BADMINTON THIRD AFTER TEAM COMPETITION AT LAST REGULAR SEASON EVENT January 17, 2010
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Garrett Babichuk (A. Snucins photo)
The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack badminton team finished third in the team competition at the final BC College Athletic Association event of the season. Playing at Douglas College, TRU finished behind the host school and Vancouver Island University.
“We lost a close one to VIU,” said coach Brad Pape. “ We lost in the mixed doubles in a three game match. The final set was 21-18”.
Sunday sees the individual competition take place. The Provincials are going in Naniamo in early February.
BADMINTON TO DOUGLAS COLLEGE THIS WEEKEND FOR TOURNAMENT January 15, 2010
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Marlee Mertens (A. Snucins photo)
The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack badminton team are off to the Lower Mainland this weekend for the third tournament of the BC College Athletic Association Season. The ‘Pack will be playing at a tournament at Douglas College on Saturday and Sunday (Jan 16-17).
“The team is healthy and looking forward to this weekend,” said WolfPack head coach Brad Pape who will go with the same line up which finished second at the BCCAA tournament they hosted in late November. “ I’m hoping for a good result this weekend. The top five teams are very close so anything can happen.” The WolfPack enter the weekend with 451 total team points after two tournaments. That is two points ahead of third place Kwantlen but far behind the front running Douglas College at 688. This weekend’s tourney is being held at Douglas.
Pape is doing some juggling of where some of his players participate in order to get them eligible for all events at the Provincials next month (February 20-21) in Naniamo. “ This might have a small bearing on our overall results,” he says.
Pape, who has coached at TRU since the mid 1980’s, has a squad made up of primarily third and fourth year players. Is that easier to coach and how does he feel going into the key part of the season? “ I couldn’t ask for any better than second although I would like us to have more breathing room ahead of third place Kwantlen. We’ll need a good result this weekend to stay ahead of them.”
He adds that the veterans on the squad will need to provide some leadership. “ The pressure will be on them to perform,” says Pape. “ But we also need that leadership to flow down to the rookies (Joey Chu and Anica Arduini (both first year, Kamloops, BC)) so they can perform as well.
The WolfPack will have Ming Wong (4th year, Kamloops, BC), Veneta Colton (3rd year, Kamloops, BC), Marlee Mertens (3rd year, Salmon Arm, BC), Whitney Makenny (4th year, Port Alberni, BC), Kia Lidster (2nd year, Kamloops, BC) and Arduini playing on the women’s side. TRU Men competing this weekend are: Garrett Babichuk (3rd year, Kelowna, BC), Alex Perkin (3rd year, Kamloops, BC), Brennan Arduini (4th year, Kamloops, BC), Noah Woods (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) and Chu.
The CCAA Nationals are to be held March 4-6 th at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta.
BADMINTON 2ND AT OWN BCCAA TOURNAMENT November 30, 2009
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Noah Woods prepares to hit (A. Snucins photo)
The host Thompson Rivers University WolfPack finished 2nd at the BC College Athletic Association badminton tournament this weekend at TRU (Nov 28-29).
The WolfPack, who were fifth in the first tournament of the season, wound up second in the team category garnering 161 total points, winning four of their five team events. TRU beat Capilano, Kwantlen, Langara and VIU. Their only loss came 3-2 to Douglas, who wound up first in the competition.
Douglas had 193 total team points. Capilano had 129 points to finish third.
“The league is very close this year,” says head coach Brad Pape. “Actually, the second through fifth teams this time around (TRU, Capilano, VIU and Kwantlen) were completely flipped from the season’s opening tournament.”
“This finish will go a long way to getting out team into the medals at the end of the season.”
Individually, the WolfPack had mixed results. In “A” men’s singles, Garrett Babichuk (3rd year, Kelowna, BC) finished fourth losing all three of his matches. Joey Chu (1st year, Kamloops, BC) was third in “B” singles with a record of 1 and 2. In “A” womens singles, Marlee Martens (3rd year, Salmon Arm, BC) was third with a record of 1 and 2. Kia Lidster (2nd year, Kamloops, BC) wound up second in the “B” singles with two wins and a loss.
The duo of Babichuk and Noah Woods (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) finished fourth in the “A” flight men’s doubles. They were winless in three starts. Alex Perkin (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) and his partner Brennan Arduini (4th year, Kamloops, BC) finished second in the “B” flight doubles with 2 wins and a loss.
Women’s doubles saw Lidster and Martens going 0 for 3 in the “A” flight to finish fourth. Ming Wong (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) and Anica Arduini (1st year, Kamloops, BC) captured the “B” flight with two wins and a loss.
Mixed Doubles results had Perkin and Wong and Woods with Whitney MaKenny (4th year, Port Alberni, BC) finishing second respectively in the “”B” and “C” flights. Both pairs had records of 2 and 1.
“There were some players that I thought would do well didn’t,” said Pape. “There were others who stood out. “He singled out the play of Martens, the duo of Perkin and Arduini along with the pair of Wong and Arnica Arduini. They will all stay in their respective in their bracket for the next BCCAA tournament, which will be held in January at Douglas College.
“We have to maintain our position in that tournament” says Pape, who believed that home gym was a factor in his teams finish. “ Just being able to sleep in their own beds and get good rest was a benefit,” he said.
TRU TO HOST BADMINTON THIS WEEKEND November 25, 2009
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Noah Woods
Badminton will take center stage at Thompson Rivers University this weekend. The WolfPack will play host to the second of four BC College Athletic Association tournaments which mark the 2009-10 season.
Thompson Rivers University will play host to five other schools in a two day tournament beginning Saturday morning (Nov 28) at the TRU Gym. The first day of the tournament will see the athletes competing in a ‘team’ format, with individual play beginning Sunday morning. Action begins both days at 9 am.
“We need to finish high this weekend in order to medal at the provincials,” said WolfPack head coach Brad Pape. “We need to finish no worse than third place.”
Entering the weekend, Douglas College leads the BCCAA standings. The Royals have 363 total points after the first tournament at Capilano University. Douglas notched 193 team points and 170 individual points. Kwantlen Polytechnic Eagles stand second in the standings with 275 points, followed by Vancouver Island University Mariners with 232. The host WolfPack are fifth with 166 points (64 team, 102 individual).
The inaugural tournament of the year saw TRU players doing quite well. Garrett Babichuk (3rd year, Kelowna, BC) was third in the “A” division in men’s singles. Marlee Mertens (3rd year, Salmon Arm, BC) was fourth in the womens “A” singles with Kia Lidster (2nd year, Kamloops, BC) coming third in the “B” singles.
In men’s doubles, Babichuk and Noah Woods (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) won the “B” flight with Alex Perkin (3rd year, Kamloops, BC) and Brennan Arduini (4 th year, Kamloops, BC) winning the “C”.
The duo of Mertens and Lidster were third in the “B” women’s doubles event. Whitney MaKenny (4 th year, Port Alberni, BC) and her partner Anica Arduini (1st year, Kamloops, BC) were second in “C”
Mixed doubles play saw Perkin and MaKenny finishing third in “B” and the Arduini Siblings (Brennan and Anica) winding up second in the “”C” flight.
The WolfPack had a number of their players participating in the recent Kamloops Open Tournament earlier this month. “It gets their brains thinking about winning rather than practicing.” Says Pape.
He plans to go with virtually the same line up which participated at the first BCCAA Tourney at Capilano. With one exception. “Ming Wong (4th year, Kamloops, BC) will be in to play singles and at least one team event.” Pape explains.
The Provincials are set for Feb 20 and 21, 2010 at VIU. The Canadian College Athletic Association Championships will go March 4-6 th at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta.
This weekend’s tournament is free of charge for spectators.
November 16, 2009
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Garrett Babichuk and Andy Chu at 2008 CCAA Nationals
With the biggest turnout in many years, the TRU gym was buzzing with the sounds of birdies. In the Men’s A flight singles, TRU’s Garret Babichuk captured the title with a very tight 3 set battle over former TRU teammate Andy Chu. Chu then joined forces with TRU’s Joey Chu to win the A Men’s doubles title in another 3 set match over Kelowna’s Victor Yap and Matt Downton. Yap did win the A flight Mixed Doubles title with Lyndsay Thomson over Ezreena Scott and Neil Ward, all of whom are from Kelowna. Scott and Eva Weston are the Ladies doubles champions after a win over TRU’s Ming Wong and Anica Arduini. Scott also won the Ladies singles crown over TRU’s Marlee Mertens.
In the B flight TRU’s Noah Woods beat Downton in Men’s singles and then joined with teammate Alex Perkin to come 2nd in Men’s doubles. It was an all Kamloops Mixed final with Jennifer Eastwood and TRU coach Brad Pape winning over Wong and Brennan Arduini, both on the TRU team.
Cam Perkin of Kamloops won all 3 C flight events by beating Kelowna’s Tyler Kunz in Men’s singles and teaming with Anthony Arduini of Kamloops to win over Spencer Thompson and Bryce McEwan of Kelowna in Men’s doubles. In Mixed Doubles he played with Alison Slater of Kamloops to beat Madi Ellis of Kamloops and Jayson Shum from Vancouver.
The WolfPack will be hosting a BCCAA tournament at the TRU gym on November 28 th and 29 th.
(information provided by Alison Slater of Kamloops Badminton Club)