8 THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013 EDITOR KRISTEN HARPULA S$) orts SOCCER VANESSA SZPURKO photo Left: Falcons guard Toni Li faces off against Eagles guard Shilpa Khanna at the opening tip-off at the Nov. 14 home opener game. Right: Falcons guard Daniel Kim leaps for a rebound ball against Eagles guard Devonte Pierce during the Nov. 14 men’s home opener. Basketball battle of the birds Both teams played home opener against Kwantlen Eagles By VANESSA SZPURKO t was a battle of the birds on Thurs- day, Nov. 14 as the Langara Falcons men’s and women’s _ basketball teams faced off against Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Eagles. It was the first home game this sea- son for the Falcons, and the courtside was full of supporters cheering them on. It was a well-fought battle against the Eagles that ended in a close loss for the Falcons. The scoring was even throughout the first half, with Kwantlen up by only two at halftime, 28-26. The Eagles pulled ahead in the third, starting the fourth period with a score of 47-34. The Falcons managed to close the gap considerably in the fourth, sitting at 55-50 with 1:03 left to go. Forward Charlotte Lau sank a clean three-pointer with 25 seconds on the clock leaving the Falcons three points away from a lead, but three successful foul shots by the Eagles carried Kwantlen to a 58-53 win. “We had our chances, but dug too deep a hole for ourselves I guess,” said coach Mike Evans. “We were missing a bunch of players and I thought the group that was on the floor played their asses off.” Evans thought Lau’s play was “out- standing,” after she scored 22 points. He also said the team needed to re- group before their game Nov. 16 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. Langara won 52-46. The men’s team dominated the first two quarters, leading 56-27 at halftime. While they kept a sizeable lead into the third quarter, coach Paul Eberhardt seemed frustrated during a time-out. “Defensively we just weren’t playing as hard, so I just wanted to remind them you don’t want to get bad habits,” said Eberhardt. “It’s easy when you get a big lead to sort of let up, but you’ve got to think long term - you don’t ever want to let up.” Eberhardt was pleased with guard/ forward Elliot Mason’s rebounds and scoring 15 points during the game. “He hadn’t been playing that well the past couple games, so it was nice to see him get going today,” he said. The men’s team won against the Ea- gles 109-63 and continued their win- ning streak by beating the CBC Bearcats 119-73 on Nov. 16. Both the men’s and women’s teams will host the Douglas College Royals on Nov. 22. vere FALCONS MEN'S Douglas College Nov. 22, 2013 8 p.m. Camosun College Nov. 29, 2013 8 p.m. Vancouver Island University Nov. 30, 2013 3 p.m. FALCONS WOMEN’S Douglas College Nov. 22, 2013 6 p.m. Camosun College Nov. 29, 2013 6 p.m. Vancouver Island University Nov. 30, 2013 1 p.m. Badminton team in the top spot First-place Falcons head to second tournament this weekend with confidence By BILL EVERITT arc Petreman wants to see the Mp ine Falcons badminton team continue to dominate the league at the next tournament, but it wont be easy. The Falcons won the first tourna- ment of the season at Douglas College on Oct. 19 and 20. They are ranked first in PacWest standings and are looking to build on that position at the next tournament at Vancouver Island Uni- versity Nov. 23 and 24. “We want to beat all four colleges again and improve on our first place position,” said head coach Petreman. “Even if we lose to Douglas College, we could still be in first because we did so well in individual events.” Ashley Jang, who won gold at provincials and sil- ver at nationals last year, said her team is confident. “Douglas -Col- lege has been the first place team for the past eight years,” she said. “Tn the last tourna- ment we beat them in the team event and we also beat them in individual points. We’re hoping to beat them again in Nanaimo.” The Falcons lineup was given a boost this year with the addition of Nathan Choi, the 2012 national champion who attended Douglas College last year. “It’s a nice bonus to have him here,” said assistant coach Bonnie Cheng. Versatility is a key part of the Falcons’ success according to the coaching staff. “Douglas College have about four players - two guys and two girls - that are really strong,” said Petreman. “Our top 10 players are very solid. Lots of depth on our team.” Cheng, who has played badminton for 18 years, agreed with Petreman. “In previous years we had players who would be good at one event,” she said. “One player can play in more than one event, so we try to maximize points by playing in them all.” = 4 ASHLEY JANG Won gold at Pac- West provincials last year Kendo Club tests physical and mental limits The one-year-old Langara Kendo Club not only offers students a good workout, it enhances concentration By TYLER HOOPER your mental and physical limits, the Langara Kendo Club might be for you. Kendo, which means “Way of The Sword,” is a Japanese martial art that consists of a bamboo sword, called Shi- nai, and protective gear known as Bogu (also referred to as Kendogu). Combat- ants score points by calling out and hit- ting certain areas of the body including the torso, wrist, head and neck. “Ever since I saw Obi-Wan [Kenobi] and Darth Vader go at the light saber I: yow’re looking to push yourself to [battle], I said that’s something I want to do,” said Raymond Chow, a Langara computer technologies instructor who founded the club last fall. “It’s something that’s totally differ- ent than what Langara has offered in the past.” Kendo requires a combination of both mental focus and physical stami- na, which can push students to their limits. “You want to stop, you want to drop to your knees and you want to cry like a little baby, but you don’t,” said Rahim Hasanali, a Langara accounting stu- dent. “You just get that burning desire and that addiction to stand up and move forward. There’s nothing that can beat that.” The sport also requires dedication, which is why the Langara club only takes new members annually. “T used to not care about a lot of things,” said Samuel Humberto Agtiero Lagos, a first-year Langara environ- mental studies student. “Once you start this kind of stuff, you start gaining respect for what you do and [what] oth- er people do.” Vicky Wang, president of the club, said she’s not generally a very focused person but kendo has helped her con- centrate in her day-to-day life. The club presently has roughly 35 members and has participated in one competition with plans to compete again in the future. The club is affiliated with other local universities, such as UBC. Because the club has only been around for the past year, there is no designated instructor at Langara, meaning they have to bor- row instructors from UBC and other outside institutions. However, Chow said he hopes some of the Langara students in the club will eventually be able to take over and teach. TYLER HOOPER photo Rahim Hasanali practices strikes with a fellow student.