Fanshawe Badminton’s Pham and Ngu Win CCAA National Bronze Medal

(London, Ontario) – On Saturday afternoon, Falcons Badminton team members Han Pham (Danang, Vietnam) and Helen Ngu (London, ON) captured Fanshawe's first Women's Doubles CCAA medal since 2004-05. The 2019 CCAA Badminton National Championships were hosted by Dalhousie Agricultural Campus in Truro, Nova Scotia.

Pham and Ngu finished in third place in round robin play with a record of 3-2, falling to top ranked Humber 11-21, 10-21 in their opening match on Thursday. They then bounced back with a decisive 21-8, 21-7 win over Mount Allison and a 21-10, 21-15 victory over Concordia.

On Friday in day two of the championships, Fanshawe defeated host Dalhousie AC by a score of 21-8, 21-6 before dropping their final round robin game to Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) by scores of 16-21, 14-21. Pham and Ngu then faced the second ranked NAIT team once again in the CCAA semi-final and fell in three sets (21-15, 11-21, 14-21).

In the bronze medal match on Saturday against the Alberta conference wildcard Concordia, the Falcons found themselves down four points early in the first set. Pham and Ngu quickly regrouped, winning some long and hard fought rallies. A diving save from Ngu late in the set resulted in a Falcons point to take the 17-16 lead. Fanshawe held on and captured a 21-19 first set win. The two teams traded points to begin set two, as they were tied 8-8. Then the Falcons caught fire and scored three straight points to go up 11-8. Fanshawe continued their hustle throughout and Pham finished off the match on a rocket smash to win 21-16. The duo claimed the Falcons first CCAA Badminton Women's Doubles medal in 14 years.