The University of the Fraser Valley women's golf team established a new high-water mark for the program at the Canadian University/College Championship, rallying on the back nine on Saturday to secure the silver medal in the team event.
The Cascades began Saturday's fourth and final round at Domaine Château Bromont in Bromont, Que. sitting third in the team standings, trailing the UBC Okanagan Heat by a single stroke. They stumbled on the front nine – which was interrupted due to inclement weather – and found themselves trailing by seven at the turn.Â
But an outstanding back-nine performance saw the Cascades roar back to edge the Heat by three and claim the silver. UFV's four-round team score was +93, UBCO was at +96, and the Montreal Carabins (+105), Western Mustangs (+106) and Victoria Vikes (+111) finished fourth through sixth, respectively. The UBC Thunderbirds (-5) ran away with the team gold medal.
FINAL RESULTS
The result marked the Cascades' best-ever finish at the Golf Canada event – UFV's previous best was a bronze,Â
won in 2018 as the host squad at Chilliwack Golf Club.
"Incredible, absolutely incredible," Cascades head coach
Cody Stewart said. "It was a bit of a roller-coaster, but we knew it would come down to the last few holes – and it sure did.
"This is the most proud I've ever been as a coach. I feel fortunate to work with the group that we have. The culture, the chemistry, how they rallied for each other. Our athletes don't care about the individual glory – they want what's best for the team. The vibe on the team is so contagious.Â
"I've been telling them all year that they're one of the top teams in the country. Whether or not they believed me – it's a young, young group – they did it."
Lucy Park, in solo eighth place (+26 for the week), was the Cascades' top individual finisher.
Emery Bardock (+30) tied for 11th, and
Coral Hamade (+55) was 21st.
Alex Brunner did not register an individual finish, as a wrist injury sidelined her for Friday's third round, but she managed to post a scoring round for the UFV squad on each of the three days she was able to complete.
"She's the MVP," Stewart asserted. "If Alex didn't persevere through a ton of pain, we might have been fighting for the cut line, honestly. She gave it her absolute all, and what she did for those three days blew my mind.Â
"I was hoping there was a chance she could play on Day 4. I thought we'd drained her batteries on Days 1 and 2, but somehow – I don't know how – she did it today."
Park led the Cascades' back-nine rally, putting together seven pars and two birdies on her way to her lowest round of the week, a three-over 75.Â
"To go out and shoot a two-under back nine under crazy conditions was an effort worthy of a fifth-year player," Stewart said of Park, who – like Brunner and Hamade – is still in her first season of eligibility. "The definition of clutch was her back nine. That put us over the top, for sure."
Bardock, the lone upperclass athlete on the Cascades' roster, was part of the bronze medal-winning team back in 2018. She contributed to the comeback by stringing together six straight pars to close out her round, highlighted by an incredible shot into the green on 17 that had the crowd roaring.Â
"Collectively, we were all rooting for each other and we all really wanted it," Bardock said. "I think that's what really pushed us to the finish today.
"A few of the rookies felt a bit of pressure because they'd never been in this situation before, but I think all of us would agree this was one of the most fun rounds of golf we've ever played, because we were chasing (UBCO).
"I'm very, very proud of all of them – Lucy, Coral and Alex all worked so hard this week. For me, this is something that's super-exciting – we've never won a silver medal before, and I'm so proud to be a part of that."
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