COMPETITORS SET FOR OCAA BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

TORONTO - Forty-eight student-athletes from nine schools have secured their invites to the upcoming Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) badminton championships, taking place Feb. 15-16 at Centennial College in Scarborough, Ont.

The OCAA held a pair of regionals this past weekend, with the top three singles players and doubles teams from each event advancing to provincials.

Georgian captured the men's and women's team titles at the East regional hosted by Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ont. last Friday and Saturday. Georgian was led by men's singles winner Sean Irvin, who swept the competition with a 6-0 record. Georgian was also dominant in men's doubles, as the duo of McLean Brownlee and Trevor Neville compiled a 4-0 mark. Not to be outdone, the Georgian women's doubles team of Rebecca Trischler and Carolyn Tubman was also perfect with a mark of 2-0.

Georgian will also send its mixed doubles team of Logan Dayus and Maggie Tremblay to provincials, having finished second with a 4-1 record.

Boreal also had a banner day in Sudbury as two-time OCAA medalist Valerie Breen took top spot in women's singles with an unblemished 6-0 mark. Her Vipère teammates Patrick Michel and three-time OCAA medalist Jenna Dupuis also went undefeated in mixed doubles with a record of 5-0.

Regional host Cambrian will also be well represented at Centennial as seven members of the Golden Shield will make their way south. Former OCAA silver medalist Adam D'Agostino (Sault Ste. Marie) and Tyler Cameron finished second and third, respectively, in men's singles, as both won four matches each. Kaitlyn Webber took second place in women's singles with a 4-2 record, while the men's doubles team of Stephen Lajambe (Bruce Mines) and Bud Tinney along with the mixed doubles team of Hans Agnihotri and Lindsey Champaigne finished third.

OCAA championship host Centennial will have five Colts competing at provincials. Maria Shupilina went 5-1 in women's singles play, placing third. The Centennial men's doubles team of Kevin Ronkiewicz and Kevin Guan and women's doubles duo of Sarah Nualan and Jia Yi Feng also advanced to the OCAA championship, placing second at regionals.

Also earning a trip to provincials is Sunny Sun (Toronto) and Christina Truong (Thornhill) of George Brown after placing third in women's doubles.

Humber won the men's team title at the West regional, hosted by Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ont. A total of seven Hawks will represent Humber at provincials, including two-time OCAA gold medalist Tim Chiu and former silver medalist Chris Dupuis (Bowmanville) after going a combined 12-0 in men's singles play. The Humber men's doubles team of Ra Seang (Toronto) and Johnny Truong (Toronto), the women's doubles pairing of multi-time OCAA gold medal winners Tracy Wong (Richmond Hill) and Renee Yip (Markham) as well as the mixed doubles duo of Ryan Chow (Mississauga) and OCAA bronze medalist Suzy Yan all went 6-0 in their respective disciplines.

Seneca earned the women's team title on the strength of Carol Dela Cerna's 6-0 record in singles play. Katie Liu and Chessy Jian placed second in women's doubles, while Seneca's mixed doubles team of Jeffrey Chow and Sophie Guo finished in third spot. Jimin Jung and Ian Tang also represented Seneca well with a second place showing in men's doubles.

St. Clair will be represented by six student-athletes at provincials. Former OCAA gold medalist Johnny Tran and Karen Williams (Windsor) placed second in men's and women's singles, respectively. Darian George (Windsor) and former OCAA silver medalist Luc Su (Kingsville) also took second spot in mixed doubles, while former OCAA gold medalist Sam Lamoure and Darshan Selot finished in third place in men's doubles.

Redeemer will also send three student-athletes to Centennial, as Julie Koopmans (Chatham) placed third in women's singles, as did the women's doubles pairing of Carla Hogan (Smiths Falls) and Rachel Buys (Newmarket).

COMPLETE OCAA RESULTS
East Regional
West Regional

- 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 30 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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