BADMINTON WINS THREE NATIONAL TITLES
For almost a decade, the Humber badminton team has been one of the most dominant programs in the country. Since 2008, the Hawks have won 23 CCAA national medals, nine of which were gold.
In 2017, the Hawks became the first OCAA program to win three national titles in one academic year.
The following recalls each championship.
March 17, 2017
MEN'S DOUBLES
NORTH YORK, Ont – Partners Adam Dong and Ryan Chow won the 2017 CCAA Men's Doubles National Championship Saturday evening after a hard fought straight set win over Andy Ko and Imran Wadia from NAIT (ACAC).
In round robin play, NAIT came extremely close to beating Humber, forcing extras in the first set and winning the second, before losing the third and final set.
Since Dong and Chow paired up last season, the duo had never lost a set in CCAA play, creating buzz for the highly anticipated final. In the opening set, NAIT battled Humber tough, grabbing a lead at the break. Dong and Chow missed multiple chances and were trailing late, 16-20. Surrounded by shouts of encouragement from teammates and coaches, the Hawks rallied back to win in incredible fashion, 24-22.
Despite the change of momentum, NAIT opened the second set on a 4-0 run, as the Hawks continued to miss scoring opportunities. At that point, Humber seemed to regain its dominant form, rallying from behind and cruising to an easy 21-12 second set victory to successfully defend its title.
Including a 2015 mixed doubles national championship, Adam Dong has now won three titles in three years for Humber. As for Ryan Chow, he concludes his post-secondary badminton career with five CCAA medals in three disciplines, including: 2013 mixed doubles bronze, 2014 men's singles bronze and 2015 men's doubles bronze.
Humber CCAA Men's Doubles Medals (4)
2009 – Charlie Lay/Alang Luangrath | Bronze
2015 – Ryan Chow/Darcy Schmidt | Bronze
2016 – Ryan Chow/Adam Dong | Gold
2017 – Ryan Chow/Adam Dong | Gold
Dong/Chow's Road to the Title
Round 1 – Munwar/Shewan (ACAA), 21-9 21-12
Round 2 – Kumar/Mohammed (OCAA Host), 21-8 21-7
Round 3 – Ko/Wadia (ACAC), 23-21 12-21 21-12
Round 4 – Nguyen/Wong (ACAC WC), 21-8 21-13
Round 5 – Foster/Qiu (PACWEST), 21-11 21-11
Semi-final – Foster/Qiu, 21-11 21-15
Finals – Ko/Wadia, 24-22 21-12
WOMEN'S DOUBLES
Women's doubles partners Phuthita Nilyok and Chloe Rowe (7-0) won the battle of Ontario with a straight set win over Christine Nguyen and Rachel Nham from Seneca College (5-2). The duo, playing in their first season together, won 21-11 21-9 to secure Humber's first CCAA women's doubles national title in four years.
They began their journey by winning the OCAA Championships without dropping a set, continuing that trend into the national championship tournament going 7-0 and outscoring their opponents 294-108.
Nilyok now has a CCAA gold to go along with her silver medal from last season she won in mixed doubles with Jesse Assing (now a member of Humber's coaching staff).
Competing in her first national championship, Chloe Rowe played with the poise of a seasoned veteran, creating the perfect partner for "Boom" Nilyok.
Humber CCAA Women's Doubles Medals (3)
2012 – Renee Yip/Alyssa Swoon | Bronze
2013 – Renee Yip/Tracy Wong | Gold
2017 – Phuthita Nilyok/Chloe Rowe | Gold
Nilyok/Rowe's Road to the Title
Round 1 – Smilie/Wolski (ACAC), 21-9 21-8
Round 2 – Hughes/Visser (ACAA), 21-11 21-6
Round 3 – Nguyen/Nham (OCAA Host), 21-18 21-7
Round 4 – New/Wilbee (ACAA WC), 21-7 21-9
Round 5 – Walker/Woo (PACWEST), 21-10 21-7
Semi-final – New/Wilbee, 21-9 21-9
Finals – Nguyen/Nham, 21-11 21-9
WOMEN'S SINGLES
No. 1 Humber's Olivia Lei (7-0) became just the second three-time national champion in CCAA women's singles history after a straight set sweep over ACAC champion Takeisha Wang (5-2) 21-8 21-13.
Overcoming a bad case of the flu, Lei finished the three-day tournament undefeated and is now 21-0 all-time in CCAA play. In those seven matches, Lei outscored her opponents 294-108.
When Lei and Wang met in round robin play, Wang played tough and was the only student-athlete to record 16 points on Lei this season. After cruising her way to a first set 21-8 victory, Lei came out strong in second and scored 12 of the first 14 points. Wang, proving her fierce competitiveness, then went on a 4-0 run of her own. Ultimately the run wasn't enough as Lei went on to win her third career national championship.
For Wang, it was her second career medal after capturing a bronze last season in women's doubles.
Humber CCAA Women's Singles Medals (6)
2011 – Tracy Wong | Bronze
2012 – Tracy Wong | Silver
2015 – Olivia Lei | Gold
2015 – Cindy Fu | Bronze
2016 – Olivia Lei | Gold
2017 – Olivia Lei | Gold
Lei's Road to the Title
Round 1 – Thedchanamoorthy (OCAA Host), 21-2 21-4
Round 2 – Wang (ACAC), 21-16 21-16
Round 3 – Lawther (ACAA), 21-5 21-3
Round 4 – Kuramochi (ACAC WC), 21-10 21-2
Round 5 – Cheung (PACWEST), 21-9 21-10
Semi-final – Kuramochi, 21-5 21-5
Finals – Wang, 21-8, 21-13
