Events

Day two of the 2015 Canadian National College-University Championships began with The A Team facing off against Les Bandits in the bronze medal matchup. The A Team’s Patrick Thompson shone in his Men’s Singles match against Les Bandits’ Olivier Morin, winning a point for his team with a 21-10, 21-16 victory. Unfortunately for The A Team, it was their only victory – the other four matches were all won in two games apiece by the skilled athletes of Les Bandits.

 

In the gold medal matchup between the OCAA All Stars and the Devils, almost every match went three games. The Women’s Doubles match between the Devils’ Marianne Maltais and the OCAA All Stars’ Cindy Fu was truly a nail biter – after Fu took the first game 21-18, Maltais fought back to take the second 21-17, and won again in the third with a close 21-18 victory. The OCAA All Stars triumphed in the end, taking gold with a 4-1 victory over the Devils.

 

Individual Event matches began shortly after the Team Event games concluded. It was a long day for the athletes, who played some excellent badminton well into the evening.

 

A major upset occurred in Men’s Singles, with number one seed Félix Deblois-Beaucage getting knocked out in the quarter finals by 5/8 seed Alexis Gohier-Drolet. The tournament’s number two seed, Nathan Osborne, was also knocked out in the quarterfinals by a 5/8 seed, Paul-Antoine Dostie-Guindon. While Gohier-Drolet will be playing for gold in Sunday’s finals, Dostie-Guindon lost out in the semis to the unseeded Philippe Gaumond, who will face Gohier-Drolet instead.

 

Number two seed Stephanie Pakenham earned a spot in Sunday’s finals by playing some excellent tactical badminton. Joining her in the fight for gold will be the unseeded Tracy Wong, who beat out top seed Bethany So in a major upset during the semifinals. The spectacular match ended with a 21-18, 25-23 victory for Wong, who fought extraordinarily hard for her victory and should have a good showing in the finals.

 

The afternoon’s Mixed Doubles matches went more according to plan. The tournament’s number one seeds Maxime Marin and Stephanie Pakenham are advancing to the finals, and will face 5/8 seeds Philippe Charron and Caroline Beauregard, who beat out number two seeds Félix Deblois-Beaucage and Anne-Julie Beaulieu with a handy 21-11, 21-16 victory in the semi finals.

 

Men’s and Women’s Doubles matches begin at 9:00am Sunday morning, and will be followed by the gold medal finals for all five categories.