Gold: Mens Singles - Alex Pang; Mens Doubles - Jon Vandervet; Mixed Doubles - Jon Vandervet and Milaine Cloutier
Silver: Mens Singles - Martin Giuffre; Mens Doubles - Toby Ng
Bronze: Ladies Doubles - Grace Gao
The men's singles began with Alberta having seeded entries of Alex Pang (3/4) and Martin Giuffre (5/8). Both Martin and Alex have had good seasons thus far, with Martin making the finals of the most recent Yonex Elite series event in Toronto and Alex the semi finals. The Alberta pair has also recently been named to Canada's entry at the upcoming Thomas Cup Pan American qualifying stage in Lima, Peru giving the boys confidence leading into Nationals. Alex marched through his opening rounds handily defeating his opponents of a combined score of 126-62 until the semi finals where he was to face top seed and local hero David Snider. Pang was ready for the battle with David on the court; and also managed to keep his emotions in check while facing three questionable line calls early in the match. Pang won the first set 21-19 and managed to lead most of the second and secured his place in the final with a score of 21-17.
Giuffre, on the bottom half of the draw knew his road would be tough, never having beaten 2 Ontario players - Joseph Rogers (seeded 3/4) and Stephan Wojcikiewicz (seeded 2). In the quarterfinals Martin started strong and controlled the pace of play with steady attack and changes of speed to win the first set 21-14. The second set, saw Rogers begin to fight with his usual emotional flair, while Martin began to tighten with the win in sight. Rogers would take the second by a score of 23-21. Martin began the third set reverting back to patient play and once again his unrelenting backcourt attack proved too much for Joe who succumbed 21-17.
Martin had achieved his goal of making the semi finals but now refocused his energy to battle the 60th world ranked player Wojcikiewicz. The early part of the match saw the players trying to gauge their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses with the more experienced Wojcikiewicz taking a 17-12 lead in the first set. Martin then began to feel very comfortable and utilized his height, angles and net play to win the next 9 consecutive points and clinch the first 21-17. Martin controlled most of the second until he reached a score of 19-14. Stephan fought back to 18-19 but Martin then finished with two incredible rallies to finish his second consecutive upset.
The finals were exciting with the battle of the Alberta boys. Alex was looking to avenge a defeat suffered at the hands of Giuffre at the Yonex Glencoe Summer Elite Series event and never gave Martin the opportunities to attack as he did in the quarter and semi final. Pang would win his first National Men's Singles title 21-15, 21-18.
The men’s doubles had many tense and exciting matches with the eventual winners of Jon Vandervet of Alberta and Alvin Lau of BC playing the big points the best. Vandervet and Lau had to fight back in their semi final against a tall Quebec pair who lead most of the third set to finally win 21-18, 16-18, 21-18. In the finals Jon and Alvin battled Toby Ng of Alberta and Adrian Liu of BC. This match featured four of the fastest Canadians who can also hit the shuttle extremely hard! The rallies were intense as were the emotions displayed on court. Either team would have been worthy of the title, yet Vandervet and Lau served better to secure the win. At match point (19-20) against, Lau was serving to Ng. Alvin turns to Jon and says that he will be serving short. Alvin prepares to serve to his former partner Toby and senses that the short serve may not be the proper choice. With bravery or fear, Alvin flicks Toby wide for an ace and the match is even at 20-20. Two spectacular serves later Jon Vandervet and Alvin Lau are 2010 National Men’s doubles champions.
In the Mixed Doubles event Alberta looked strong beginning with the top seeded pair of Toby Ng and Grace Gao and 3/4 seeds Jon Vandervet and Milaine Cloutier. Ng and Gao had just returned from the Korea and Malaysia Super Series events and were unable to cope with their opponents or jet lag and bowed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Alberta hope then turned to Jon and Milaine who survived a close match in the semi finals defeating Derrick Ng and Melody Liang of BC by scores of 22-20, 18-21, 21-17. The finals would be a rematch of the Yonex Toronto Open with Jon and Milaine playing Lau and Fiona McKee of Ontario (who trains in Alberta). Jon and Milaine stormed out of the gates with a great array of drives to the back, soft mid court shots and tight net shots that the opponents could not answer, first set AB 21-9. The momentum could not continue, as was a similar case in Toronto, Lau and McKee regrouped and managed to power their way to a 21-14 win. The team that could execute their strategy better would decide the third set. The experienced Cloutier began controlling the net, which allowed Vandervet to dominate from the back with power smashes and slow drops. Jon Vandervet would earn his first National title, while Cloutier claimed her thirteenth national title (1 LS, 10 LD, 2 XD) with the 21-17 finish.