ACAA Championship Weekend and CCAA Qualifiers

Eight athletes qualified. A second-place finish. One heck of a women's doubles semi-final match. What happened from February 10th to the 11th in the McCormack Gymnasium?

February 10th: Championship Day

Earlier this month, the Mount Allison varsity badminton team saw its most successful season in recent years with this core group of athletes. However, They almost reached the ACAA conference summit, falling just short of claiming its first championship banner since 2016-17. Back then, the Mounties had captured nine straight titles and ten total over the past eleven years, dating back to 2006-07.

During the first championship run of many, the current badminton Mounties were anywhere from two to six years old; we had yet to begin grade school. Now, seventeen years later, and for the first time in three years, the Mounties had a legitimate shot at reestablishing themselves as the (Mountie) Pride of the ACAA. The deciding match would fall on the shoulders of two rookies in a mixed game that pushed the league's eventual champions to the brink. Let's set the stage for this dramatic showdown before the final tiebreaking, winner-takes-all matchup between Mount Allison and King's.

The Mounties reunited Brianna Warwick and Taryn Greco from their glory days to take over the women's doubles category, going a perfect 4-0 on championship day against Saint John, Sainte-Anne's, Dalhousie AC, and King's. In the men's doubles division, Jacob Lamothe and Ben Broadbent relived their own good-ol' days together, finishing with an identical record to the women's. Thanks to a combination of Sophie Geis and Talla Corkum, our women's singles ladies went 2-2 against the competition. Mike Ta and Molly Peppard then teamed up to go 3-0 against the other mixed teams, including Saint John, who featured the conference's

top-seeded mixed player, Krishna Vaibhov. Let's save their final match of the day against Aidan Badcock-Parks and Anna Gillies for later on.

As mentioned earlier, the final mixed match of the day would settle the winner of the 2024 ACAA banner. However, it might have been sophomore Wilson Paluch (see: recently afro-less) and his tournament-opening singles match against Arshath Mohamed of Saint John that propelled the Mounties early on. In a three-game thriller, with the entire gymnasium supporting Garnet and Gold, Paluch pulled away with an 18-21, 21-14, 21-14 victory. How the Mounties felt inspired for the rest of team day is thanks to Paluch's efforts. Nearly seven hours later, Ta and Peppard prepared opposite Badcock-Parks and Gillies in an intense finals matchup. The latter two have each won medals at the National level (silver and gold, respectively). At the same time, Mount A's team features first-time rookies on the biggest stage for collegiate badminton in Atlantic Canada. They fared well, winning 17 points against the King's mighty duo in the second game, but ultimately fell short in two straight.

Having won three of five events against the Mounties, King's took home a sixth straight championship banner, leaving Mount A with a third consecutive silver medal. It was not the result we wanted, but we could not be more proud of our group for their efforts. Know that the Mounties will remember that loss come 2025…

February 11th: National Qualifiers

The Mounties would quickly need to shake off any disappointment of falling short to King's because the national qualifier tournament was just a sleep away.

Daniel Amarouche and Wilson Paluch, as well as Mike Ta and Jacob Lamothe, entered into the men's doubles category. Molly Peppard and Taryn Greco would compete in the women's doubles category, as would Talla Corkum and Sophie Geis. Finally, Brianna Warwick and Ben Broadbent would try to secure a spot in mixed doubles. Ten Mounties hoping to qualify would be tasked with a challenging path ahead of them.

Starting with Ta and Lamothe, the duo clinched a spot at the 2024 CCAA National Championship and own bragging rights as going undefeated on Sunday to be named to the top ACAA team. With this, the first Mounties men's doubles team, separated by five years in age, are Mount A's only all-conference players on the ACAA all-star team. Lamothe will be returning to national competition after competing with Broadbent last season. Ta will be going to the big stage for the first time in his young career.

Losing to this duo in the men's doubles final but still securing a nationals spot (remember, a team must finish first or second in their respective category to qualify) were Paluch and Amarouche, who have only been playing together for a matter of weeks. This will be each of their first times representing the ACAA at nationals.

In mixed doubles, Broadbent and Warwick faced off against Whitney Doucet and Joshua Boudreau, a match that would solidify a spot at the national tournament. The Mounties captains were victorious in two straight sets, embracing one another after their successful 4-1 record. Warwick, the most decorated Mountie at the national level, will go for her third straight season. Broadbent will be heading to nationals for the second time in Garnet and Gold.

Now, to the women's doubles division. Two teams from Mount A fought hard in their respective round-robin groups and were set to face off in the semi-finals. The winning side would be booking a ticket to Ontario; the other would fall short in a heartbreaking contest. For veterans Geis and Corkum, it would be their last chance to qualify for the first time as teammates and best friends; Geis is graduating in the spring. For Peppard and Greco, the latter on this fast-paced team would seek revenge; she fell short of qualifying for nationals last year at the racquet of Doucet in women's singles.

Game one went to Peppard and Greco, smashing their way to victory in their irregular but effective high-tempo fashion. The second set went to Geis and Corkum, who countered the high intensity of the young-ins with veteran-like patience and placement. On to game three, a final deciding match, where one set of Mounties would hug each other in victory, the other