The University of Toronto Varsity Blues badminton team fell 9-4 to the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, October 24 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
A strong rookie contingent got the call for the Blues and played amazingly well throughout the day.
U of T dominated in women’s singles action as veteran Melissa Hill (Oakville, Ont.) took the number one match 21-10, 21-2 and team captain Shilin Cheung (Hong Kong) winning 21-11, 21-4 in the number two spot. First-year player Michelle Chow (Markham, Ont.) won her first OUA singles match 21-8, 21-13 and was voted the Blues female athlete of the day by her teammates.
The Varsity Blues men did not have as much luck in singles play. Mark Chang (Vancouver, B.C.) lost a tough game to Waterloo veteran Andrew Zhuang 21-15, 21-14. Chang had the lead in both games just after the mid interval, however experience paid off as Zhuang came out on top. Chang was voted the Blues male athlete of the day by the Varsity Blues players.
In the number two and three singles matches, Raymond Zhang (Toronto) and Graeme MacInnes (Ajax, Ont.) suffered similar fates, winning the first game but dropping the second and third to fall to their respective opponents. The Blues have not defeated a male Waterloo player in singles since 2005.
In women’s doubles, Shilin Cheung and Josee Matte (Brantford, Ont.) dominated OUA all-star Amanda Carruthers and Ingrid Liu 21-10, 21-10 in the number one match. Despite putting forth a valiant effort in the number two match, first-year Blues players Tonia Kwok (Hong Kong) and Michelle Chow fell 21-10, 21-12.
Mike Lawler (Peterborough, Ont.) and Mark Chang paired up in the number one men’s double match. Chang constantly put pressure on the Warriors with strong drives and effective smashes, however, the duo dropped two close games 21-14, 21-12.
In the number two match, first-year players Clifton Leung (Mississauga, Ont.) and Sean MacPherson (Peterborough, Ont.) dropped their first game 21-13, but put up a very good fight in the second match, narrowly falling 21-19.
The mixed doubles matches on the day were very exciting, however the Warriors prevailed in all three. Raymond Zhang and Melissa Hill dropped the number one match 21-18, 21-14, with Mike Lawler and Josee Matte forcing three games 14-21, 21-14, 9-21.
Rookie Sean MacPherson paired up with veteran Lin Wang (Beijing, China) in the third match and put forth a strong effort against a veteran team from Waterloo, losing 21-17, 21-15.
Full Results
The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, October 31 as they host the Ryersom Rams at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
Notes:
Among the Blues supporters this week was Dennis Daly who was team captain in 2001-2002 and captain/assistant coach for the 2003 gold-medal winning Varsity Blues.
Also supporting the team was 2008 graduate Warren Leung along with the usual strong group of Blues fans.
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.
