Banner Season: Blues bring badminton’s best to Toronto in search of fifth-straight OUA championship
Toronto – Badminton’s best are bursting at the seams to bring banner season to the courts, as one of the year’s final OUA championships gets set for this weekend at the University of Toronto. Not only with the Varsity Blues play the role of hosts, but they’ll also enter as the four-time defending champions, having firmly entrenched themselves among the badminton elite over the last half decade. If the Blues want to boast a fifth-straight banner, they’ll need to stand tall across the three-day event and 11-team field that will combine to make up the 2020 OUA Badminton Championship, presented by Canuck Badminton.
2020 OUA Badminton Championship Fan Guide
The four-time defending champions for Toronto will be starting off their quest for a fifth consecutive title on the right foot, as the team will feature six returning all-stars from a year ago. Among those once again hitting the court for the Blues is four-time OUA female player of the year, Bethany So. The Toronto, Ont. native hasn’t dropped a match over her last three championship appearances; a streak she will look to continue on home soil. Last year’s top female rookie, Katie Ho-Shue (Markham, Ont.), will also return for her second banner season, and the sophomore standout will be joined by fellow all-star Giselle Chan (Markham, Ont.) to help steer the Varsity Blues to another championship performance.
Former most valuable player Jonathan Lai (Toronto, Ont.), along with two-time OUA all-star Marcus Waskiw-Ford (Montréal, Que.) are back for Toronto’s men’s contingent. And like their Varsity Blues counterparts on the women’s team, they will also boast a reigning rookie of the year on the roster, as Michael Farrell (Toronto, Ont.) is back in blue to help lead his squad to another dominant showing at this year’s provincial finale.
The team that Toronto took down in the championship match a year ago is back for another run at the title, as the Waterloo Warriors will look to claim top spot on the podium for the first time since 2015. If the last team outside of the Blues to win an OUA badminton championship wants to take the trophy back, they will turn to a pair of battle-tested Warriors to play a leading role.
Both Justin Law (West Hill, Ont.) and Natalie Lam (Markham, Ont.) shone for the black and gold at the most recent banner season bash, reeling off eight wins apiece for the silver medal winning squad. With an understanding of what it takes to win and a proven pedigree to make it happen on the OUA’s biggest stage, both of these past all-stars will be integral to a lengthy Waterloo run this weekend.
Claiming the third and final spot on the championship podium a year ago were the Western Mustangs, and while a bronze medal came their way in 2019, they are no stranger to banner season gold. Entering this weekend’s festivities, the purple and white have 10 badminton championships to their name – with the most recent coming in 2014 – and have some new faces that will aim to add to that lofty total.
“This year is really exciting,” said head coach Sean McGowan. “We have added a lot of new talent which gives us more versatility in our lineup. Our team has had a lot of success on the university circuit so far and we are excited to bring that momentum into the OUA championships.”
Among those who will strive to maintain that momentum is Andrew D’Souza. While the Ottawa, Ont. native is suiting up for Western for the first time, he does bring OUA experience with him to this weekend’s finale thanks to his time at the University of Ottawa. Along with his university experience, the former all-star is also a two-time national champion and won a silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Joining D’Souza as a decorated member of the team is Cara de Belle (Toronto, Ont.). The junior will appear in her third championship with the London squad, and the former junior national champion will do so with a résumé that also features an OUA all-star nod and rookie of the year selection.
Even though it was the previous three squads that hauled in the hardware last year, a number of other teams joined them on the championship side of the bracket following pool play, including the McMaster Marauders, who narrowly fell to the Mustangs in the most recent battle for bronze; the Ottawa Gee-Gees, who galloped to a top-five finish of their own in 2019; and the Ryerson Rams who finished with a pair of wins in their pool en route to a sixth-place finish overall.
Helping the latter achieve those victories was the team’s two-time reigning MVP, Oscar Thompson. The senior from Oakville, Ont. is an important figure in both singles and doubles for the Rams, meaning both his experience and track record will need to be front and centre for Ryerson to jump up to a top-five showing. When it comes to previous success, another impactful individual will be sophomore Zainab Rashid (Toronto, Ont.). The hometown player made a splash in her championship debut a year ago for Ryerson, winning four of her five matches therein, and has her sights set on continued success with a year under her belt.
Among those also heading to the University of Toronto for this weekend’s event is last year’s host – the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. After registering a program-first by housing the OUA finale in 2019, a move up the championship standings will be the next box to check on the Oshawa squad’s to-do list; improvements that head coach Peter Arnott is excited to see come to fruition.
“Every year, this is what we work towards and I’m excited to see how our team fares,” explained Arnott. “They have been working hard and our goal has been to improve each day as we head into the championship, so now it’s time to see all that hard work and preparation pay off against the province’s best players.”
Understanding first-hand what it is like to compete against this tough competition are a pair of returning Ridgebacks, Nick Magee and Alyssa Wong. The former, a native of Beeton, Ont., is a multi-year member of the varsity badminton team and brings a natural leadership to both practices and tournaments. Now in his third season with Ontario Tech, the junior will focus on both individual development and team success this weekend, much like Wong. The North York, Ont. native brings a strong work ethic to the team, committing total energy and focus when she steps onto the court; assets that will lend themselves well to a move up the standings this weekend.
While the Ridgebacks, among several other schools, will turn to experienced individuals to lead their championship charge, the Carleton Ravens will rely on a rookie as one to watch this weekend. Should the black birds be able to build on their result from a year ago, Keith Lam (Ottawa, Ont.) will be a key piece to the puzzle. After working hard to build on his singles game, the results have been followed, and with a string of strong outings from the local tournaments in tow, he’ll look to put a bow on his rookie campaign with a strong banner season debut.
Improvement will also be the name of the game for the likes of the Queen’s Gaels and Guelph Gryphons, who placed seventh and 10th, respectively, a year ago, but experience will be the more prominent goal for this weekend’s final participants. The York Lions are rounding out the weekend’s roster and will look to roar onto the scene in fine form for their foray into badminton championship competition.
The 11 teams will break into three groups to kick off the weekend’s festivities with pool play starting on Friday, February 28. Beginning at 9:00am, the opening slew of matches will continue throughout the day and finish off at 9:00am on Saturday. The afternoon will bring playoff matches to the U of T courts, with quarterfinals kicking things off at 1:00pm, followed by the semis at 5:00pm. The championship will wrap up on Sunday, March 1, with the medal matches hitting getting underway at 1:00pm.
