It wasn’t the ideal result for Mission’s Hannah Dirksen, but she’ll take it.
The UFV Cascades golfer placed 14th at the PING CCAA golf national championships and was the second ranked Cascade female at the tournament, which occurred in Chilliwack from Oct. 13 to 16.
Dirksen started off the tournament shooting a 94 and improved on each day to inch up the rankings. She shot an 87 on the second day and then concluded with a 79 to shoot a three-day total of 260 (+44).
Carolyn Lee of the UBC-O Heat won the tournament, shooting a total of 229 over the three rounds. The Cascades placed fourth in the team category, behind the Georgian College Grizzlies from Ontario, the Heat and team winner the Humber College Hawks from Ontario.
It’s the first time Dirksen has played at the nationals and Cascades golf head coach Chris Bertram said this will be a good experience for his relatively young team.
“They’re sitting there looking at those medals and those banners, and I know that they believe in their hearts it could have been them,” he said. “I’m really excited to get them all back next year and have another go at it.”
She also received another honour on Oct. 14 when she was named a CCAA All-Canadian for her stellar season in the Pacwest. Dirksen won the Pacwest individual title by four strokes, earning wins at the KPU and UFV tournaments. She was also a key part of the Cascades team’s silver win in team play.
“I’m so proud of her as a player this year – how she’s matured in her skill level, but also in her leadership on the team,” said Cascades assistant coach Jennifer Greggain.
Dirksen still has three years of athletic eligibility and is expected to return to the links with the Cascades next fall. For more information on the Cascades, visit ufvcascades.ca.
