Mounties Undefeated Through First Two Tournaments
Mount Allison, ranked number two in the country, holds the top seed in the ACAA after two first
place team finishes at King's College and Université de Sainte-Anne. With a mix of veterans and
new blood, the Mounties have not lost a step after an undefeated regular season in 2023-24.
In Halifax, Tallulah MacNeil, the number one seed headed into the tournament, fell in a close
semi-final battle with UNBSJ rookie Huxley Abrigo (21-12, 21-18). Mount A 's own rookie
Azaniah Gepiga swept the women's singles C plate after a first round loss to Abrigo (18-21,
21-3, 21-12).
In the men's singles draw, Mike Ta of the Mounties and the number one seed
advanced to the semi finals, where he squared off against Joel Cote of Dal AC. Ta came out
victorious (21-14, 20-22, 21-18) and was rewarded with a finals matchup against the reigning
national gold medalist, UKC's Thomas Ashton in a fun but decisive match (21-8, 21-3).
Ta continued his solid play with Ben Broadbent in men's doubles, defeating two Dal AC teams
in the semis and finals, taking home Mount A 's first gold medal in a circuit tournament in quite
some time.
Talla Corkum and Brenell Enman showed up wonderfully in women's doubles,
losing to Abrigo and Sydney Arsenault in the semi finals before capturing the B plate title. And
in mixed, Broadbent and MacNeil teamed up in a tough semi final loss against Lyle Huth and
Akshaya Jayakeerthi of UKC (23-21, 13-21, 21-17). Broadbent and MacNeil proceeded to take
down teammates Wilson Paluch and Corkum before winning the B plate against Dal AC's
Adrian Bent and Cindy Yu (21-17, 21-19).
Three weeks later in Church Point, Nova Scotia, the Mounties showed up looking to defend their
first place status and second overall in Canada — and they did.
Paluch and Taryn Greco, playing in her first tournament of the year, advanced all the way to the
finals against national silver medalists Krishna Bhatta and Arsenault, losing a tough two setter
(21-10, 21-18). Greco had an opportunity to double crown, although faced with an imposing
sister duo on the other side of the net in Anna and Rachel Gillies, she and MacNeil fell in two in
the women's doubles finals (21-12, 21-3).
In men's doubles, the one-seeded Ta and Broadbent squared off against the Cote twins in a much
anticipated semi finals matchup. Dal AC's duo came out on top (21-15, 22-20) in what will
surely be a looked forward to rematch in future tournaments. Mrunal Kariyavra and Cole
McDonald took home the C plate bracket, defeating Sainte-Anne's Dominic Cottreau and Nic
Gaudet (21-14, 21-11).
And finally, in the men's singles category, Paluch found his stride in the B pool, winning against
teammate Cameron Tookie Brown and then Huth in the finals (21-7, 21-18). The unseeded
Broadbent played Bhatta in the first round of his side of the draw, and although he lost, it was a
gutsy effort against the mixed silver medalist from 2024 (21-11, 16-21, 21-16).
The Mounties next play in the McCormack Gymnasium in Sackville, NB on January 11th.