BC's Goodfellow And Anjarwalla Among Five To Sign With NCAA's SFU Golf Squads
Vancouver Islanders Aidan Goodfellow (L) And Shirin Anjarwalla (R) Are Set To Join The Simon Fraser University Golf Program Next Season - Images Credit British Columbia Golf
BURNABY, BC – Matthew Steinbach has signed five student-athletes during the NCAA early signing period in his second recruiting class as head coach of the Simon Fraser University golf programs.
Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo is set to join the women’s golf program in September 2018, while Aidan Goodfellow (Parksville), Sylvain Ruest (Winnipeg), Jordan Bean (Canmore), and Isaac Lee (Seoul, South Korea) have signed their National Letters of Intent to compete for Canada’s NCAA men’s golf team next season.
“We have an exceptional group of golfers joining our program and they will all have an immediate impact as all five players are coming with provincial, national, and international tournament experience,” said Steinbach. Knowing that these recruits are able to perform at the highest levels of junior golf, Steinbach says he has zero doubts that this will translate to success at the NCAA level.
“Signing elite level talent during the early signing period indicates to me that the academic reputation of SFU and the unique opportunity to compete in the NCAA while getting a Canadian education is attractive to the best and brightest student-athletes from across Canada,” said Steinbach.
Shirin Anjarwalla will be joining the women’s team from Nanaimo, BC. With a strong tournament resume, she has individual victories at the 2014 BC Juvenile Championship with a 12-under par finish and the 2016 Odlum Brown Classic Championship by shooting 1-under-par for the event. In addition to on-course success, Anjarwalla also excels in the classroom as she is striving to achieve the Principal’s List for the fifth consecutive year at Dover Bay Secondary School.
“I loved the atmosphere of SFU on my visit; I knew it was a place that I could excel in academics and athletics,” said Anjarwalla. “The team is so positive and competitive and that’s important to me.”
On the men’s side, Coach Steinbach is welcoming four new players. Also coming from Vancouver Island is Aidan Goodfellow from Parksville, BC. He competed for Kwalikum Secondary in the high school Provincial “AA” Championships when they won the title in 2016 as well as a 6th place finish at the Pacific Future Links with rounds of 71-70-70 for a total of five-under-par after three days of play.
“I chose SFU for the opportunity to remain in Canada and compete in the NCAA while attending a respected University,” said Goodfellow.
Joining the Clan from Winnipeg, Manitoba is Sylvain Ruest. He has been a member of the Team Manitoba training squad for the past two years and represented his Province at the 2017 Canada Summer Games. Additionally, he has been the captain of his high school golf team for those same two years. Most notably, Ruest. won the Manitoba High School Athletic Association Zone Championship in 2016 and the Steinbach High School Invitational in 2017.
Ruest is fully bilingual with French being his first language and English his second. Academically, he completed grade 11 with a 90% average and is currently maintaining the same average through his grade 12 year.
Happy with his decision after meeting Coach Steinbach and the team, Ruest said, “I chose to come to SFU because it enables me to play competitive NCAA golf in Canada on a solid team with a commitment to getting better.” Ruest also mentioned that the opportunity of pursing a strong academic program was important to him and he looks forward to contributing to the future success of the team.
Joining SFU Golf from Canmore, Alberta is Jordan Bean. Bean is a member of Team Alberta and has competed in the previous two Golf Canada National Junior Championships. He finished 2nd at the MJT National Championships in 2014 and 3rd in the same event in 2016. Bean was a multi-sport athlete in high school while playing for his school’s senior basketball and volleyball teams in both grade 11 and 12 while maintaining Honour Roll status academically.
“SFU has a fantastic reputation for its Business program and a very successful golf program,” said Bean. “I look forward to the opportunity to compete in collegiate golf, live in a beautiful place, and learn at such a highly respected university.”
Rounding out the recruits for the men’s team is Isaac Lee. Originally from Seoul, South Korea, he was part of the 1st place Gleneagles Secondary team at the BC High School “AAA” Championships in 2016. This summer Lee finished T8 at the 2017 BC Amateur Championship with a four-round total of 285 (-3) and T6 at the BC Junior Boy Championship with a four-round total of 292 (+4).
Lee said that he had the experience of playing with SFU men’s team captain, Chris Crisologo. “At RBC Cordova Bay Invitational tournament, I played with Chris,” said Lee, “I learned about the SFU golf team and he gave me advice about college golf.”
SFU Golf looks to build off its successful fall season when both teams return to action on February 24th. The two-time defending GNAC Champion Clan women’s team looks to re-capture their title this spring. The Men’s team, currently ranked No. 13 in NCAA, hopes to recapture the GNAC title it last won in 2015.