Mixed results for Falcons Four more regular season games remaining for both teams By RUI YANG XU he Falcons’ men’s basketball team lost two crucial matches against the top-ranked Doug- las College Royalsthis weekend, sink- ing further to a 4-10 season record. Meanwhile, Langara’s women lost a first game to Douglas but overcame them in a tight nail-biter the follow- ing day for a timely confidence boost. The men lost 85-99 and 87-102 to the standing leaders. Despite the losses, coach Paul Eberhardt said he felt good about how the team played. “It showed that we can compete with the best in Canada,” he said. Currently, Douglas tops the rank- ings at 15-1, followed by Vancou- ver Island University at 12-2, with Camosun sitting third at 8-6. Lang- ara is currently ranked fifth of seven teams. With a tough four games remain- ing, missing the playoffs remains a possibility but the team isn’t overly worried. “We just got to perform, come out “Tt’s a good chance for us to really show the improvement that we made over the Christmas break.” — STEPH VON RIEDEMANN, FALCONS FORWARD with energy and commitment and we ll be fine,” said Falcons guard Luka Lizdek. The women opened their week- end with a 56-79 loss Friday. Unde- terred, they rallied in a chaotic game on Saturday with Meagan Briggs making three clutch free-throws to secure a 58-57 win with less than .2 seconds remaining on the clock to end the weekend with a 7—7 division record. Falcons forward Steph Von Riedemann, who leads the team in rebounds, said the back-to-back games were “a good chance for us to really show the improvement that we made over the Christmas break.” Despite the split, Langara women’s coach Virginia Watson wasn’t too concerned and planned to stay focused on preparing for the final games of the season. “It’s nice to get the “W’,” Watson said. ‘The women sit in fourth place with four games remaining. VIU tops the leaderboard with 13-1, followed by Capilano on 11-3 and Douglas on 9-7. VS Vancouver Island University Home game Feb. 14, 2020 6 p.m. VS Vancouver Island University Home game Feb.14, 2020 8 p.m. TOP and BOTTOM-LEFT: Leslie Law from the Langara Kendo club competes with a kendoka from the Steveston Kendo club. BOTTOM RIGHT: Leslie Law. DANAUCA DORY PHOTOS Langara kendokas in top 3 Underdog beginner, veteran overcome the odds to place By DANAUCA DORY angara Kendo Club members placed at the Steveston Taikai on Feb. 8th. Steveston’s Taikai is one of the largest taikai in North America, bringing together teams from B.C. to Hawaii. Kendo is a traditional Japanese martial art that uses protec- tive armour and bamboo swords. Due to an injury, Langara club president David Wu said he was not expecting to place at the Taikai. The club has spent most of the semester training beginners, leaving little time to practice for themselves. “We are the underdogs and we will try and do as best as possible,” Wu said, before the tournament. However, Wu came in third for the 1 Kyu division. He said he is incred- ibly happy with the results and hopes to be able to improve from here. Anthony Lee, a computer science major at Langara, came in third in the unranked 0 Kyu division. “I learned a lot from my oppo- nent, definitely my faults,” Lee said. Before the tournament, Lee said “Tlearned a lot from my opponent, definitely my faults.” — ANTHONY LEE, COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR he was looking to place. Although proud of his win, Lee said he believes that he can always improve and learn from his mistakes. The club has been spending a lot of time this year helping beginners learn the art of Kendo, which leaves them with less time to practice. Still, both Wu and Lee placed in their division. Although the kendokas, the word for people who practice kendo, did very well in the individual tourna- ments, Langara College did not place during the team matches. The Langara Kendo club was formed in 2012 in order to create a space for people to learn about Kendo for beginners and those with experience. This is true for Leslie Law, a former student at Langara who remains a member of the Langara Kendo club. She said that she found about Kendo through the college’s website and has been doing it off and on for the last four and a half ears. “T’m excited [for the Taikai] because I want to learn different techniques from other schools,” Law said. Kendo evolved from the cen- turies-old practices of Kenjutsu dating back to 1336. Kendo competitions have 3 referees who use red or white flags to indicate a successful blow. The Steveston Kendo Club is the oldest of its kind in Canada, founded in 1914 by Tsuzuki Kenta. The Steveston Taikai has been held for over 50 years and is attended by clubs all over North America. SOURCE: MARTIALARTSWORDS. COM