The Irvine Valley College women's badminton team has reached its first ever State Championship final. The Lasers did so by defeating El Camino, 18-3, in the Southern California team final Wednesday evening in Hart Gymnasium.

The Lasers improved their record to 14-0 overall with the victory. They were 8-0 to take the Orange Empire Conference crown. The Lasers are competing Friday in the Orange Empire Conference Championships at Orange Coast College, which is a tournament for individual players. Irvine Valley's Lili Zhou, who is undefeated this season, is the favorite to win. Zhou, the top-ranked player in Southern California, also has good chance to capture the state individual singles and doubles titles next week.

Irvine Valley will compete in the State Team Championship on May 9 against Skyline College at Skyline in San Bruno. Skyline was the runner-up last season. The Individual State Championship will follow on May 10-11 at Skyline.