Mounties Win Home Tournament, Now Second in the Nation

(SACKVILLE, NB) Two weeks ago the Mounties won their first circuit tournament with 127 total points, their first team victory in over four years. On Sunday they did it again, clinching a second straight regular season tournament title with 97 points. Mounties Badminton currently sits first place in the ACAA and second in the country, and their 224 points place them 108 points ahead of the next closest squad. 

On November 26th, 2023, the Mounties hosted the Saint John Seawolves, the Dalhousie AC Rams, l'Universite de Sainte-Anne Dragons and the University of King's College Blue Devils for the league's second circuit tournament of the year. Kicking off with the women's singles division, the electric rookie Molly Peppard and superstitious Taryn Greco faced off in the B final. In a match between two natural athletes, each of whom could have played for hours without breaking a sweat, Peppard came out on top. Congratulations to grizzled veteran Sophie Geis and tallest rookie Keira Dimmel, who competed in their first ACAA tournament and won the C and D divisions, respectively.

The men's singles athletes once again represented Mounties Athletics with great pride. The ever-so-consistent Jacob Lamothe, for the second straight tournament, found himself in the A finals, taking on the reigning 2023 Nationals silver-medalist Thomas Ashton in a tough fight. While he fell short, Lamothe has shown incredible poise this fall in his two finals appearances. Second-year standout Wilson Paluch, referred to as "Terry [Fox]," with respect to his blond afro hairstyle, was also defeated by Ashton, this loss occurring in the A division semi-finals. The one-sided score did not reflect the effort put forth by Paluch, who stayed in every rally with the eventual tournament champion. Third-year veteran Tony Nguyen's bounce-back tournament saw him capture the C division title.

All four Mounties doubles teams found themselves playing in A-division semi-final matchups. The duo of co-captain Ben Broadbent and Paluch, the men's doubles first seed, took Saint John's pair to three sets, losing a heartbreaking third game 21-18. The two most recent Mounties' men's players of the tournament, Mike Ta and Jacob Lamothe, challenged the tournament favourites Aidan Badcock-Parks and Ashton from King's College on the other side of the A pool. After a tough defeat, the Mounties squared off against each other in the B finals, with Ta and Lamothe overcoming Broadbent and Paluch. As for the women's doubles draw, Geis and the silent but deadly Brenell Enman were challenged by Ritu Shah and Anna Gillies from King's College, last tournament's gold medalists. Unfortunately, the Blue Devils' duo proved too great a task, taking down co-captain Brianna Warwick and Greco in the lady's doubles A final. Tough losses for all four doubles teams, the collective performances of each pairing helped the Mounties accumulate crucial points to secure a tournament win.

Two mixed doubles teams had the opportunity to challenge the top-seeded Saint John. Broadbent and Warwick, after taking down Sainte-Anne's top team in two straight, first took on the Seawolves in the A semi-finals. Losing 21-17 and 21-14, Broadbent and Warwick had their most impressive showing, proving they can play with the very best. Then, the young rookie combo of Ta and Peppard challenged them in the finals, losing by similar scores but again demonstrating remarkable growth together in just three months of playing together. Broadbent and Warwick then had a rematch against Sainte-Anne in the B finals, the day's last match. After falling 17-12 in the first game, the dynamic duo leaned on their 'never-quit' mentality to come back and win the B title in two games. These two Mounties mixed teams will play in this weekend's New Brunswick Open at l'Université de Moncton.

A weekend to remember, to say the least. That is all for your Mounties' badminton team this fall, as action resumes in early January. The number two team in the nation will continue to push themselves daily to work towards qualifying as many athletes as possible for the CCAA 2024 National Badminton Championships, to be held at Seneca College in Ontario. More importantly, the Mounties are seeking their first league championship as a group and will continue their success when the calendar flips in a month. Go Mounties!

Recap courtesy of Ben Broadbent and Mounties Athletics