Co-captain Amanda Carruthers saw a dream come true as Waterloo's badminton squad defeated the Western Mustangs in the OUA championship gold medal match. “I have been in the team for four years and I so wanted to beat Western. It was a personal vendetta, and I have succeeded in ending it,” she said.

This win is of significant importance as the Warriors have been trying to beat the Mustangs since the 2003-04 season. Coach Chris Erven's association with the Waterloo badminton program has spanned over a decade, and this win is as much a team victory as it is a moral victory for him. “He has a very unique coaching style. He takes interest which motivates us as we go along,” Carruthers said while speaking exclusively with Imprint.

Every player deserves accolades for their perseverance and belief in themselves and their varsity mates. “We have improved. We have a different practice format, with cardio and physical fitness training. So it has helped us to play harder and with added intensity. Due to this, we have played much better this year than we have in the past,” Carruthers said.

Heading into the championship match, which was held at York University this year, the Warriors boasted of having a successful season run, with only a solitary loss, incidentally against Western. It seemed that the ensuing struggle and that loss would have introduced an intimidation factor in the equation.

“Not really. We knew that our line-up was strong,” Carruthers said. “We played with the same set of players in the regular season as well as in the finals, and somehow it worked in our favour this time. As a team, the Mustangs are very strong. A lot of their members have been provincial players. There was no pressure on us this year, as we were lucky to have a deep team, with players getting along very well. Our team was cohesive enough to give their best.”

On Sunday November 22, four teams competed in the semifinals for a chance to play for the gold medal. Waterloo began its championship trot with a tight match against the Toronto Varsity Blues, with both teams tied at 5-5 going into the final three matches, while York tried to sustain Western's initial lead.

In their first mixed doubles game, Warriors Evan McDonald and Amanda Carruthers put the Warriors up 6-5 despite dropping their first set 21-17. They edged the Mustangs in the following sets 24-22 and 22-20.

It was Rahim Karmali and Shanaz Currium who sealed the win that sent Waterloo to the gold medal round. The Varsity Blues' Dustin Yu (Mississauga, Ont.) and Melissa Hill (Oakville, Ont.) took the first 21-18. However, Karmali and Currium held on and finished the game with resounding 21-15 and 21-18 wins. The Warriors went on to take the match 8-5 to advance to the championship tie.

Entering the gold medal match, the Mustangs and Warriors found themselves tightly matched as they headed into the doubles. The Warriors had a strong start as they controlled the men's singles with Nathan Lee and Andrew Zhuang taking their games in straight sets.

The Mustangs responded with Jennifer Lam (Toronto) and Choi-Fong Cho (Guelph, Ont.) dominating in women's singles. By the time the doubles rolled around, both teams were tied up 3-3 and looking for the deciding victories.

Throughout doubles play, the Warriors began to pull past the Mustangs and took both men's matches.

Despite the defeat, Mustangs head coach Rob Fowler remained optimistic about his team's performance. “It could have gone either way,” he said. “We played well, but they came out on top. It motivates us for the future.”

All the sets that the Warriors played were close, specifically 24-22 and 22-20 in the mixed doubles game against Toronto. “You just try and keep the bird over the net and in the court. There is no change of strategy. Personally, I concentrate on the next point and not what has happened throughout the set,” Carruthers said, “It's all about mental calmness. If you happen to lose a point that you think you should have won, then you tend to take it the wrong way. If you get past that, you have the strength for pushing through.”

There are, as many as three Warriors, in this year's all star teams. Andrew Tai Pow adds his third all-star nod to his arsenal of honours. As 2007 men's rookie of the year, Tai Pow has been named an all-star every year since his first. Other Warriors joining Tai Pow on the team are Rahim Karmali and Andrew Zhuang, both for the first time in their careers.

On being named OUA athlete of the week, Carruthers responded, “I was surprised. I didn't realize that they would pay as much attention to badminton as they would to basketball or the volleyball games that were going on that week.”

Players that have outperformed and have risen to the occasion are Nathan Lee, Matthew Marr, Rahim Karmali, Andrew Tai Pow and Dorothy Lui. Wing Ka Tsang has been the surprise element of the squad. “This year we definitely had depth and experience. We also had a couple of national and international players like Lee. Coach Charles competes for Jamaica, and he has helped us shape up for the games.”

The squad is now looking forward to the nationals, which would be held sometime during May next year.