After two days of competition where the best OCAA badminton players of the East and the best of the West regions squared off, the top three athletes have all punched their tickets to the OCAA Provincial Championships at Georgian College.

The overall teams championship title came right down to the wire in the West division as the Humber Hawks (40 pts.) narrowly edged out the Seneca Sting (39 pts.) by one point to claim the West Regional trophy. The Hawks men’s team made their contribution to the overall title also snagging the men’s team title, scoring 25 points. The lady Hawks were led by double’s standouts Rosanna U and Selina Koa who claimed gold, as well as Jordanna Langhill who earned bronze in the women’s singles competition.

It was a celebration on their home court as the Cambrian Golden Shield solidly claimed the East Regional title with 49 points over runner-ups George Brown Huskies and the Georgian Grizzlies who were second and third respectively. Cambrian was led by the golden performances of Lyle Gates/Dustin Mitchell in the men’s doubles and also claimed the women’s doubles title with the pair of Heather Schultz/Samantha Sheppard. Mixed Doubles was also good the the Shield as Mike Del Fante/Kayla Odirizzi posted a perfect record for the tournament. Chris Haines found a silver lining in the men’s singles, as did Jody Carruthers in the women’s singles. Lydia Zhu also earned points finishing third, also in the women’s singles competition.

With several story lines emerging from these events, the OCAA Provincial Championships have now established some key rivalries to look forward to at the Championship.

There will be no brotherly love when Raymond Wong, the reigning CCAA Player of the Year, and rookie brother Mark Wong square off in Men’s Singles competition. The pair, both from Humber, advanced to the Championship after winning gold and bronze respectively. Seneca’s Calvin Leung also advanced to the Championship with his second place finish.

The Wong family may have dominated the West region, but it was the George Brown College pair of Dayon Reid and Muhammed Usama who finished on the podium in the East Regional after finishing first and third respectively. Chris Haines of Cambrian also performed well on his home court, claiming the silver medal in the division and securing his birth into the main championship draw.

It will be a renewed battle when Karen Ng (Georgian) and Jodie Carruthers (Cambrian) step on the courts in Barrie. The pair split their women’s singles games on the weekend with Carruthers taking their pool play game, before Ng rallied back to defeat the Cambrian player in the final, but it will be Ng who will have the homecourt advantage at the championship. Both ladies have been crowned singles champions in the OCAA, but it will be the first time they will compete for the top spot against each other. Carruthers will have freshman teammate Lydia Zhu in the draw with her, rounding out the top three in East Region women’s singles competitors.

FINAL RESULTS:

Overall East Regional Team Finals
1st Cambrian, 49 pts
2nd George Brown,35 pts
3rd Georgian,19 pts

Overall West Regional Team Finals
1st Humber, 40
2nd Seneca, 39
3rd St. Clair, 15

Regional Team Champions
Men’s West Team, Humber, 25
Women’s West Team, Seneca 23.5
Men’s East Team, George Brown
Women’s East Team, Cambrian


Men’s Singles
1st East: George Brown, Dayon Reid
2nd East: Cambrian, Chris Haines
3rd East: George Brown, Muhammed Usama
1st West: Humber, Raymond Wong
2nd West: Seneca, Calvin Leung
3rd West: Humber, Mark Wong

Women’s Singles
1st East: Georgian, Karen Ng
2nd East: Cambrian, Jody Carruthers
3rd East: Cambrian, Lydia Zhu
1st West: Seneca, Amenze Obaisiagbon
2nd West: St. Clair, Julie Schell
3rd West: Humber, Jordanna Langhill

Men’s Doubles
1st East: Cambrian, Gates & Mitchell
2nd East: Boreal, Tessier & Raymond
3rd East: George Brown, Le & Rahaman
1st West: Humber, Charlie Lay & Alang Luangrath
2nd West: Centennial, Simon Yip & Ben Wong
3rd West: Seneca, Allan Tran & Derik Jakola

Women’s Doubles
1st East: Cambrian, Schultz & Sheppard
2nd East: Boreal, Wilson & Marier
3rd East: George Brown, Luong & Kuman
1st West: Humber, Rosanna U & Selina Koa
2nd West: Seneca, Ann Tran & Jessica Dacquel
3rd West: St. Clair, Kristine Haemet & Tatiana Tuzlova

Mixed Doubles
1st East: Cambrian, Del Fante &  Odorizzi  
2nd East: George Brown, Au & Huang
3rd East: St Lawrence B, Ditner & Richards
1st West: Conestoga, Megan Hopkins & Dino Bajramovic
2nd West: Seneca, Sanjay Ashokkumar & Candy Fung
3rd West: Fanshawe, Jordan Brooks & Julianne Clifford