Kevin Luo, BC’s U17 Boys’ Singles Provincial Champion, speedily advanced to the quarter finals in his event after a 21-6, 21-9 win over Quebec’s Jacob Kamali. He will face Alberta’s Nicolas Pittman on Tuesday. Aaron Zhao, BC’s silver medalist for U17 Boys’ Singles, also gave a star performance, defeating Manitoba’s Simon Wolf Depasquale and Quebec’s Nicolas Nguyen in two games apiece to advance to the quarter finals. Daryl Yang, an alum of the WCTC Team BC program and Provincial Champion in both U17 Men’s Doubles and U17 Mixed Doubles, clinched a spot in the quarter finals after squeaking a 19-21, 23-21, 21-15 victory over the tournament’s 5/8 seed, Tommy Yikai Du of Ontario.
BC’s Maddie Yue Buss will face Ontario’s top seed Katie Ho-Shue in the quarter finals for U17 Girls’ Singles on Tuesday. Buss won a marathon match against Manitoba’s Tiffany Tantakoun, eventually scoring a 19-21, 24-22, 21-18 victory after fifty six minutes of play. Jessica Yuen, a WCTC Team BC alum and silver medalist in U17 Girls’ Doubles, will also advance to the quarter finals after snagging a handy 21-17, 21-12 victory over 5/8 seed Abby Ledda of Alberta. Wendy Zhang, WCTC Team BC alum and Provincial Champion in U17 Girls’ Singles and Girls’ Doubles, was seeded 3/4 for U17 Girls’ Singles at the National Championship. She performed as fiercely as expected, taking a sizeable 21-6, 21-9 victory over Alberta’s Elizabeth Evans to advance to the quarter finals. After an excellent showing at the Canada Winter Games with Team BC, Jodi Fei continued to demonstrate advanced skill and ability on the courts with a 21-16, 15-21, 21-11 win against Alberta’s Stephanie Cheung that clinched her berth in the quarter finals. Lastly, Michelle Yeung, WCTC alum and BC’s Provincial Champion in U17 Girls’ Doubles and U17 Mixed Doubles, secured a place in the quarter finals after a decisive 21-11, 21-9 victory in her match against Manitoba’s Devika Deraj.
As expected, Team BC’s bronze medalist and reigning U19 Mixed Doubles Provincial Champion James Ho put on a spectacular performance on the first day of the National Championship. The 3/4 seed scored an impressive 21-6, 21-15 victory over Ontario’s Samuel Li, and will face Quebec’s Sébastien Choquette in Tuesday’s quarter finals. Jack Lin, who took home a gold medal in U19 Men’s Doubles at last week’s Provincial Championship, also delivered a powerful performance in Winnipeg. Lin will face number two seed Ty Lindeman (AB) in the quarter finals after a spectacular victory in a rollercoaster match against Manitoba’s Paul Brown that ended 26-24, 17-21, 21-8 in Lin’s favour.
BC’s heavy presence in the quarter finals for U17 Boys’ Singles, U17 Girls’ Singles, and U19 Boys’ Doubles signifies our goals for a podium finish are well in sight. We look forward to cheering our capable athletes on, and are eager to observe the results of Tuesday’s competition.