Jaguars win six of 10 matches over visiting Titans
A stolen pair of designer jeans set the tone for York Mills’ visit to A.Y. Jackson, as they let the Jaguars dominate badminton action March 29.
It was the last day of the regular season and head coach Anna Wong was concerned the theft 10 minutes into their first scheduled matches — Boys Doubles A, Mixed Doubles B and Girls Singles B — would have the Titans off their game.
Still, Alison Drainie claimed victory in her birdie battle downing Jaguar Senny Chan 21-13, 21-16 in straight sets.
Boys Doubles Wilfred Ho and Steven Huang went the distance against Sam Choi and Leo Quin, but lost 2-1 (21-14, 19-21, 16-21).
Not everything was a notch in the loss column for the Titans though, as both Girls Doubles A and B teams won 21-7, 21-8 and 21-7, 21-9 respectively.
There was optimism in Wong’s voice when speaking of the the main card between Titans racketman Steve Li and A.Y. Jackson’s Matthew Lai.
A tough back-and-forth match ensued, but Lai overcame Li with quick hands, downing his York Mills visitor a 23-21, 21-14 loss.
Li declined to comment on the loss, flashing a smile and saying he’d only talk if he had won.
Wong was confident that Li’s chances for OFSAA would not be marred by the upset.
However, Jaguars’ Lai was enthused by his prowess at the net, adding he is looking for an opening at OFSAA.
“It was pretty good,” he said. “I think (York Mills) was the hardest match we had to play.
“I’m trying to keep fit because my main problem is stamina so I’m trying to work on that part and trying to make as little unforced errors as possible.”
A.Y. Jackson coach Andy Rustin was thrilled with the victory, though there was one forfeited match.
“Ironically this is our best game of the season,” he said. “The people who were expected to do good went through, so it looks like our Boys Doubles A, Boys Doubles B might go through, Girls Singles A have definitely gone through, Mixed A has gone through Boys Singles A have gone through.”
The regional playoffs are next on tap, with both the Jaguars and Titans sitting at 3-1 in the North Region’s East Division, one game back of Earl Haig.
Rustin is not concerned with the undefeated Haigmen, as the Jaguars have proven they’re kings of the North York jungle.
“Earl Haig were the team in badminton to win the team event, but the last two years we’ve beat them,” he said.