Kwantlen varsity badminton: Medal rush!
Kwantlen’s men and women’s badminton teams end the season with medal wins.
By Dominic Sramaty [Sports Bureau Chief]
It’s been a very successful year for the Kwantlen Eagles Men’s and Women’s badminton teams. The road to success began in Nanaimo at Vancouver Island University during February where the Eagles won second overall with a 14-11 record in the team event at the 2010 BCCAA Provincials. The tournament saw team Wu/Kwee (Men’s Doubles) win bronze, with team Simard/Jang(Women’s Doubles) and Rihela/Ly(Mixed Doubles) winning silver.
The second place finish at provincials bought a birth into the national championship where the best players from the best CCAA ranked schools were all in attendance. The Eagles were definitely looking for more hardware. The team of Simard and Jang got off to a fantastic start as they won their first four preliminary round matches only to lose to a very good Douglas College team in the fifth round. The duo qualified for semi-finals where they met with the championship team from Ontario, the Cambrian Dragons.
The girls got off to a great start winning the first set 16-21, but tragedy struck. Team power house Michelle Simard injured her ankle near the end of the first set and according to her, had a profound affect on her game. The girls lost the second set 21-11. A birth into the gold medal match came down to the final set where the girls just could not hold on and as a result lost 21-13. However, a bronze medal was still on the line.
It definitely looked as though the girls were looking for some reparations for losing in the semi’s. With Simard back to 100 per cent the girls steamrolled past Mount Royal (ACAC) in two sets 24-22, 21-16.
The team ended the season with five medals overall; three silver and two bronze. Coach Dave Cruthers is very proud of his team and his hoping to improve even more next season as the team only managed to finish thrd in seasonal play. Cruthers said his main focus is to improve to at least second place.
