Historic Day for the Condors

Mississauga, ON

 

The Conestoga Condors are extremely proud to celebrate the efforts of Men's Singles Badminton student-athlete, Pranav Satheesh. In his first season with the Condors, Satheesh had an incredible season, demonstrating an elite level of performance time and time again. 

Satheesh went undefeated throughout the OCAA invitational season, and had an impressive 7-0 Match record at the OCAA West Regionals.

However as the Condors hosted the OCAA Championships, Satheesh would have his first defeat at the hands of the impressive Ramnish Kumar from Humber, as Kumar would win the round robin and OCAA gold medal matches with Satheesh. Certainly an OCAA Silver medal was nothing to be disappointed about for Satheesh, as that still secured a berth in the CCAA championships for him.

 

At the CCAA championships, hosted by the UTM Eagles, Satheesh would face tough competition including his OCAA rival Kumar and CCAA Male Player of the Year Roymond Kim (NAIT). But Satheesh was up for the challenge and impressively dominated throughout the Round Robin matches, going 5 to 0.

After continuing his dominance in a 2-0 set win in the semi-finals, the table was set for the OCAA Gold re-match, with Kumar and Satheesh lining up in the CCAA Gold medal match.

At the outset, Kumar would demonstrate his power and experience in these type of matches, winning the first set 21-16. Kumar kept up his strong play, starting off the second set in control by going up 10-4 in points. However Satheesh would get back to his masterful play, coming on strong in this pivotal second set, rallying to come back and win 21-16.

Now for the dramatic 3rd set, both would show why they are amongst the best Collegiate Badminton players anywhere in the world, with exciting back and forth action trading points along the way. Right to the end the battle continued, with Satheesh clinching the set, the match and the Gold, sealing the winning point by winning the set 22-20. 

While Satheesh rightfully celebrated the first CCAA gold medal in decades for the Condors, his support team was able to share in this great moment with him.

Head Coach Roselyn Bevis, in her second year as the Condors HC, has been a big part of the program's turnaround and success. Her dedication and commitment to the program earned her the OCAA coach of the year and the respective nominee for CCAA Coach of the year. Bevis' foundation for the program has allowed all players to strive for excellence in the classroom and on the court.

Assistant Coach Derek Lenos has also made a great contribution to the program and was able to provide insight into the singles competition to help players like Satheesh understand the competition throughout the season. 

 

The Condors staff that oversee strength and conditioning and athletic therapy also provided an important and necessary support network for our student-athletes. Specifically for Satheesh, the great work done by Assistant Athletic Therapist Stacey Harper was integral to his success throughout the tournament.

An impressive Gold Medal for the Condors that will no doubt be cherished for years to come.

(Photo Credits: Leslie Seto, UTM)