The University of the Fraser Valley golf teams triumphed by every possible metric last weekend at the Kwantlen Invitational Tournament, the first event of the PacWest season.
The Cascades combined to win the men’s team gold; women’s team gold; individual men’s gold, silver, and bronze; and the individual women’s gold and silver.
The team victory extends the men’s winning streak to five PacWest tournaments stretching back to October 2012, while the women have yet to suffer a conference loss in the two-year history of the program. Both teams swept to victory at the PacWest and Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championships last season.
On the men’s side, Connor O’Dell played his way to a first-place individual finish, tallying 135 (nine under par) over the two-day tournament. He narrowly edged teammates Zachary Olson (140) and Aaron Pauls (141), who took second and third respectively.
The UFV women competed without last year’s PacWest female folfer of the year and CCAA All-Canadian Dani Shap, who is pursuing a professional golf career, yet still dominated the field. Second-year Cascade Kelley Dalzell picked up the first gold of her career, shooting a combined 157, while teammate Jen Woods finished two back at 159 to grab second place. The women’s team finished a full ten strokes ahead of their nearest competitors, the UBC-Okanagan Heat.
“We worked really hard preparing for this first event, and it was nice to see that work pay off,” said Cascades coach Chris Bertram. “The competition in PacWest has gotten better once again this year, so we are going to need to keep working hard in the weeks ahead.”
The UFV golf teams will hit the links again this weekend at the second PacWest tourney, hosted by Vancouver Island University.
