The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades golf program has announced their 2020-21 recruits.
The Cascades women’s team is adding a trio of standout signees in Lucy Park, Alex Brunner and Avery Biggar. On the men’s side, Scott Rohlinger, Jackson Jacob and Eli Greene are set to suit up for UFV. Both Park and Biggar are Abbotsford residents.
Park, who hails from South Korea, has spent the past five years in Abbotsford as an international student, first at W.A. Fraser Middle and then at Yale Secondary. She’s had success on the local junior tournament circuit, winning a BCGA girls tournament at Swan-e-set in 2019 with runner-up results at events at Ledgeview and Mission. She also won the Ledgeview junior girls title in 2018.
“Lucy plays a lot out of Ledgeview, and obviously that course has produced some amazing players,” said Cody Stewart, Cascades women’s golf head coach. “Any time you’re getting a player out of a course like that, you know they can have success anywhere. She’s been playing tournament golf for a number of years and has had some great finishes, and I think she’ll be a really strong contender on our team.”
Biggar, a product of the golf academy at Abbotsford’s Robert Bateman Secondary, got a taste of university golf last spring. She joined the Cascades midway through the season and trained with the team as a redshirt, and will embark on her first full campaign this fall.
“Avery spent some time training with the women’s team last spring, and coming out of Bateman golf academy, she’s a really hard worker,” Stewart said. “I’m looking to seeing her gain more experience and being a big part of this team.”
Brunner has posted some strong results in the Okanagan – she’s a three-time junior club champ at Osoyoos Golf Club (2016, 2017 and 2019), and was MVP of her high school golf team last season. She won a Maple Leaf Junior Tour event at Okanagan Golf Club last year, and won all six high school tournaments she entered in 2018.
“She’s had some good success as a junior golfer,” Stewart said. “She’s another young player we’re looking forward to spending some good time with, and developing further.”
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In signing Rohlinger, Cascades men’s head coach Aaron Pauls hopes to continue the program’s recent tradition of success in recruiting from the U.S. junior college ranks. Daniel Campbell and Halen Davis, both of whom recently wrapped up their fifth and final year of athletic eligibility, had outstanding Cascades careers after transferring from schools in Washington state.
Rohlinger joins the Cascades from Bellevue College, where he was a second team all-conference selection in 2019.
“We’re losing three key guys on our team in Halen, Daniel and Zach (Olson), and bringing in a guy like Scott will be very key for us in terms of adding some experience and leadership,” Pauls said. “We’ve had a track record of success with players from that conference, and our hope is that he can follow in the footsteps of Halen and Daniel and give us some good results.”
Langley product Jacob returns to the Fraser Valley after spending the 2019-20 season at the University of Idaho. He earned third team All-Big Sky conference honours as a freshman, highlighted by a T-11 finish at the University of Denver Ron Moore Intercollegiate.
Jacob is a former high school teammate of current Cascade Ben Whiton, and helped the Gators win the B.C. AAA championship in 2018. His decorated junior career included a T-3 finish at the 2019 B.C. Junior championship, and he won back-to-back Zone 3 junior titles in 2018 and 2019.
“Jackson has been a good player at Idaho State, and he wanted to come back and be closer to home,” Pauls noted. “I think he’ll come in and be a top player for us right away, and I’m excited about what he can add to our group.”
Greene had a stellar junior golf career, highlighted by representing Canada at the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship in San Diego in 2018. He was also part of a significant win in 2018 at the PGA of BC Pro-Junior Championship, as his team from the Nanaimo Golf Club took the title. Greene was also part of the Dover Bay Secondary squad which finished second to Jacob’s Walnut Grove at the B.C. AAA championship, and he earned an outstanding athletic achievement award from his high school in 2019.
“Eli is a freshman coming straight out of high school, and he’s had some success at the junior level,” Pauls noted. “He’s got a great attitude and work ethic, so I’m looking forward to that. My hope for Eli is that he can continue to work hard and push for a spot on the traveling roster for a few tournaments this fall.”
The UFV golf program next competes at the Canada West Golf Championships, hosted in Kelowna, from Oct. 2 to 4.
