Day 3 Recap:
Consolation Round
Men's Singles
Due to Narayan Ramdhani (ACAC1) retirement from the tournament, Anirudh Sharma automatically placed in 5th.
Bronze Medal Matches
Mixed Doubles
Davis Wong and Ivy Ung (ACAC1) fought a brave match against Jonathan Su and Jasleen Kaur (ACAC2) but ultimately fell to the 4th place spot. A strong unrelenting attack supported Su and Kaur's efforts on the court and ultimately lead to their win over their provincial teammates. They took the match 21-15, 21-12.
Women's Doubles
Anna Dugandzic and Fiona Purdy (ACAA) found themselves facing a challenging opponent in Sylvie Bibeau and Noel Do (ACAC 2). After a quick lost in the first set, the ACAC duo rallied in the second. Unfortunately, the rally was too late and the ACAC team was too far ahead to catch and force a third set. Bibeau and Do took the match 21-12, 21-17.
Day 2 Recap:
Round Robin
Men's Singles
Thomas Ashton (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) finished the round robin with two losses (3-2) while Colin Zhou (Centennial Colts, OCAA) improved his record to 5-0. Vishal Dave (Centennial Colts, OCAA 2) won his matches (4-1). Disappointingly, Narayan Ramdhani retired from the tournament due to injury. Jack Gillies (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA 2) improved his record significantly by winning his two matches (2-3) while Anirudh Sharma (NAIT Ooks, ACAC 2) finishes the tournament winless.
Women's Doubles
Victoria Duong/Airi Moromisato (Humber Hawks, OCAA) continued to dominate the round robin finishing with a perfect record (5-0). Abby Ledda/Cecilia Wolski (TKU Eagles, ACAC) and Anna Dugandzic/Fiona Purdy (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) split their games with one win and one loss (4-1, 3-2). Amber Solomon/Brianna Warwick (MTA Mounties, ACAA 2) continued their losing streak ending the round robin at 1-4. Sylvie Bibeau/Noel Do (NAIT Ooks, ACAC 2) turned their fortunes from yesterday and won both their matches (2-3) while Morgan Grant/Mook Prasarn (Fanshawe Falcons, OCAA 2) finish 0-5.
Mixed Doubles
Sarthak Arora/Monique Lee (George Brown Huskies, OCAA) finish with a perfect 5-0 records while Bryce Mason/Anna Gillies (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) split their games today ending at 4-1. Ninh Le and Deniese Scott (Centennial Colts, OCAA 2) lost their two games today finishing at 1-4. Jonathan Su/Jasleen Kaur (CUE Thunder, ACAC 2) found their stride today winning both their games to improve their record to 2-3 but Kyle Bauld/Caitlin McCavour (Dal AC RAMS, ACAA 2) finish the tournament without a win.
Semi-finals
Mixed Doubles
Sarthak Arora and Monique Lee (OCAA 1) defeated Jonathan Su and Jasleen Kaur (ACAC 2) in their semi final 21-10, 21-10 in a balanced match. The Albertan team unfortunately couldn't find their strike while the Ontario team took advantage to come ahead with the win.
Bryce Mason and Anna Gillies (ACAA 1) fought a hard first set against Davis Wong and Ivy Ung (ACAC 1) but quickly found their way in the second set. They took the match 21-19, 21-7.
Mason and Gillies will face off against Arora and Lee tomorrow in tomorrow's finals.
Women's Doubles
Anna Dugandzic and Fiona Purdy (ACAA 1) were undone by Abby Ledda and Cecilia Wolski (ACAC 1) as the Albertans took the game handily 21-3, 21-5.
Similarly, Victoria Duong and Airi Moromisato (OCAA 1) dominated their game against Sylvie Bibeau and Noel Do (ACAC 2) 21-9, 21-4 setting up the stage for a battle of giants.
The Ontario/Alberta rivalry will continue in the finals.
Men's Singles
Thomas Ashton (ACAA 1) and Vishal Dave (OCAA 2) fought a heated battle (23-21, 21-23, 21-18) where both players' tenacity, precision and judgement were tested. The fantastic match had the entire gym enthralled as both players went point for point until Ashton finally emerged victorious after a grueling three sets.
In the other men's single semi final match up, Jack Gillies (ACAA 2) gave a valiant effort but fell to the dominant Colin Zhou (OCCA 1) setting up an absolute brawl for the final.
Day 1 Recap:
Men's Singles
Thomas Ashton (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) finished the day 3-0 alongside Colin Zhou (Centennial Colts, OCAA). Vishal Dave (Centennial Colts, OCAA 2) had a 2-1 record after his matches and Narayan Ramdhani, 2023 CCAA Player of the Year, ended the day with one win, one loss and one retirement. Jack Gillies (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA 2) and Anirudh Sharma (NAIT Ooks, ACAC 2) remain in the hunt for a win.
Women's Doubles
Victoria Duong/Airi Moromisato (Humber Hawks, OCAA) along with Abby Ledda/Cecilia Wolski (TKU Eagles, ACAC) dominated the board as both teams ended today with a 3-0 record. Anna Dugandzic/Fiona Purdy (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) head into tomorrow's matches with a 2-1 record while Amber Solomon/Brianna Warwick (MTA Mounties, ACAA 2) were 1-2. Sylvie Bibeau/Noel Do (NAIT Ooks, ACAC 2) and Morgan Grant/Mook Prasarn (Fanshawe Falcons, OCAA 2) were 0-3.
Mixed Doubles
Sarthak Arora/Lok Yin Lee (George Brown Huskies, OCAA) and Bryce Mason/Anna Gillies (UKC Blue Devils, ACAA) maintained 3-0 records while Davis Wong/Ivy Ung earned two wins. Ninh Le and Deniese Scott (Centennial Colts, OCAA 2) won one and lost two. Kyle Bauld/Caitlin McCavour (Dal AC RAMS, ACAA 2) and Jonathan Su/Jasleen Kaur (CUE Thunder, ACAC 2) are still without wins.
NAIT Ooks at Nationals
Five members of the NAIT Ooks badminton team are taking center stage this week at the CCAA Badminton Nationals in Truro, Nova Scotia, beginning on March 9th. The CCAA Nationals will feature players from Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), and Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA).
The NAIT Ooks are sending some of their finest players to compete, including Anirudh Sharma, who will be representing ACAC team two in men's singles. Sylvie Bibeau and Noel Do will also be representing ACAC team two, this time in women's doubles. Meanwhile, Ivy Ung and Davis Wong will be representing ACAC team one in mixed doubles.
The action-packed tournament begins on March 9th at 10:30 a.m. AT, so make sure to mark your calendars and tune in to support the Ooks! We'll be providing daily updates on the team's progress, so be sure to check back every evening. And for even more information, including a live stream of the tournament, click the links below. Let's go Ooks!