Bellingham, Wash. – The University of the Fraser Valley men’s golf team turned in a comprehensively dominant performance, crushing the field at the UBC Thunderbird Invitational in Bellingham, Wash.
Playing at Sudden Valley Golf Course, the Cascades posted an incredible team score of 30 under par over 54 holes. That left them 21 strokes clear of the Victoria Vikes (-9), and 46 strokes ahead of the host UBC T-Birds (+16).
All five UFV golfers ranked in the top 10 individually, led by senior Daniel Campbell who fired rounds of 65, 70 and 69 to finish at -12 for the tourney, earning the team-record ninth individual win of his career. Zach Olson (-6) was in solo second place, Kyle Claggett (-5) tied for third, and Halen Davis (-2) and Wyatt Brook (+3) finished seventh and T-10th, respectively.
“It was really, really satisfying to see all five players show up and put on one of the better performances I’ve gotten to see in 15 years,” Cascades head coach Chris Bertram marveled. “We had a 36-under at Wine Valley in the spring which is our all-time best, but this was equally satisfying. It was nice because we were going up against some of our Canada West foes, and it made a strong statement.”
Indeed, on the basis of this performance, the Cascades men will be among the favourites at the inaugural Canada West Golf Championships, Oct. 4-6 at Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna.
“It’s a big confidence booster for our team,” Bertram noted. “Okanagan Golf Club is a course we know quite well, and we’re excited to get back after it.”
The women’s side of the tournament was called the Gail Moore Intercollegiate, and the Cascades earned a podium spot, finishing third overall. The host Thunderbirds won decisively, with a combined score of +10 to outdistance Oregon Tech (+29), UFV (+50) and UVic (+53).
Cascades rookie Sarah Lawrence had an outstanding performance, carding rounds of 73 and 74 to finish at +3 for the tourney, tied for third individually. Natasha Kozlowski (+13, T-14th), Sharon Park (+17, T-18th) and Emery Bardock (+17, T-18th) also contributed to UFV’s strong showing. UBC’s Kate Johnson (-4) won the individual crown.
“This is a confidence-booster for the women’s team as well,” Bertram noted. “It was a nice bounce-back from their first event (SFU’s True North Classic), where I think they were a little bit disappointed and felt they didn’t put their best foot forward. Obviously Sarah finishing T-3 shows she’ll be a force to be reckoned with going forward. We had solid days from the other three ladies, and I think they’ll be contenders as well on the team side (at the CW championships).”
