The first intercollegiate tournament of the year, the Pre-season Tournament, was held last Sunday (10-18-2009) in the UCSD main gym. UCLA, UC Irvine, and USC sent representatives down south, vying for some early glory to kick off the new season.

UCSD featured a large sum of players in the tournament and after one long day of battle, UCSD shines the brightest among the four schools that competed by clinching 3 of the 5 titles, proclaiming itself the victor of the day.

In the Men’s single department, UCSD’s number 1 point getter Emmanuel Pun cruised to the quarter final before losing to his compatriot and fellow triton, Ronald Sou. Despite losing the first game, Ronald Sou kept his mental strength in check and fought back hard, eventually securing his victory over the favorite with a nerve-wreaking 22-20 in the deciding game. Unfortunately, the difficult match took its toll on Ronald as he was unable to advance any further than the semi-final, losing tamely to the impressive Calvin Lin, the 2nd point getter from UC Irvine. UCSD’s number 2 point getter, Harold Juang, finished his campaign as a semi-finalist along with Ronald after defeating UCLA’s number 1 point getter Alex Liu and before losing to the eventual champion Andrew Todt, also the number 1 point getter from for UC Irvine. Alan Liu, the number 3 point getter, fought hard in the quarter final and took a game off the eventual runner-up, Calvin Lin, but was unable to capitalize on the momentum and lost out in the decider. Sophomore Jinyu Song ,however, had better luck than his seniors and was crowned the Men’s single Cons Champion after his impressive victories against UCLA’s number 2 and 3 point getters in the Con’s draw.

The number 1 point getter for UCSD, Nina Wang, led the 2nd and the 3rd point getter, Terry Chow and Audrey Chen respectively, into the Women’s single challenge. Despite her best effort, freshmen Nina Wang lost out to the eventual champion, Joyce Kwong from UC Irvine, in the semi-final. Freshmen Audrey Chen, despite also defeated by Joyce Kwong in the second round, had an amazing debut in college badminton by defeating the number 1 point getter from UC Irvine, Manny Lu. Senior Terry Chow, however, was defeated by UCSD freshmen, Dao Lam, in the first round.

The unheralded UCSD combination, John Chen and Nick Schafer, upset their fellow compatriots, the number 3 point getters, Jon Lee and David Lee, and advanced into the semi-final of the Men’s double discipline. Unfortunately, their good run did not last and was halted by the eventual champions, the number 1 point getters for UCSD, Alan Liu and Ronald Sou. The number 2 point getters, Emmanuel Pun and Harold Juang, had a glorious victory over UC Irvine’s number 1 point getters in the semi-final, Calvin Lin and Bo, before conceding the title to Alan Liu and Ronald Sou without a fight. Junior Emmanuel Pun decided not to contest for the crown due to fatigue.

After clinching the Men’s Double title, UCSD remained on good track as the number 1 point getters, Aggi Bialy and Angela Yee, secured another title, the coveted Women’s double crown. Aggi and Angela were so dominant in the Women’s Double department that many predicted that they would win the title even before the draw was up. They defeated many seeded players from other school before scoring a win over UCLA’s number 1 point getters in the final.

Along with George Hong, Angela Yee helped UCSD lift yet another title, this time the Mix Double gold. The 2nd point getters from UCSD paved their pathway to the final by first taking down UC Irvine’s number 3 point getters, then USC’s number 1, followed by UC Irvine’s number 1, and eventually their fellow comrades in the final, UCSD’s number 1, Aggi Bialy and David Lee. Natalie Siu and John Pham also did well in making their way to the semi-final before losing to the runner-ups, Aggi and David.

UCSD had always had a bad spell in the women’s department but this Pre-season showed result that contradicts that belief. This year’s freshmen added a band of strong female players to the team and that is very crucial to the team’s success as the Collegiate National games and the league cannot be won with only the male players alone. UCSD showed her dominance in badminton by emerging as the victor in the Pre-season tournament among other badminton powerhouses: UC Irvine, UCLA, and USC. This victory will definitely serve as a confidence booster and a good omen for many future games and challenges that lie ahead. Somehow, the elusive National Collegiate champion title that eluded UCSD for the past few years seems to be within reach all of a sudden.

Article by: Franco Ooi