Mounties Wrap Up the Regular Season with Senior Night
On Saturday, January 31st, the Mounties Badminton Team wrapped up their regular season at home. The community showed up to celebrate the three seniors on the team, Tua Macneil, Brenell Enman, and Wilson Paluch, who played their last competition at home. The one-day tournament proved to be one of the loudest badminton tournaments of the season, thanks to the passion of the Mountie crowd. The Mounties finished second in the tournament, as the Dal Rams took first place.
The 'Baddies' racked up big points in Men's singles. With an unusual three Mounties being entered in the division, all of them made it to the semi-final. With Noah MacIssac championing teammate Cameron Brown, and senior Wilson Paluch falling to the eventual champions.
In the Women's Doubles division, senior Tua MacNeil and partner Azaniah Gepiga fought to the semi final, where they faced off against the future champion duo from the Rams. The highly experienced team from Dalhousie was able to survive the athleticism and energy from the Mounties, winning in straight sets.
On the opposite side of the gym, the Men's Doubles division provided an electric atmosphere all around. On one side, the Rookie-Senior pairing of David Kim and Wilson Paluch fell short in 3 sets to the Rams. The other Mountie pairing of Mike Ta and Nathaniel White, despite being backed by the home crowd, also fell in three sets.
In mixed doubles, the #2-seeded Mike Ta and Brenell Enman cruised to the semi-final, where they faced the Blue Devil pairing of Lyle Huth and Rachel Gillies. In a 3-set match, which equated to over 120 points (The ACAA average is 85 points), the Mounties were defeated.
The Mounties now fully shift their focus to the team championships, with their sights set on claiming the banner in Truro on February 21st and qualifying for CCAA Nationals on February 22nd.
For Tua, Brenell, and Wilson this will be their last home university badminton tournament. As they move on to the next stage of their lives, their presence will be missed dearly for years to come, and the culture they created will remain.