After winning all four tournaments this season in the PACWEST, it came as no surprise when the UBC Okanagan Heat women’s golf team walked away with the provincial championship last weekend.
The team of Jen Woods (5th year, Kelowna, BC), Alana Kent (4th year, Calgary, AB), and Jessica Kozak (1st year, Kelowna, BC) have won their fourth consecutive provincial championship held at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club.
For Kent and Woods it is the fourth straight provincial championship while Kozak claimed her first title.
Individually, Woods finished second and Kent third in the PACWEST. In her first year playing in the PACWEST, Kozak performed admirably but did not complete the minimum number of holes to qualify on the individual leaderboard.
Kate Weir from Douglas College was the women’s individual champion.
The men’s golf team enjoyed their best tournament of the year, finishing just four strokes behind the host school, Fraser Valley, for second place. On the year, the Heat finished the year in fourth overall, just 16 strokes out of the medals. Camosun and Fraser Valley tied for the PACWEST championships with Fraser Valley garnering the provincial banner due to the league’s tie-breaking procedure.
Cody Bell (2nd year, Salmon Arm, BC) and William Deck (3rd year, Kelowna, BC) both earned provincial all-stars as they finished tied with the third lowest cumulative score of 586. Harvey Hubball (4th year, Bowen Island, BC) was the other Heat golfer to crack the PACWEST overall top 20 for the season; he placed 16th with a cumulative score of 618. Jarred Callbeck of Camosun College was the PACWEST men’s champion with a score of 578.
With the provincial championship the Heat women have qualified for the 2012 PING CCAA Golf National Championships that will be held at the Oshawa Golf and Curling Club in Oshawa, ON. Durham College is the host school, and the championships will take place from October 15 to 19.
Golf head coach Mike Darnbrough, in his first year, found the success of the women’s team satisfying and will quickly turn his attention on the upcoming championship.
“They [the women’s golf team] will be working on all aspects of their game this week with the goal of reaching the podium in Oshawa,” said Darnbrough. “The team finished conference play very enthusiastic about attending the upcoming national championships.”
Darnbrough also said the men’s team showed good improvement through the year.
“The UBC Okanagan men’s team had many very good performances in the 2012 season. Although we did not reach the nationals as a team, there is definite reason for optimism,” he said. “The results in the final tournament, 2nd place finish, showed that they had progressed as a team, with all players contributing to the cause.”
With Bell and Deck both earning an all-star they will represent the PACWEST at the 2012 PING CCAA National Championships, and compete as individuals. Bell played as an individual in the 2011 championships at the Brudenell River Golf Club in Charlottetown, P.E.I. where he finished in 8th place. This will be Deck’s second national championship; he competed in 2010 at the tournament hosted by the Dunes Golf Club in Kamloops.
A highlight of the year for the UBC Okanagan men’s golf team came on the final Sunday of competition when William Deck nailed a hole-in-one on the fourteenth hole at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club
