They went out on top, which seemed fitting for the men’s and women’s golf teams from the University of British Columbia.
And along with the championship banners they hoisted at the Canadian University/College Championship at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, there was also lots of emotion.
This was the end for so many of the T-Birds and it meant so much that they managed to finish their collegiate careers with another win.
All five of the men’s starters at Rivershore — Dylan MacDonald, Mackenzie Bickell, Aidan Schumer, J.P. Kahlert and Hudson Lafayette — and three of the four women’s starters — Una Chou, Grace Bell and Bo Brown — were playing their final event for UBC.
“The van to the course today was a little bit more mellow and we did a big team huddle with the guys and the girls and that is not usually something we do,” said Bell, captain of the women’s team. “So that felt really special, that we had five graduating men and three graduating women in the huddle just to like send it off.”
“It definitely feels surreal, it feels like the end of more than just four years, but a big part of all of our lives,” added Bickell, the men’s team captain. “I know Dylan and I had a nice moment on 17 and 18, getting a little emotional and thinking about all the times we had here at UBC and just trying to enjoy the moment.”
The T-Birds wanted to go out in style and they did just that. The UBC women, who played in a four-count-three format, finished the 72-hole event at 14-under par. That was 29 shots ahead of second-place UBC-Okanagan.
The UBC men, playing in a five-count-four format, finished 21-under par and 24 shots better than the runner-up University of Victoria Vikes. “This is how we envisioned it, how we wanted to finish,” said Bickell. “I felt personally like there was no other way to go out but to win our last event together and enjoy this moment together one last time. Especially winning like this when you are not too stressed out at the end and you can really enjoy the moment.”
“It has been a really special group to be a part of,” added Bell. “Not to quote Michael Jordan, but this whole year has kind of felt like The Last Dance. This was our last lap to do something special and we really took it and ran with it by winning the (NAIA) nationals and now Canadian nationals.”
The players leave with many great golfing memories, but it is the friendships forged along the way that they will most cherish. “I will definitely remember the people I got to share my four years with,” Bickell said.
“Chris (Macdonald) and the other coaches, but especially the core five of us that got to experience the entire four years together, myself, Dylan, Aidan, J.P., and Hud. I think it is pretty rare that a core group gets to move on and play all these events together and create all these memories together. I definitely will not take any of it for granted going forward. I think I have made friends for the rest of my life.”
Longtime head coach Chris Macdonald was also feeling lots of emotion as he watched his two teams finish things off at Rivershore. “There is certainly a huge sense of loss because I am losing eight of the nine players who are here right now,” Macdonald said. “These are fabulous people, they have done so well academically, they have become better people, they have become much better players.
“We had a nice luncheon the other day and our biggest point was that it’s not really over. They are always going to have a place here and we are super excited we’ll be able to stay in touch and have so many great memories to share. I hope they can look back at this as an incredible four or five years they have had.”
While UBC dominated the team competition at Rivershore, Julia Alexander-Carew of UBC-Okanagan closed with a five-under 67 and won the women’s individual competition by four shots with a 72-hole total of seven-under par.
UBC’s Jessica Ng, the lone Thunderbird at Rivershore who is returning next year, fired the low round of the tournament — a six-under 66 — and tied for second with teammate Una Chou.
Alek Mauro of the University of Windsor won the men’s individual title. His 10-under total was one better than Anthony Jomphe of the University of Montreal. UBC’s Kahlert finished third at six-under.
CHIP SHOT: Four of the five UBC men eagled Rivershore’s par 5 fourth hole in Friday’s final round.