On March 31 and April 1, WPI’s badminton club competed in the 2017-2018 YONEX Eastern Collegiate Team Championship and came out victorious in Division 1B. The club is proud and excited about the victory. As club president Nathan Drewniak stated, “We finally did it; since 2006 we’ve been growing for so long and we finally did it.”
WPI’s Badminton club was first formed on campus in 2006, and has been growing ever since. In part thanks to the addition of the Badminton PE class, the club now regularly has anywhere from 75-100 members. They’ve come along way since their beginnings. “When we first started we had to fight to get into Division 2, and now we’ve won division 1B,” Drewniak said.
It was a hard fought victory, with players Kornkanok (Kwang) Bunwong and Haozhe (Percy) Jiang defeating Yale in the finals to ensure victory for the team. The team is based on teamwork, and they believed that this helped lead them to this victory. “We have a great fighting spirit, we always had cheers and pep talks before matches and out team just bonded together really well,” Saraj (Jetro) Pirasmepulkul said, “We know losing isn’t the end of the world and we’re there to win as a team; if one person wins we all win.” Drewniak shared a similar sentiment, stating, “During the match we know our teammates are cheering us on. We don’t individualize ourselves, we work as a team really well.”
In addition to their teamwork, the team also believes the support of Professor Addison contributed strongly to their success. “He’s been with us since the beginning, and has traveled with the team to support us and give us strategies and encourage us even when we lost,” Pirasmepulkul stated. He’s always there to give us any kind of guidance. In casual terms, he’s a baller” Also deserving of recognition for the victory are freshmen Patriya (Pearl) Pirawiroj and Thierry Lyle Decrespigny, who remained calm in their first major tournament in the club and won the team some crucial points.
What’s next for the team? “We hope to do it again next year, if not in Division 1B than in Division 1A” Drewniak says. And as for graduating senior Pirasmepulkul, “It was all I could ask for before graduation”
