April 2024 – Our sport clubs rounded out the school term and the end of the season for a few with some impressive competitions across North America. Read about all their successes and memorable tales below!
Alpine Skiing
At the end of March, UBC Alpine competed at the year-end Rotten Apple Cup Dual Panel Slalom at Alpental in North Bend, WA. The team had a very successful race with Phillip D’Andrea coming in second place only 0.1 seconds behind the first-place winner, Samuel Agerskov coming in third, Bella Bay in fourth, and Coco Robertson in the top 8. With beautiful blue-sky sunny conditions and warm weather, UBC Alpine made the most of their last competition of the season. Not only did team members have impressive finishes, but they also showed up in their best costumes, racing in flannels and Hawaiian shirts. Congratulations to everyone who competed this weekend as well as this season, and best of luck to everyone continuing on the team next year!
Sailing
On April 6-7, the Sailing team competed in the Spring Invitational hosted by Queens in Kingston, Ontario. The team sailed in amazing wind and sunny weather over the two days and pulled off some awesome results! Having multiple race wins from all the boats sailing, UBC 2 and UBC 1 got 2nd and 3rd, respectively. This regatta was a great way to end the season and keeps the team eager to be back sailing.
View this post on Instagram
Cycling
UBC Cycling had their first international race of the season on April 13-14 in Washington State! They proudly represented the Thunderbirds on and off the bike, racing well and making new friends. Congrats to Kai and Jonah for earning 2nd and 3rd respectively in collegiate C men’s, Thomas for winning collegiate A, and Injae for winning collegiate B!
Table Tennis
We had a great National Championships in Eau Claire, Wisconsin playing in the Singles, Doubles and Teams events! Our Women’s team played up to the semifinals, taking down higher-ranked schools like Western University who were the third seeded team in the tournament. Our Co-ed team took the 12th position after facing some tough and very close matches. Many of our matches were on tables 1-4 and were live-streamed for the audience to view (streams are still available to watch on YouTube @NCTTAVideos). In the Men’s Singles event, our very own Lak Zhang qualified for the main draw after winning some crucial games in his group. In the Women’s Singles event, Akkshita Guptaa and Grace Zhang qualified for the main draw but faced some challenging opponents in the round of 32. Our women’s doubles teams Poppy Li/Akkshita Guptaa and Grace Zhang/Wimpy Singhal played well into the quarterfinals which was streamed. The team is very proud for making an improvement in the team’s standings this year!
Shoutouts:
- Shoutout to Tom for capturing amazing moments through his lens! His photography skills are truly outstanding. Keep up the fantastic work, Tom!
- Great plays by Akkshita Guptaa, Grace Zhang and Poppy Li for managing matches and playing for both co-ed and women’s teams while also being prepared for their doubles and singles games.
- A big shout out to Kevin for being a super supportive team member and coaching the players when multiple UBC matches were occurring at the same time.
- Shoutout to all the players for supporting each other throughout the tournament (despite three different match areas)!
Women’s Ultimate
The Birdies drove down to Corvallis, Oregon this past weekend for their first postseason tournament. They faced Victoria and Western Washington on Day 1, familiar teams from previous tournaments during the regular season. Finishing the first day with commanding wins over these teams, the Birdies played Washington and Oregon the next day, both top 10 teams in the division. Despite having a smaller roster with athletes being away due to exams, the Birdies had no problems matching against either of these teams, winning 15-5 against Washington, and 15-11 against Oregon. The team is looking forward to finishing up exams and taking on regionals in May!
That’s all for now as our athletes brace for exam season. Make sure to stay connected and follow @ubctsc on Instagram for a comprehensive look at everything happening in the world of Thunderbirds Sport Clubs!