Anne Marie looks pensively at a mis-hit during a mixed double game with her partner Mike
SmashCats! (Please don't alert PETA)
Each semester we are able to hold two tournaments (singles or doubles) here at our our facilities and we encourage everyone to join! Even those who are not regular members are welcomed, and as a matter of fact, we do get many of these. Most often these players are members of the Tucson Badminton Club or even some from the Phoenix Badminton Club, but we've also had players from ASU, NAU, and a few from as far as California. We are hoping that these tournaments will, in time, become something to which badminton players (local or not) can look forward. Here are a few things that those who've foregone the most recent tournament (3/24/07) have missed:SmashCats Doubles II Spring 2007
Anne Marie looks pensively at a mis-hit during a mixed double
game with her partner Mike
Richard dashes to cover Piya against their fearsome opponents Amruta and Sid
Air Mark: Man or Myth?
Koka vs. Koka! Too close to call?
The many different ways Asians go, "Say what?"
Mark and his partner Ping gets ready while Hanmei thinks to herself,
"He's definitely going to choke."
Ah...the sounds of birdies being whacked...badminton is in the air
Shantanu giving Koka some playing tips while Vaishnavi thinks,
"Yeah, yeah, I know all that."
More proof that Jason is a badass
Lorna gets ready while Jon flicks the birdie with a deft twist of the wrist
"Ooh,ooh! Me too, me too!"
Shantanu, Amruta, Sid, Megha, and Piya...the less weird version
The official mascot of UA Badminton Club: Eric Sun!
Haipeng poses with our future champion - he has good genes!
Dave and Rich heat things up at the start of Men's Doubles
Kevin shows us a textbook service
Against formidable foes Haipeng and Li Yao, Sujan and Mike pulls out
all the stops...I don't even know what this move is called
Liu Ying and Sid is frozen by Shibu's death stare as Mike returns a shot
Ah...lunchtime!
Rich and Dave enjoy the food...and the view
Members of the TBC eat in their exclusive clique...
...while everyone else is forced to mingle
It was so crowded that some even braved the hot Arizona sun on the patio
But SUSHI YUKARI made everything worthwhile!! Oishisugirimashita!
Domou arigatou gozaimashita!! Visit her restaurant's
website for info on how to get more!
Y...M...C...k? Darcy watches as Doug gets bent out of shape
Here, Jason shows us how to do a jump smash
The Table! The place where challenges are handed out and matches decided!
Special thanks to Kevin for all your help with handling the table!
"I wonder if my jump smash looks as cool as Jason's"
Doug Towne and Darcy McGrane! Mixed Doubles Champions!
Jason Li and Hanmei Chen! Mixed Doubles Second Place!
"No, Jason, THIS is how you smash!" says Yong
"I thought it was like this!"
"You guys got it all wrong...this is how you do it!"
Game of the tournament: Kevin & Ramesh VS Doug & Naren
"I'll show you all how to smash, the Koka way!"
"Ow...all that smashing hurt my back...cover me, Ramesh"
Men's Doubles 4th place winner after a hard fought battle: Shantanu
Sane and Jon Folstein. You can tell who did all the work from this picture
Men's Doubles Champions!! Naren Koka and Doug Towne.
Tournament Results
Overall, our last tournament was a blast and one of our most successful, not
the least of which is due to SUSHI YUKARI's generous donations of the most
delicious sushi this side of the Pacific! Thank you for everyone else who helped
make this such a wonderful event and a special thanks to Kevin Bao for providing
shuttles as well as much-needed aid at the desk. Thank you all for participating
and we'll see you next tournament!
Men's Doubles third place: Kevin Bao and Ramesh Bondalapati.
First place: Naren Koka & Doug Towne
Second place: Jason Li & Yong Qin
Third place: Ramesh Bondalapati & Kevin Bao
Women's Doubles:
First place: Ann Marie Donohoe & Darcy McGrane
Second place: Margo Hurst & Lorna Hunter
Third place: Hanmei Chen & Piya Jain
Mixed Doubles:
First place: Doug Towne & Darcy McGrane
Second place: Jason Li & Hanmei Chen
Third place: Naren Koka & Vaishnavi Koka