Las Vegas (Dan Kinvig) – Women’s Folf: Cascades third at Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s golf team fashioned a podium finish at the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate in Las Vegas this week, but they were left with the sense that it could have been so much more.
The Cascades, taking on a field predominantly comprised of NAIA teams on Tuesday and Wednesday at Reflection Bay Golf Club, found themselves in a three-way battle for the title during Wednesday’s final round. They were neck-and-neck with the Embry-Riddle Eagles, No. 7 in the NAIA national rankings, and the UBC Okanagan Heat, one of UFV’s Canada West conference rivals.
The Cascades had a strong start on the front nine on Wednesday, rallying from third place to start to day to grab a slender lead midway through the back nine. But they struggled as a group on the finishing holes, slipping to third place with a team score of +87, trailing Embry-Riddle (+81) and UBC Okanagan (+85).
“This one stings, to be honest,” UFV head coach Cody Stewart said afterward. “We need to dig deeper when we get into those situations. There’s another gear we need to find if we’re going to win golf tournaments. We need to reflect on this and find a way to close tournaments out, because it was right there for us.
“The positive is that we can compete with some of the top teams in the NAIA. Embry-Riddle is a top team in the nation, and they’re solid. Our decision-making is getting better, and I’m happy with that. But we’ve got to clean up some of these bigger numbers if we want to take home some trophies.”
The Cascades placed three golfers in the top 10 individually – Emery Bardock, Coral Hamade and Lucy Park each finished tied for seventh overall at +20 for the tournament. Team captain Bardock, in her fourth year of eligibility, had UFV’s low round of the day Wednesday, firing an eight-over 80.
Alex Brunner (+27) finished T-18th, highlighted by a strong back-nine performance in the final round to help UFV make its push, and Ella Gifford (+36) was T-26th.
Up next for the Cascades women’s golf team is the UC-Santa Cruz Invite, March 25-27 in Pacific Grove, Calif.
