President’s Cup Action: Sea Skittles Takes Badminton, RPSO Places First in Ping Pong 

The 2015 President’s Cup kicked off last week with Badminton and Ping Pong. With 14 teams participating, the competition will be fierce throughout the 10 events which include Badminton, Ping Pong, 3-v-3 Basketball, Volleyball, Dodgeball, Tug of War, ROTC Enhanced Skills Trainer, Golf, 5K and a special WildCard event.

For a full schedule, current rankings and more, visit: www.uog.edu/charterday

 

Badminton

It was her enthusiasm and his years of experience that lead the Sea Skittles to victory over the IFC during Tuesday’s badminton tournament for the University of Guam’s 2015 Charter Day President’s Cup.

Laura Biggs, assistant professor with the university’s SeaGrant Program, and Dr. Jian Yang, professor of food science and food technology with the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, took the top spot during the two-day tournament of the first of ten events during this year’s President’s Cup.

“Our team had the potential,” Yang said. “At first we didn’t let our potential perform. I didn’t feel very good in the beginning but at the end, it felt great.” 

Representing a faculty and staff team, Biggs and Yang said the other teams were quite the competition.

“It was hard,” Biggs said of the competition from the teams they had to face as the Sea Skittles rose undefeated in the ranks. 

Their final opponents Tuesday night, the IFC or International Friendship Club, comprised of Jason Aquino and Jhezaryn Azicate, entered the finals with only one loss. The first match between the two teams ended in a 27-27 tie forcing a tiebreaker match to win it all.

“I was excited,” Biggs said. “We had one more chance!”

The IFC came back to win the tiebreaker 5-3, which lead to one final match between the two competitors. 

With the stakes high, the Sea Skittles pulled into a strong lead, with Yang covering the back end of the court while Biggs manned the net.

“I was nervous,” Biggs said. “I didn’t want to let Dr. Yang down because he was so good.” 

It was the final spike of the birdie from the Sea Skittles, which lead them to a 28-20 victory over the IFC in the final game of the night.

“I expected we could win from the beginning,” Yang said confidently after the tournament.

Yang’s experience in badminton was unmatched in this year’s tournament. Playing the sport since he was seven years old, Yang said although he never received formal lessons, he played in tournaments in China years ago. Despite a 15-year gap where he didn’t play badminton, his skills alongside Biggs’ heart and motivation to win prevailed, leading them to victory.

Both Biggs and Yang said they had such a good time playing in the President’s Cup badminton tournament, they would again participate next year. 

 

 

 

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Ping Pong

After a long night of fierce competition, the RPSO claimed victory during Wednesday’s Ping-Pong tournament, the second of ten grueling events in this year’s Charter Day President’s Cup.

First-time participants in the President’s Cup, Lebuu Gibbons and Zoya Ngiraremiang representing the Republic of Palau Student Organization, were nervous at first, not knowing what to expect from the competition.

“I didn’t know how the (other) teams would be,” said Ngiraremiang, a 22-year-old criminal justice major.

But both she and Gibbons had their eye on the prize, which kept up their motivation throughout the night.

The prizes for this year’s competition include a $500 gift certificate to the university bookstore and a prize package for each team member for the team that comes in first place 

Gibbons, a 27-year-old working toward a master’s in public administration, said if the RPSO were to win it all, they would want their student organization to revel in the victory as well and share the prizes among members of the group.

Ngiraremiang, said she spends nights at the Calvo Field House playing Ping-Pong with friends, which helped prepare her for the big night. 

Gibbons, who represented Palau in the Micronesian Games for Ping-Pong about eight years ago, said he’d been playing the sport since high school.

And while he didn’t take home a medal all those years ago, Gibbons said playing was a reward in-and-of-itself.

“I just won experience,” Gibbons said, experience that would prepare him for Wednesday’s tournament.

RPSO entered the final match between the Mathletes, College of Natural and Applied Science alumni Mark Burgos and Teah Donnauro.

“I think towards the end, we scoped out the team for the Mathletes,” Gibbons said.

A large crowd gathered on the sideline of the court, eagerly watching the two teams battle for the top spot.

During the first game, the RPSO took a slight lead, which eventually resulted in the first win of the finals 11-9.

“One down,” Gibbons said of the first game. “We just gotta get ready for the other game.”

With this first victory in their pocket, the RPSO had only one more to go come out victorious.

Gibbons slammed the ball, gaining a slight 5-1 lead over the Mathletes in the beginning of the game.

RPSO then took off on a 9-2 lead over the Mathletes. With a 10-5 lead, the pressure was on for the RPSO.

With one final blow from Ngiraremiang, the RPSO won the game with a score of 11-5 as the crowd cheered for both teams, who gave their best efforts throughout the night.