Four teams unbeaten following Day One of the OUA Badminton Championship

HAMILTON, Ont. - The University of Toronto Varsity Blues confirmed their status as a rising badminton power on Friday, defeating the defending champion Waterloo Warriors 8-2 in the afternoon session of Day 1 of the OUA Championships. They left the David Braley Athletic Centre as one of four unbeaten teams, alongside Pool A rivals Ottawa and the Pool B pair of McMaster and Western.
 
Toronto dominated the afternoon matchup against the defending champs, losing only the mixed doubles matches. While the Blues found success in many quarters, third-year player Bethany So was particularly effective, running away with her singles match against Waterloo's Caitlin Yee (21-4, 21-4), while pairing with teammate Rachel Honderich to provide a convincing doubles win over Emily Lam and Carrie Law (21-6, 21-8). The closest contest came in the men's singles match between Toronto's Victor Chan and Waterloo's Cliff Tuen, with Chan ultimately overcoming a first-game loss to win in three (12-21, 21-12, 21-16)

The Ottawa Gee-Gees were tested early on Friday, outlasting the York Lions 6-4 in an extended morning session. Andrew D'Souza -- the top-ranked singles player in Canada -- was appropriately dominant, beating York's Hok Poy Lo 21-9, 21-11. His team's second matchup, coming in the night session, was much more straightforward, as Ottawa defeated Guelph 9-1, with the Gryphons only match win coming in Emily Wong's singles battle against Dominique Lalonde (17-21, 21-16, 21-15). 

Winning 40 of the 46 total games they played on Friday, the Western Mustangs finished the day with a match record of 20-0 and a team record of 2-0 after sweeps of the Ryerson Rams and Carleton Ravens. They find themselves tied atop Pool B with the host Marauders, who recovered from a slow start on the men's side to beat the Queen's Gaels 7-3 before notching their own sweep of the Ravens. 

The Gaels led the Marauders through five matches, after Newton Zheng and Eric Zhang upset Sean Leith and Jason Sun respectively in the singles, and Zheng teamed with Quentin Tsang to shock the defending men's doubles champions, Muhammad Kamarrudin and Jacob Kao. But McMaster reeled off five consecutive wins, including a dominant 21-10, 21-7 victory from the duo of Joletta Cheung and Sashini Senarath over Christina Yun and Jenny Zhang. 

Pool A should find some clarification at the top first thing Saturday morning, as Toronto and Ottawa kick off Day 2 with a matchup in the 9:00 a.m. session. Waterloo will look to bounce back against York in the morning session, while the highlight battle of Pool B between the Marauders and Mustangs is slated for the 12:30 p.m. afternoon session.

Playoff draws get underway in the 4:00 p.m. night session on Day 2, with medal and placement matches to follow on Day 3.
 
Full Results
 
Standings Through Day 1
 
POOL A

 
POOL B
 

 
Day 1 Results
 
Morning Session (9:00 a.m.)
 
Ottawa 6-4 York
Waterloo 10-0 Guelph
McMaster 7-3 Queen's
Western 10-0 Carleton
 
Afternoon Session (12:30 p.m.)
 
Toronto 8-2 Waterloo
York 9-1 Guelph
Western 10-0 Ryerson
Queen's 10-0 Carleton
 
Night Session (4:00 p.m.)
 
Toronto 9-1 York
Ottawa 9-1 Guelph
Ryerson 6-4 Queen's
McMaster 10-0 Carleton