Badminton
October 25, 2011
Eagles Show Promise in the First 2011-2012 PACWEST Badminton Tournament
METRO VANCOUVER (October 24, 2011) – With a new head coach and eight new players on the 2011-2012 Eagles roster, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s badminton team tested its skill at the first PACWEST badminton tournament hosted by Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo this past weekend and exhibited some great potential for the upcoming season.
The line-up for the Eagles at this event featured returnees Willis Kwee (Richmond) Michelle Simard (Surrey), Janessa Royer (Delta), James Arseneau (Surrey) and David Dryden (Surrey) who joined forces with five new Eagles; Andy Wong (Vancouver), Bradley Low (Richmond), Zerlinda Chau (Surrey), Simran Devgun (Surrey) and Christine Lin (Surrey).
In the round-robin team event, Kwantlen finished in 5th place overall behind Douglas College, Langara College, Capilano University and Thompson Rivers University.
Bradley Low (Richmond) had a solid rookie performance at the tournament. Low competed in the men’s doubles portion of the tie competition against Langara with seasoned veteran Willis Kwee, and helped the Eagles outlast the Falcons to win in 3 sets.
Although the game wasn’t a deciding factor in the tie, the men’s doubles game in the team competition against Capilano was a real nail biter. Kwee and Low forced the Capilano duo of Mark Chang and Tony Chen to 3 sets, but fell short in the 3rd (20-22, 23-21, 23-25).
Another feature match for the Eagles was in the Pool A mixed doubles final featuring fourth-year Willis Kwee and third-year Michelle Simard versus Douglas College’s Simon Wu and Amy Leung. After winning the first set and losing the second, Simard and Kwee fought back and battled through the third set (21-8, 14-21, 12-18).
“Even though we finished in 5th place, the 2nd to 5th teams were really competitive”, said head coach Morgan van Huekelom. “We beat the team that eventually came in 2nd place [Langara] which means that we have the potential to finish in the top two.”
The Eagles next take to the court on November 25-26 at Capilano University for the 2nd PACWEST tournament, hosted by Langara College.
Fans can catch the tournament results at www.pacwestbc.ca
