TORONTO - Forty-eight student-athletes from 10 schools have secured berths to the upcoming 2014 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Badminton Championships, taking place Friday and Saturday at Humber College in Etobicoke, Ont.
The OCAA held a pair of regionals this past weekend, with the top three singles players and doubles teams from five events advancing to provincials.
Humber College claimed the men's and women's team titles at the West regional hosted by Fanshawe College in London, Ont. Humber was led by Ryan Chow (Mississauga) who went undefeated in men's singles with an 8-0 mark. Chow was an OCAA gold medalist in mixed doubles last year. A pair of Hawks placed one-two in women's singles, including Cindy Fu (Toronto) with an undefeated record of 7-0, and runner-up Nikki Lin (China).
Men's doubles champions Ra Seang (Toronto) and Ian Tang (Toronto); mixed doubles winners Andrew Lau (Markham) and three-time OCAA gold medalist Tracy Wong (Richmond Hill); along with women's doubles third place finishers Suzy Yan (China) and Christina Duong (Kitchener) are also headed to provincials on home court. Seang and Tang won OCAA medals last season, while Yan is a two-time OCAA medalist.
Mohawk College will send a pair of doubles teams to provincials. Victoria Hall (Brantford) and Kimloung Lim (Cambodia) went undefeated in women's doubles with a 6-0 mark, while Adam D'Agostino (Sault Ste. Marie) and Kianoosh Moslemi (Burlington) were runners up in men's doubles play.
Crosstown rival Redeemer University College will see four of its athletes compete at the OCAA championships. Owen Kurvitz (Hamilton) was runner-up in men's singles, as was the duo of Robyn Bennett (Burlington) and Dan Vanden Boogaard (St. Catharines) in mixed doubles. Julie Koopmans (Chatham) placed third in women's singles to also earn a provincials invite.
Regional host Fanshawe saw three of its athletes advance. Alex Duong (Hamilton) placed third in men's singles, as did the mixed doubles pair of Alex Dominski (London) and Kylie Knight (Glencoe). Seneca College will send a pair of doubles teams to provincials, including two-time OCAA medalist Carol Dela Cerna (Philippines) and 2013 silver medalist Katie Liu (Richmond, B.C.), who were runners up in women's doubles. Defending OCAA champion Jimin Jung (South Korea) and his new partner Tommy Cheung placed third in men's doubles to secure their invite.
Across the province, the East regional was held at Georgian College in Barrie, Ont. The host Grizzlies took the men's team title, while Centennial College secured the women's team crown.
Georgian student-athletes advancing to the OCAA championships include Ethan Zhao (China) and Philip Bruce (Toronto), who placed one-two in men's singles; mixed doubles winners Trevor Neville (Barrie) and Maggie Tremblay (Rossport); Josh Milligan (Orillia) and Dylan Roejskjaer (Barrie) who placed third in men's doubles; and Emily Rosborough (Peterborough) and Stephanie Forman (Seaforth), third in women's doubles.
Centennial will be represented by women's singles winner Yan Zhou (China), who had a perfect 6-0 record at regionals. Teammate Maria Shipulina (Russia) placed third in women's singles, as did Calvin Yu (Toronto) in men's singles. Centennial's mixed doubles team of Navdeep Walia (India) and Jia Yi Feng (Toronto) are also provincials bound with their second place finish at regionals.
George Brown College will send a trio of doubles teams to provincials, including women's doubles winners Yujia Chen (China) and Yunji Kim (Korea). Ogyen Dorjee and Kent Cao were runners up in men's doubles, while Henry Chen and Helen Shen placed third in mixed doubles.
Finally, Sudbury will see two of its institutions represented at Humber. Cambrian College's Tyler Cameron (Sturgeon Falls) and Hans Agnihotri (Lively) placed first in men's doubles, and Taylor Cond (Sault Ste. Marie) and Courtney Elson (Sparwood, B.C.) took second in women's doubles. College Boreal's Valérie Breen (Ottawa), a three-time OCAA medalist, finished in second place in women's singles.
The OCAA championship will begin Friday with the first two rounds starting at 11:30 a.m. The third and fourth rounds will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Play continues Saturday at 11 a.m. with the final round robin. Medal round matches take place at 1:30 p.m.
While the goal is for these student-athletes to win a provincial championship, there is incentive to earning a silver medal as the OCAA will send its top two singles players and doubles teams to the 2014 CCAA Badminton National Championship, hosted by Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton from Feb. 26-Mar. 1.
Championship Website: athletics.humber.ca/tournaments/ocaa/badminton14/
OCAA BADMINTON RESULTS
EAST REGIONALS
Overall Men's Team
1. Georgian
2. Centennial
3. George Brown
Overall Women's Team
1. Centennial
2. Georgian
3. George Brown
Men's Singles
1. Ethan Zhao, Georgian
2. Philip Bruce, Georgian
3. Calvin Yu, Centennial
Women's Singles
1. Yan Zhou, Centennial
2. Valérie Breen, Boréal
3. Maria Shipulina, Centennial
Men's Doubles
1. Tyler Cameron/Hans Agnihotri, Cambrian
2. Ogyen Dorjee/Kent Cao, George Brown
3. Josh Milligan/Dylan Roejskjaer, Georgian
Women's Doubles
1. Yujia Chen/Yunji Kim, George Brown
2. Taylor Cond/Courtney Elson, Cambrian
3. Emily Rosborough/Stephanie Forman, Georgian
Mixed Doubles
1. Trevor Neville/Maggie Tremblay, Georgian
2. Navdeep Walia/Jia Yi Feng, Centennial
3. Henry Chen/Helen Shen, George Brown
WEST REGIONALS
Overall Men's Team
1. Humber
2. Redeemer
3. Mohawk
Overall Women's Team
1. Humber
2. Mohawk
3. Redeemer
Men's Singles
1. Ryan Chow, Humber
2. Owen Kurvitz, Redeemer
3. Alex Duong, Fanshawe
Women's Singles
1. Cindy Fu, Humber
2. Nikki Lin, Humber
3. Julie Koopmans, Redeemer
Men's Doubles
1. Ra Seang/Ian Tang, Humber
2. Adam D'Agostino/Kianoosh Moslemi, Mohawk
3. Jimin Jung/Tommy Cheung, Seneca
Women's Doubles
1. Victoria Hall/Kimloung Lim, Mohawk
2. Carol Dela Cerna/Katie Liu, Seneca
3. Suzy Yan/Christina Duong, Humber
Mixed Doubles
1. Andrew Lau/Tracy Wong, Humber
2. Robyn Bennett/Dan Vanden Boogaard, Redeemer
3. Alex Dominski/Kylie Knight, Mohawk
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 29 members sponsoring 11 sports.
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Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com