T-Bird Men, Women En Route To NAIA Nationals After Convincing Wins At Conference Championships
Both The Women And The Men From UBC Won Their Conference Tournaments Handily To Qualify For The NAIA National Championships - Image Courtesy UBC Twitter
UBC Men & Women Finish 1 -2 With UVic Men & Women At Conference Championships
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
The University of B.C.’s men’s and women’s golf teams both punched tickets to the NAIA national championships with convincing wins Tuesday at their conference tournaments. The men beat the field by 33 shots to win the Association of Independent Institutions title at Brassie Golf Club in Chesterton, Ind.
The T-Birds posted a 54-hole score of 19-under par. The University of Victoria finished second.
“This was our best event of the year,” said UBC coach Chris Macdonald. “The guys played really well.” UBC was paced by team captain Evan Holmes of Calgary and Nate Ollis of Victoria, who both shot six-under par and were co-medallists at the event.
Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., Jack Wood of Banff, Alta., and Trent Abraham of Hamilton are the other members of the UBC team and all placed in the top five. Tuesday’s win was a rebound of sorts for the UBC men, who were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA for much of the fall.
“We have been playing some pretty tough events in February and March and our ranking fell back to ninth, but I think this kind of proves what kind of team we can be,” Macdonald said. “It couldn’t come at a better time.”
The men now prepare for the NAIA championship tourney, which goes May 24-27 at TPC Deer Run in Moline, Ill. “I felt really strongly that this group could be a top-five contender at that tournament and I think that is probably quite realistic,” Macdonald said.
The UBC women captured their eighth straight conference title, also in Chesterton, Ind., beating second-place Victoria by 28 shots in their 36-hole event. UBC finished with a team score of 40-over 616.
Kat Kennedy of Okotoks, Alta., led the way, claiming the individual title with a score of nine-over par. Avril Li of Port Moody was one shot back in second and Barbara Neto-Bradley of Portugal was alone in third two shots back of Kennedy. The two other UBC players, Eunice Hong of Thornhill, Ont., and Emily Creaser of Edmonton, both finished inside the top eight.
The UBC women now head to the NAIA nationals May 17-20 at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga. “They have been ranked eighth for much of the season but I think this tournament could move them up a couple of spots,” Macdonald said. “We have four freshmen and our goal this year was to get to nationals. I think our goal now is to be a top-10 team at nationals.”