to the regional finals, which will be held at Irvine Valley College on May 3.
Team regional play will begin on Tuesday at four host sites. All four sites will host two other teams in a three-way round robin tournament with the winners moving on to the regional semifinals on May 3. The state tournament will take place at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center on May 9-11.
Mesa College will be seeded sixth and scheduled to play Saddleback College at 12:00 p.m. followed by Irvine Valley College at 1:00 p.m.
“Anytime you lose a match it becomes a great teaching opportunity. I believe they learned a lot about themselves and the next time they are in a similar position, they’ll come out on top,” adds Lester. “I am proud of them and how they represented Mesa College.”
“Beating the number one seed in the semis proved to my partner and I that we can compete with anyone,” states Hannah Grimm. “If we continue to play like we are playing, I think we can go far in the state championships.”
REGIONAL PAIRS SEEDS
| Seed | Pair | School |
| 1 | Goycoochea & Morris | Grossmont |
| 7 | Ferguson & Grimm | San Diego Mesa |
| 11 | Elizondo & Faa'agi | Grossmont |
| 13 | Boatright & Hess | MiraCosta |
| 17 | Barron & Schaal | San Diego City |
| 23 | Loomax & Evans | MiraCosta |
| 25 | Lyneis & Smith | Desert |
| 26 | Casas & Snyder | San Diego Mesa |
| 29 | Fletes & Hopkins | San Diego City |
| 30 | Seiler & Ramos | Palomar |