Squamish (Dan Kinvig) – Jackson Jacob and the University of the Fraser Valley Men’s Golf team are coming home with medals from the Canada West championships.
The Cascades men, the defending team champions at the conference tournament, battled their way to a silver medal over two days and 36 holes at Squamish Valley Golf Club.
The UFV squad’s combined score of two under par left them well behind the gold medal-winning squad from UBC (-25), but their performance was enough to fend off a stiff test from joint third-place finishers Calgary and Victoria (both -1). Calgary took the bronze based on tie-breaking criteria.
“It’s a little bittersweet,” Cascades head coach Aaron Pauls said afterward. “We were in the thick of a battle between three teams at the very end, and we were able to pull out the silver. That was nice for us leaving today.
“Not winning this week is a bit disappointing for us, though – I wouldn’t say we played our very best golf. Part of it was how we played, and part of it was how well UBC played. UBC, as a team of five, put up such quality scores across the board, and what they’re doing right now is pretty impressive.”
Jacob, a sophomore from Langley, B.C., led the charge for the Cascades. He carded a 68 on Monday and a 70 on Tuesday to finish at -6, just one stroke back of Calgary’s Ethan Banks and UBC’s Russell Howlett, who tied at -7 through 36 holes with Banks claiming the individual gold on the second playoff hole. Jacob and UBC’s Mackenzie Bickell shared the bronze.
“Jackson had a bit of a ragged start today, and he was probably five shots down in the early going,” Pauls related. “But he stuck with it, and on the 18th, he hit an amazing shot into the green, and had a putt hang on the lip which would have gotten him into a playoff. He did everything he could today.
“We said at the start of the season, for our team to be successful, we needed Jackson to put up consistently good scores. That’s what he’s done for us all fall.”
The Cascades’ two Jacobs, Armstrong and Lucki, were steady at the CW championships, firing matching rounds of 73 and 71 to finish at even par for the tourney, tied for 12th individually. Reigning CW men’s golf athlete of the week Eli Greene and Ben Whiton both finished at +5, tied for 22nd.
Women’s GOLF: Park sparkles as Cascades finish fourth
The Cascades women’s team, CW bronze medalists in 2019, battled their way to the brink of the podium only to settle for fourth.
UBC (+3) ran away with the women’s team title, and UBC Okanagan (+30) and Victoria (+38) claimed the silver and bronze, respectively. UFV was tied with UVic at one point in the final round, but faded late to finish at +44 as a group.
“The two days certainly didn’t go the way we wanted, or the way we drew it up,” Cascades head coach Cody Stewart said. “When it came down to it, we made mistakes on the closing holes on both days. We had a tough time on the back nine, and a few crucial errors certainly add up over two days.”
The bright spot for the Cascades was the play of Lucy Park. She fired rounds of 76 and 79 to finish at +11, good for solo eighth place.
“She’s having a good year,” Stewart enthused. “If you asked Lucy, she might give you a different answer – she expects a lot of herself. But if you compare her scores to what she was shooting last year, you can see she’s improving.
“She’s going to be one of the better players in Canada West. It’s a matter of time, and a matter of experience. It’s about putting her foot on the gas rather than maybe getting a bit defensive to protect the round when things are going well. I’m proud of her efforts over the past couple days.”
Emery Bardock (+15, T-13th) was on the cusp of the top 10, while Alex Brunner (+21, 19th), Coral Hamade (+23, T-21st) and Ella Gifford (+32, T-25th) rounded out the Cascades’ contingent.
The UFV golf teams wrap up their fall schedule over the weekend, visiting Kelowna for the UBC Okanagan Invitational, Oct. 10-11 at Okanagan Golf Club.
