November 23, 2009
WARRIORS KNOCK OFF MUSTANGS FOR OUA BADMINTON CROWN
TORONTO - The Waterloo Warriors captured the OUA badminton title at the Tait McKenzie Centre at York University on Saturday. Despite a strong start by the four-time defending champion Western, the Mustangs went home the silver and the Toronto Varsity Blues claimed the bronze.
Entering the gold medal match, the Mustangs and Warriors found themselves tightly matched as they headed into the doubles. The Warriors had a strong start as they controlled the men's singles with Andrew Tai-Pow (Toronto) and Andrew Zhuang (Mississauga, Ont.) taking their games in straight sets.
The Mustangs responded with Jennifer Lam (Toronto) and Choi-Fong Cho (Guelph, Ont.) dominating in women's singles. By the time the doubles rolled around, both teams were tied up 3-3 and looking for the deciding victories.
Throughout doubles play, the Warriors began to pull past the Mustangs as they took both men's matches. Waterloo's pairing of Amanda Carruthers (Mississauga, Ont.) and Carmen Tsang (Markham, Ont.) set the Warriors up for the deciding game as they tallied a sixth point for their team.
The pressure was on Western's Cho and Staci Miao (Toronto) as they fought to keep the gold in Western's hands for the fifth year running. Both sets saw long rallies as the Mustangs and Warriors exchanged points. In the end, Waterloos' Dorothy Lui (Ottawa) and Shanaz Currim (Richmond Hill, Ont.) clinched the win for Waterloo to take home the gold. The Warriors would go on to win by a final score of 8-5 over the Mustangs.
Despite the defeat, Mustangs head coach Rob Fowler remained optimistic about his team's performance.
"It could have gone either way," he said. "We played well, but they came out on top. It motivates us for the future."
In the bronze medal match, the York Lions found themselves going head-to-head with the Varsity Blues. Toronto would go on to take the bronze by winning the match 10-3 over the young Lions team.
York's Gyan Sambhaloo (Toronto) continued to play strongly as he took his game against Graeme MacInnes (Ajax, Ont.) in straight sets of 21-16 and 21-19. Another strong player for the Lions was Erik Chong (Richmond Hill, Ont.), who would help seal victories in men's and mixed doubles.
Chong and Kevin Cheng (Scarborough, Ont.) overwhelmed their opponents with 21-15 and 21-14 victories in men's doubles. In mixed doubles, Chong played a tighter game paired with Kitty Ma (Toronto). Despite dropping their first set 17-21, they were able to come back with 21-17 and 23-21 triumphs for the Lions to end the season on a high note.
York head coach Robert Ha, the OUA coach of the year, couldn't be happier with his team.
"York's strongest asset is our heart and passion," he said. "I couldn't ask for anything more from my team and I couldn't be more proud of them."
Earlier in the day, the four teams competed in the semifinals for the chance to play for the gold medal.
Waterloo began its day with a tight match against the Toronto Varsity Blues, with both teams tied at 5-5 going into the final three matches.
In the first mixed doubles game, Waterloo's Evan McDonald (Brantford, Ont.) and Carruthers put the Warriors up 6-5 despite dropping their first set 21-17. Their next two sets were hard-fought at 24-22 and 22-20.
It was Rahim Karmali (Montreal) and Currim who sealed the win that would send Waterloo to the gold medal round. The Varsity Blues' Dustin Yu (Mississauga, Ont.) and Melissa Hill (Oakville, Ont.) pushed the match into three sets as they took the first 21-18. However, Karmali and Currium held on and finished the game with resounding 21-15 and 21-18 wins. The Warriors went on to take the match 8-5 to advance to the championship tie.
The Lions dropped their match 12-1 against the undefeated Western Mustangs in semifinals. Despite some strong plays from Darren Ho (Toronto) in men's singles and Lylliane Nualan (Toronto) in women's singles, the Lions' lone victory came in the final game of the morning.
In mixed doubles, York's Sambhaloo and Kousina Luxchumykanthan (Scarborough, Ont.) took their game with a handy 21-16 followed by a tighter 21-19 win.
Courtesy of Jennifer Brailsford, York Lions sport information assistant
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Entering the gold medal match, the Mustangs and Warriors found themselves tightly matched as they headed into the doubles. The Warriors had a strong start as they controlled the men's singles with Andrew Tai-Pow (Toronto) and Andrew Zhuang (Mississauga, Ont.) taking their games in straight sets.
The Mustangs responded with Jennifer Lam (Toronto) and Choi-Fong Cho (Guelph, Ont.) dominating in women's singles. By the time the doubles rolled around, both teams were tied up 3-3 and looking for the deciding victories.
Throughout doubles play, the Warriors began to pull past the Mustangs as they took both men's matches. Waterloo's pairing of Amanda Carruthers (Mississauga, Ont.) and Carmen Tsang (Markham, Ont.) set the Warriors up for the deciding game as they tallied a sixth point for their team.
The pressure was on Western's Cho and Staci Miao (Toronto) as they fought to keep the gold in Western's hands for the fifth year running. Both sets saw long rallies as the Mustangs and Warriors exchanged points. In the end, Waterloos' Dorothy Lui (Ottawa) and Shanaz Currim (Richmond Hill, Ont.) clinched the win for Waterloo to take home the gold. The Warriors would go on to win by a final score of 8-5 over the Mustangs.
Despite the defeat, Mustangs head coach Rob Fowler remained optimistic about his team's performance.
"It could have gone either way," he said. "We played well, but they came out on top. It motivates us for the future."
In the bronze medal match, the York Lions found themselves going head-to-head with the Varsity Blues. Toronto would go on to take the bronze by winning the match 10-3 over the young Lions team.
York's Gyan Sambhaloo (Toronto) continued to play strongly as he took his game against Graeme MacInnes (Ajax, Ont.) in straight sets of 21-16 and 21-19. Another strong player for the Lions was Erik Chong (Richmond Hill, Ont.), who would help seal victories in men's and mixed doubles.
Chong and Kevin Cheng (Scarborough, Ont.) overwhelmed their opponents with 21-15 and 21-14 victories in men's doubles. In mixed doubles, Chong played a tighter game paired with Kitty Ma (Toronto). Despite dropping their first set 17-21, they were able to come back with 21-17 and 23-21 triumphs for the Lions to end the season on a high note.
York head coach Robert Ha, the OUA coach of the year, couldn't be happier with his team.
"York's strongest asset is our heart and passion," he said. "I couldn't ask for anything more from my team and I couldn't be more proud of them."
Earlier in the day, the four teams competed in the semifinals for the chance to play for the gold medal.
Waterloo began its day with a tight match against the Toronto Varsity Blues, with both teams tied at 5-5 going into the final three matches.
In the first mixed doubles game, Waterloo's Evan McDonald (Brantford, Ont.) and Carruthers put the Warriors up 6-5 despite dropping their first set 21-17. Their next two sets were hard-fought at 24-22 and 22-20.
It was Rahim Karmali (Montreal) and Currim who sealed the win that would send Waterloo to the gold medal round. The Varsity Blues' Dustin Yu (Mississauga, Ont.) and Melissa Hill (Oakville, Ont.) pushed the match into three sets as they took the first 21-18. However, Karmali and Currium held on and finished the game with resounding 21-15 and 21-18 wins. The Warriors went on to take the match 8-5 to advance to the championship tie.
The Lions dropped their match 12-1 against the undefeated Western Mustangs in semifinals. Despite some strong plays from Darren Ho (Toronto) in men's singles and Lylliane Nualan (Toronto) in women's singles, the Lions' lone victory came in the final game of the morning.
In mixed doubles, York's Sambhaloo and Kousina Luxchumykanthan (Scarborough, Ont.) took their game with a handy 21-16 followed by a tighter 21-19 win.
Courtesy of Jennifer Brailsford, York Lions sport information assistant
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
