After winning their second straight OUA provincial title, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues badminton team will aim for national glory as they head to Quebec City this coming weekend to compete in the 2025 YONEX Canadian University College Championships from Mar. 14-15.

Last season at the national showcase, U of T earned silver in the team event, defeating opponents from Laval, Ontario Tech, Montreal, and York en route to the gold medal match. However, in the team final the Blues came up just short versus Waterloo who claimed the national banner. In addition to the two-day team championship, the event also includes an individual championship where athletes have the opportunity to represent their schools and clubs for individual titles, with U of T athletes finishing in the Top 4 of each discipline, including national gold in the individual women's doubles and mixed doubles.

This year at the OUA championship, U of T went undefeated earning wins over Ontario Tech, Western, McMaster, and York, before knocking off the Waterloo Warriors 7-1 in the gold medal match.

Receiving OUA female MVP honours, Jacqueline Cheung will be relied upon to deliver just as strong a performance at the national event as she did at the provincial championship. She is joined on the women's side by 2025 OUA all-stars Jackie Dent and Chloe Choi, who have both teamed with Cheung in various women's doubles match-ups, while also serving as reliable mixed doubles partners. This includes last season where Cheung and Dent teamed for gold in the national championships individual women's doubles event, while Cheung also won mixed doubles gold alongside partner Ryan Zheng, and Dent claimed silver in the women's singles and mixed doubles with Thomas Dent.

As for the U of T men, Harold Tan and Peter Briggs also received provincial all-star nods this season following their strong outings during the OUA championship win. Tan won individual silver at the national championships a year ago in the men's singles. The team depth is elevated by second-year standout Nathan Mills and third-year Varsity Blues veterans Michael Law and Edward Zhang. Tan, Mills, and Zhang all placed within the Top 4 in the men's doubles individual championship at last year's national championship.

All matches are scheduled to begin Friday, Mar. 14., with the team event determining their medalists in finals on Saturday, Mar. 15, while the individual portion of the championships is set to close on Sunday, Mar. 16.