After 13 years as an assistant coach, Howard Wong is stepping into his first campaign as head coach of the badminton program. Over the past few seasons, the team has achieved outstanding results, highlighted by eight CCAA National medals across the last six years. Now, Coach Wong aims to maintain the same level of excellence as he takes the helm.
The season begins at the Humber Cup for an OCAA Invitation from October 4th to 5th.
Coach's Quote
"Expectations haven't changed as we transition from my mentor Coach Will Schram," Wong explained. "We aim to always be amongst the conversation in OCAA badminton for having a very competitive team, pursue OCAA medals in a few disciplines, winning an OCAA Team banner would be a testament to the depth and talent of our players, qualify for CCAA National Championships, and pursue CCAA medals."
Key Returning Players
Kent Ayco
Alongside his men's doubles partner Henry Chan, Ayco secured first place at Regionals with a flawless 4-0 record, not dropping a single set. This earned him a spot at Provincials, where he finished fourth. He was also named an OCAA Badminton Men's East Regional All-Star for his outstanding play.
Sarah Song
Sarah performed well in Women's Singles last season, narrowly missing Provincials by finishing fourth in her pool at Regionals. She's determined to build on that strong campaign this year.
Aaronne Navarro
In a tough Men's Singles category at Regionals last season, Navarro finished third in his group to earn a spot in the semi-finals but fell just short on advancing. He's a player to keep an eye no matter the discipline he competes in.
Recruited Players
Keylee Choi
Sahil Lokhande
Yang Jin
Ellen Shen
Vidhita Somaroo
Rachel Wang
Yotha Phatchariya
"For the males, we have a very competitive and dedicated group that continued their training in the off season. They've certainly elevated their play and we are excited about the overall depth 1-7 as they are all multi-disciplined which leads to a lot of competition for the final roster spots at Provincials," the coach explained. "For the females, there was a lot of roster turnover with one lone returning student-athlete Sarah. The coaching staff really appreciate her commitment to the sport and her continued improvement. We look forward to her lead and set the tone for the females. We see a lot of promise with the rookies who've joined our squad as they all have a positive attitude, are willing to work hard and have a hunger to improve. They're definitely adapting to being comfortable with the uncomfortable."
