BARRIE, Ont. - The 2017 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Badminton Championships presented by belairdirect have concluded with familiar faces landing on top of the respective podiums.

The event was hosted by Georgian College in Barrie, Ont.

In the final event of the championships, Owen Kurvits (Hamilton) of Redeemer reclaimed his No. 1 spot in OCAA men's singles, defeating newcomer Nicky Aung (Myanmar) of Seneca 21-16, 12-21, 21-14 to claim his third OCAA gold medal in four seasons. Kurvits issued a measure of revenge, having been swept by Aung 22-20, 21-15 in their opening round robin match. Kurvits was the silver medalist last season, and is now a four-time OCAA medalist. He is also a three-time OCAA player of the year.

In the men's singles bronze medal match, Yizhi Zhang (China) of Conestoga defeated Darcy Schmidt (Haliburton) of Humber 21-4, 21-14. It was an upset of sorts, with Schmidt besting Zhang at OCAA regionals, and in the round robin at provincials.

In women's singles, Humber's Olivia Lei (China) is the OCAA champion for the third straight season, sweeping Victoria Duong (Kitchener) of Conestoga 21-3, 21-9. Lei did not drop a set at provincials, only giving up double digits in points only once at the tournament. She is also a three-time OCAA player of the year.

In an exciting women's singles bronze medal match, Christina Nguyen (Mississauga) of St. Clair prevailed 11-21, 21-17, 21-19 over Yunji Kim (Togo) of George Brown. It was a great comeback effort by Nguyen, as the pair played earlier on Saturday in their round robin finale, with Kim winning 21-16, 21-15.

Humber's dynamic duo of Ryan Chow (Mississauga) and Adam Dong (China) successfully defended their men's doubles crown by not losing a set at provincials. Chow and Dong topped off their tournament with a 21-10, 21-10 sweep of Alex Chao (Ottawa) and Ben Yong (Mississauga) of George Brown. In the men's doubles bronze medal match, Eric Kern (Desbarats) and Ethan Zhao (China) of Georgian gave the home town crowd something to celebrate, defeating Thanh Lam (Vaughan) and Gary Tin (Richmond Hill) of UTM 22-20, 21-17.

Phuthita Nilyok (Thailand) is now a two-time OCAA doubles champion, this time in women's play. Teaming up with newcomer Chloe Rowe (Newcastle), the Humber duo defeated Seneca's Christine Nguyen (Whitby) and Rachel Nham (Vietnam) in the gold medal final 21-9, 21-14. Nham was one-half of last year's gold medalists. Nilyok and Rowe did not drop a set at provincials.

Fanshawe's women's team of Trina Ngu (London) and Tilu Vaidya (India) defeated Shuya Kate Huang (Halifax, N.S.) and Holly Wong (Toronto) of UTM 21-14, 21-5 in the bronze medal doubles match.

Last but not least, the Seneca mixed doubles team of Vinson Wong (Toronto) and Yan Zhou (China) swept Christina Duong (Kitchener) and Cameron Lai (Mississauga) of Humber 21-9, 21-14 to win gold. It marks a third straight OCAA doubles gold medal for Zhou, her first in mixed.

In the bronze medal match, Angeline Alviar (Toronto) and Ivan Chan (Scarborough) of George Brown defeated the Conestoga team of Roselyn Bevis (Halifax, N.S.) and Derek Lenos (Kitchener) when Bevis was forced to retire due to injury. Alviar and Chan won the opening set 21-19 with the match ending early in the second.

In the team competition, it was Humber once again winning both the women's and men's team titles. It is a fourth straight title for the women, and fifth straight for the men.

The OCAA gold medalists and Seneca players will now advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Badminton National Championships next month, hosted by Seneca College.

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/championships/badm/2016-17/index

2017 OCAA BADMINTON MEDALISTS

Men's Singles
Gold: Owen Kurvits, Redeemer
Silver: Nicky Aung, Seneca
Bronze: Yizhi Zhang, Conestoga

Women's Singles
Gold: Olivia Lei, Humber
Silver: Victoria Duong, Conestoga
Bronze: Christina Nguyen, St. Clair

Men's Doubles
Gold: Ryan Chow/Adam Dong, Humber
Silver: Alex Chao/Ben Yong, George Brown
Bronze: Eric Kern/Ethan Zhao, Georgian

Women's Doubles
Gold: Phuthita Nilyok/Chloe Rowe, Humber
Silver: Christine Nguyen/Rachel Nham, Seneca
Bronze: Trina Ngu/Tilu Vaidya Fanshawe

Mixed Doubles
Gold: Vinson Wong/Yan Zhou, Seneca
Silver: Christina Duong/Cameron Lai, Humber
Bronze: Angeline Alviar/Ivan Chan, George Brown

OCAA Women's Team Champions
Humber Hawks

OCAA Men's Team Champions
Humber Hawks

- 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 29 members sponsoring 12 varsity 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