OSHAWA, Ont. - The UOIT Ridgebacks badminton team hosted their third annual Ridgebacks Team Challenge at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Centre, competing against some of the top teams in Ontario. The final results placed CWG 2019 in first, followed by Team Blue (University of Toronto) and Team White (University of Toronto) in second and third.
 
"The goal for the day was to prepare our athletes for the upcoming OUA championship and test new partnerships out," said UOIT Ridgebacks head coach Wayne King. "Hosting the tournament gave us the ability to test out various combinations against real competition, allowing us to build even more depth of options heading into the provincial finals."
 
During round one against the Shuttle Smashers, UOIT's Zhiyi Chen (Newmarket, Ont.) started things off with a convincing singles win over Toby Zhang, 21-10 and 21-16. Meanwhile on the women's side, rookie Alyssa Wong (North York, Ont.) struggled to adjust in the first game of her match against Cassidy Li, falling 21-9, but gained momentum in a 22-20 second game loss.
 
In the second round of matches, the Ridgebacks competed against what turned out to be the best team in the tournament in CWG, a team which featured many nationally ranked players in the country. Second-year player Norbert Wojdylo (Oshawa, Ont.) had an outstanding match against Victor Lai. Although losing 21-6 and 21-9, Wojdylo showed he was able to compete against one of the best in Canada with fast paced rallies. Chen would partner up with Alfonse Ly (Scarborough, Ont.) in the second matchup of the day, falling in two very competitive games versus Stanley Feng and Colin Jia of CWG, 21-14, 23-21.
 
Wojdylo rebounded in the Ridgebacks third matchup of the day, defeating veteran Ryan Rankin from Serve Smash, 16-21, 22-20, 21-15. Throughout the game Wojdylo became more and more confident and wore his opponent down with long rallies and precise shots. Chen and Ly also rebounded, defeating Cameron Duff and Kevin Yap of Serve Smash, 21-15, 21-14. Vincent Dai Yung Chan (Mississauga, Ont.) and Brittney Yiu (Pickering, Ont.) rounded out a trio of UOIT victories with a 23-21, 21-15 mixed doubles win over Philip Bruce and Arisa Nomura to secure a 3-2 team victory over Serve Smash.
 
The final round saw Chen and the doubles pair Chan and Ly earn wins for UOIT over Peterborough BC.
 
"We now have so much more depth than in past seasons," stated King. "Especially in both our men's doubles and mixed doubles, which should compete well at OUA's against any opponents we face."
 
UOIT badminton will finish off their season hosting the OUA Championship at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Centre on Feb. 14.-17 

Team Results

Match 1
Shuttle Smashers - 4
Ridgebacks - 1

Match 2
CWG 2019 - 5
Ridgebacks - 0

Match 3
Ridgebacks - 3
Serve Smash - 2

Match 4
Peterborough BC - 3
Ridgebacks - 2

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