Kelowna – GOLF: Daniel Campbell and the University of the Fraser Valley men’s golf team made history on Sunday, winning the inaugural Canada West Golf Championships in dominant fashion.
Playing at the Okanangan Golf Club’s Bear course in Kelowna, B.C., Campbell laid waste to the men’s individual field. The senior from Bellingham, Wash. followed Saturday’s sparkling 64 with a tidy four-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to run his score to -12 for the tournament. He finished seven strokes clear of runner-up Andrzej Wierzba of the UBC Thunderbirds (-5) for his 10th individual win as a Cascade, extending his program record.
Campbell’s commanding performance paced the Cascades to the men’s team title. They were the only squad in red numbers either day, finishing at -14 for the weekend, 19 strokes ahead of second-place UBC (+5). The Victoria Vikes (+8), host UBC Okanagan Heat (+11) and Manitoba Bisons (+24) rounded out the rest of the top five.
The triumph marks the second Canada West team championship across all sports in UFV history, joining the 2010 women’s soccer squad. It’s yet another feather in the cap of a men’s golf program which owns a trio of national titles, most recently winning the Canadian University/College Championship in 2018.
UFV’s Wyatt Brook claimed the men’s bronze medal, firing a three-under 69 on Sunday to finish at -4, and the Cascades women’s squad also earned a podium finish, taking third in the team event.
“We’re really proud to get that first Canada West men’s golf banner and bring it home to the gym,” UFV head coach Chris Bertram enthused. “I’m thrilled with the effort the group put out on the course today. We were obviously led by Daniel, but we showed our depth all the way down the lineup.”
Reflecting on Campbell’s transcendent performance, Bertram said he’s “running out of ways to describe how good this guy is.
“Daniel’s in a class of his own out there,” he said. “You can’t understate the importance of knowing your No. 1 guy is going to go out and give you a good round every time out. It gives everyone else confidence and helps push us forward.”
Winning another banner with this group, Campbell said, was “awesome.”
“It was fun to participate in the first-ever Canada West championship for golf,” he said. “To win individually is a bonus. The team played well – Jacob, our freshman, was really clutch yesterday, and Halen and Clagg and Wyatt were awesome. It was a total team effort.
“I was putting really well this weekend. My pace was really good – I kind of found something on the putting green before the round yesterday. I only missed a few fairways and greens over the two days, and when you’re putting really well, that helps a lot.”
Campbell and Brook had plenty of support as the Cascades men’s team cruised to the crown. Kyle Claggett tied for seventh overall, finishing at even par for the weekend. Halen Davis (+5, T-13th) followed Saturday’s 77 with a clutch round of 72 on Sunday, twice holing out from the fairway for eagles, and rookie Jacob Armstrong (+10) closed out a solid Cascades debut tied for 25th.
On the women’s side, the Cascades finished at +45 for the tourney, trailing only UBC (+17) and UVic (+30) in the seven-team field.
WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
UFV rookie Sarah Lawrence was just a single stroke out of the individual lead after the first round, and starting on the back nine on Sunday, she grabbed a share of the lead through four holes after a birdie on the 13th. She hit some turbulence midway through her round, dropping nine strokes over a six-hole stretch, but was able to play her last five holes at even par and finish in solo seventh place at +8 for the day and +11 for the tournament. UBC’s Shania Remandaban (+4) was the individual champ.
Fellow UFV rookie Natasha Kozlowski grabbed a share of 10th place at +14, and Sharon Park (+20, 17th) and Emery Bardock (+21, T-18th) helped the Cascades wrap up the bronze. With the top-three finish, they also qualify for the 2020 Canadian University/College Championships.
“We’re happy overall with ending up on the podium,” UFV assistant coach Jennifer Greggain said. “There was definitely a lot to learn this week moving into the rest of the season. We’re gearing up to play a couple more events this fall, and we’re really happy to have qualified for the Canadian University/College Championships.”
GOLF: Campbell, Cascades in complete command, win Canada West championships
UFV women’s squad adds a bronze in the team event
Women’s Soccer: T-Wolves score late, Cascades settle for 1-1 draw
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team dropped points in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday afternoon in Prince George, settling for a 1-1 draw with the UNBC Timberwolves.
The Cascades carried the play throughout, out-shooting the host T-Wolves 17-5 and earning 10 corners to UNBC’s one. Yet despite all that, they were only able to build a 1-0 lead on Brittney Zacharuk’s goal in the 23rd minute.
With the door still open a crack, the T-Wolves came storming through in the 85th minute as Sofia Jones netted the equalizer. The result enables UNBC (3-3-4) to stay ahead of UFV (2-3-5) in the Pacific Division standings.
“It’s super-frustrating,” Cascades head coach Rob Giesbrecht acknowledged. “This is a team ahead of us in the table, and I still think we can catch them, but we’ve made things harder on ourselves.
“We need to find a second goal. It’s frustrating that we couldn’t find it – we just lacked a bit of quality in the area. We had so many corners, and there was good service, but we’re just not banging them in.”
Cascades senior captain Zacharuk took advantage of a UNBC defensive miscue to open the scoring. Katie Lampen’s pass from the right wing somehow threaded its way through a crowd and found Zacharuk sprinting in from the left, and she deposited the ball behind UNBC goalkeeper Brooke Molby.
UFV continued to look dangerous offensively, but were unable to find the final touch in front of goal. Marianne Spring got on the end of several Zacharuk corners, but her headers did not find the target. In the 69th minute, some nice interplay between Zacharuk and Simi Lehal yielded a pass to Halle McCambley all alone in front and she tapped the ball home, but she’d been whistled for offside.
The T-Wolves hit paydirt on a rare offensive foray in the dying minutes. UNBC defender Mara McCleary sent a long ball up ahead and it bounced to the edge of the Cascades’ box, falling between Spring and keeper Joven Sandhu. But Jones came scooting in between them and claimed the ball, working her way around a diving Sandhu and sending a shot into the open cage.
“You let a team hang around and don’t have the final decisive goal, it’s just what happens in soccer,” Giesbrecht summarized. “It’s our fifth tie of the year, and four of them should have been wins.”
Zacharuk’s goal gives her 35 points for her career, just one off the Cascades’ program record of 36 currently held by Monika Levarsky.
Up next, the Cascades take on local rival Trinity Western – No. 1 in the U SPORTS national rankings – in a home-and-home set, Friday in Langley (5 p.m.) and Sunday in Abbotsford (2 p.m.).
