TORONTO - The following student-athletes have been recognized by the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) for their accomplishments during the seven-day period ending Sunday, Mar. 10.
Victoria Duong
School: Humber
Program: Business Accounting
Year of Eligibility: 2
Sport: Badminton
Hometown: Kitchener, Ont.
The duo of Chloe Rowe and Duong proved they are the No. 1 women's doubles team in Canada as they claimed the national gold medal. After a perfect round robin and semifinal victory, where they won by an average score of 21-7, Rowe and Duong were faced with a tougher test in the final in the pair of Ryo Kuramochi and Bea Bernardo of NAIT. The Alberta twosome could not derail the Humber pairing, which won the match by identical set scores of 21-12. Duong, who played through a serious injury at provincials, was still taped heavily and in pain, but made a difference with her fine play.
Ramnish Kumar
School: Humber
Program: Fitness and Health Promotion
Year of Eligibility: 1
Sport: Badminton
Hometown: Panjokhara, India
After dropping the opening set, Kumar pulled out a gutsy three-game victory over Concordia's Nicolas Pittman 19-21, 21-12, 21-15 in the gold medal match to win Humber's first-ever badminton national championship in men's singles. Kumar battled illness and injury at the beginning of the competition to go 3-2 in the round robin. The OCAA champion then rallied to defeat George Brown's Yuge Zeng 13-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the national semifinals to earn his spot in the gold medal match. OCAA student-athletes have won four of the last five national gold medals in men's singles.
Sebastian Lethbridge
School: Fanshawe
Program: General Arts and Science
Year of Eligibility: 4
Sport: Men's Volleyball
Hometown: London, Ont.
Lethbridge was named Championship MVP at nationals, leading Fanshawe to its first-ever men's volleyball national championship, and the first for an OCAA program since 2013. The fourth-year setter contributed 86 assists over three-matches, averaging 7.17 over a dozen sets. He contributed a match-high 19 digs in Fanshawe's five-set victory over Keyano in the semifinals and added another eight digs in Fanshawe's four-set win over host Red Deer in the gold medal match. Along with being named MVP, Lethbridge was also awarded the Exemplary Leadership Award.
Meghan Morelli
School: Fanshawe
Program: Advanced Police Studies
Year of Eligibility: 4
Sport: Women's Volleyball
Hometown: London, Ont.
Morelli was key to Fanshawe capturing its first-ever women's volleyball national medal. The fourth-year outside hitter was named player of the game in the bronze medal match as she recorded a match-high 20 points in Fanshawe's sweep of Briercrest. Morelli averaged 13.8 points and 9.8 digs over the four-match weekend. After dropping its quarter-final match-up, the Falcons rallied to win three consecutive matches, including two on the final day of competition, to take bronze. It marks only the second national women's volleyball medal for an OCAA program in 14 seasons.
Mike Ra
School: George Brown
Program: Hearing Instrument Specialist
Year of Eligibility: 3
Sport: Badminton
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
Ra teamed up with partner Angeline Alviar to take home a national silver medal in mixed doubles play over the weekend in Nova Scotia. It marks the second straight season that Ra has taken home a national medal, improving on last year's bronze. He and Alviar paired to win provincial gold last month and went 4-1 in the round robin at nationals. They then defeated Centennial's Chirag Dave and Jia Yi Feng 21-18, 21-14 in the semifinals before losing to Concordia's Desmond Wang and Takeisha Wang for a second time in straight sets in the gold medal match.
Chloe Rowe
School: Humber
Program: Emergency Telecommunications
Year of Eligibility: 3
Sport: Badminton
Hometown: Newcastle, Ont.
The duo of Rowe and Victoria Duong proved they are the No. 1 women's doubles team in Canada as they claimed the national gold medal. After a perfect round robin and semifinal victory, where they won by an average score of 21-7, Rowe and Duong were faced with a tougher test in the final in the pair of Ryo Kuramochi and Bea Bernardo of NAIT. The Alberta twosome could not derail the Humber pairing, which won the match by identical set scores of 21-12. This is Rowe's third consecutive CCAA gold medal, pairing with three different women's doubles partners in the process.
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is the recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student-athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 27 members sponsoring 12 varsity sports.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com