Banner Season: Blues, Lions lead respective pools after Day 1 of championship play

Toronto, Ont. (via the York Lions) - The 2025 OUA Badminton Championship kicked off Friday at Tait McKenzie Centre with nine schools searching for the coveted conference crown.

The day kicked off with the Toronto Varsity Blues downing the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 6-4. Rayce Su and Chenyl Tao of Toronto won the first game in three sets (21-12, 16-21, 21-12) over Ahan Patel and Sam Lat Yone. The Ridgebacks won the next two matches to take the lead, before the Blues tied it on a singles win by Brooks Liu over Bryan Zhang (21-14, 24-22). The Ridgebacks lost the next two games before the Ridgebacks stormed back with a pair of singles wins from Joshua Nguyen (21-12, 21-12) and Chloe Hoang (21-14, 21-10). However, Toronto took the match by winning the next two games.

The Western Mustangs took down McMaster in the second early slot Pool A draw, 7-3. The teams split the first two matches with Noah Xu of Western winning over Eleek Zhang (21-14, 21-10) and McMasters Jeslyn Chow (20-22, 21-19, 21-5). The Mustangs took a commanding 7-2 lead with four straight late victories, the final one being a doubles triumph by Jasper Tang and Jasmine Shi over Alex Zhang and Aeris Wong of the Marauders (21-10, 21-12)

Other draws in the opening window saw the host York Lions and the Ottawa Gee-Gees blank their opponents, with York handling the Guelph Gryphons 10-0 and the Ottawa Gee-Gees taking down the TMU Bold by the same score. The 1:00 pm slot began with the first of two ties on Day 1, with McMaster and Ontario Tech playing to a 5-5 deadlock. The deciding game between Victor Zhan and Emily Xaio of the Marauders and Nguyen and Hoang of Ontario Tech. The Ridgeback duo took a straight-set win (21-16, 21-16) to earn a point in the standings.

The Lions and Waterloo Warriors also played to a 5-5 tie in the 1:00 pm slot, with the Warriors winning the final two games to earn the draw. Michael Ji and Jessica Cheng beat Nathaniel Vhan and Chloe Lee (21-10, 21-11) to close the gap to 5-4, before Ashley Wong and Emily Xia downed Sharon Au and Lok Yiu Sze (21-16, 21-13) to salvage a point with a late rally.

The late window also featured three matches, and also featured two shutouts. Toronto toppled Western 10-0 in one match, while Waterloo took down TMU by the same margin. The other late match saw the Lions pocket their second win of the day to take the Pool B lead with a 7-3 victory over Ottawa. The Gee-Gees took three of the first four games, but were no match for the hosts from there, as the red and white earned six straight wins over the Garnet and Gray to cap off Day 1.

Pool play continues Saturday for the first two slots of the day beginning at 9:00 am, with quarter-final play and the consolation bracket beginning at 5:00 pm.

POOL A STANDINGS

POOL B STANDINGS