BLAINE, Wash. – The UBC Thunderbirds women's and men's golf teams are both Cascade Collegiate Conference Champions after each winning their fourth straight conference championship tournament to each cap perfect seasons in the CCC.
Both teams maintained their streak of having won the Cascade Conference in every season golf was played since they joined the CCC in 2018-19. The wins also give both T-Birds squads automatic entries in to the NAIA Championships later this month where they will each be looking to defend their national titles .
"The Loomis Trail golf course was just beautiful, we got lucky with the weather, and our teams both played so well, it was really a perfect week," said UBC head golf coach
Chris MacDonald. "We've just built a lot of momentum going in to nationals."
On the women's side, the result was never in doubt.
The T-Birds (894, +30) built a double digit lead by the end of the first round and never looked back, ballooning it to a whopping 47-stroke advantage over second place Oregon Tech (941, +77) by the end of the three-round tournament.
The 'Birds swept the podium individually, and all five players finished within the top eight, but it was
Jessica Ng (217, +1) who stole the show on the tournament's final day. After being
medalist at the Canada West Championships earlier this season Ng added a second personal conference championship tournament victory by carding a dazzling 67 (-5) in round three. No other woman in the field carded a single round below par on the notoriously difficult course.
"There's just something about championships for me I guess," laughed Ng, when asked about her stunning Wednesday performance. "Today was actually my personal-best round, so there's an added bonus with that."
Ng was not the only T-Bird woman to earn an individual honour as
Elizabeth Labbe (224, +8) was named Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Year at tournament's end, after putting up the best scoring average in the CCC over the course of the season. She also finished tied with teammate
Grace Bell (224, +8) for second in the championship tournament.
"I wasn't expecting this honestly, so I'm very happy," grinned Labbe, after receiving her award. "It's been lots of ups and downs this season but
winning the last event and then finishing second here definitely feels good heading in to nationals."
Bell, who trailed Labbe by an average of just .15 strokes per round over the course of the season, was the Player of the Year runner-up and was recognized as the second overall all-conference selection, with the two third-year T-Birds well ahead of the rest of the field.
Bo Brown (284, +8) was named as an all-conference player as well after finishing in a tie for eighth at the Championship.
Una Chou (229, +13) was fifth in the Championship tournament. She and Ng were not named all-conference because they did not compete in enough CCC events due to the 'Birds being invited to conflicting NCAA DI events throughout the season. Both had scoring averages that would have easily had them as all-conference players too, had they played enough rounds.
"Elizabeth and Grace have gone back and forth all year, they've also been great leaders for us," praised MacDonald. "Jess can be such a pure scorer, when she gets hot, gets her irons going, she makes lots of shots within eight feet and makes those putts. To see her shoot 67 out here, that's legendary. There aren't many people who can do that, I was very impressed by her play today."
On the men's side, the tournament was expected to be a challenge as it took a third round comeback for the T-Birds to top the Lewis-Clark State Warriors at the season's previous event, and the Oregon Tech Owls have been ascending as well.
However, it became clear by midway through the first round that this week was going to be all about UBC.
The men exploded out of the gate, building their lead as quickly as the women and never appearing in danger of losing it for a moment. When the final cards were turned in, the 'Birds (836, -28) had left their opponents in the dust, finishing a dizzying 38 strokes ahead of second place LC State (874, +10). They even wildly exceeded the expectations of their own coach, who had predicted before the tournament that the winning team would shoot around even par on the long, narrow, and hazard-heavy course.
"They were just terrific," said an enthused MacDonald. "All of the hard work came together and paid off."
The battle for the individual title came down to three T-Birds on the men's side as well, but ultimately the incredibly consistent play of
Dylan MacDonald (208, -8), who carded a 70 (-2) or better in every round, led the fourth-year to his first ever individual tournament win as a Thunderbird.
"It is very sweet, let me say," began the first-time medalist, breaking in to a huge smile. "It has taken quite a while, I lost a playoff to Mackenzie (Bickell) earlier this year and then Hudson (LaFayette) gave me a scare today. But this whole week has just been a treat, everything was immaculate, and it finally all came together for me."
"No one works harder on our team than Dylan, he really deserves it, we couldn't be happier for him," added Coach MacDonald.
The individual runner-up was UBC's
Hudson LaFayette (210, -6) who made an incredible final round charge by tallying an eye-popping 65 (-7) on Wednesday to leapfrog all three of his other teammates for second. Lafayette's round was four strokes better than any other golfer in the 45-player men's field turned in throughout the event.
"To shoot a seven-under 65, you just don't see many rounds like that in any university and college event," said Coach MacDonald. "He's done some great work in his final rounds the last couple of tournaments. I'm really proud of him."
The third-year did not leave the course empty handed either as he joined all four of his teammates in being named as all-conference players. Lafayette finished sixth in season-long conference scoring.
John Paul Kahlert (214, -2) finished the tournament alone in sixth and slotted in one ahead of Lafayette for fifth overall on the all-conference list.
T-Birds captain
Mackenzie Bickell (211, -5) was third at the Championship and also finished third in season-long scoring.
First year
Manu Gandhi (216, E) was seventh at the final tournament, but was front and center at the subsequent CCC awards ceremony.
Over the course of the entire season, Gandhi and
Dylan MacDonald tied exactly in scoring average, down to the last decimal, and therefore were named Co-Players of the Year.
It was a moment of delightful serendipity where the most experienced T-Bird shared the largest individual honour of the season with his least experienced teammate, moments after breaking through for his first career win; a feat Gandhi which
achieved less than a month in to his first year. The hard-working senior finally rewarded and the captivating freshman crowned all at once.
"He's a really good rookie and I'm a grizzled vet," joked
Dylan MacDonald, drawing a laugh from his younger teammate as they answered questions after the awards ceremony. "We really push each other and it's been an absolute blast competing with each other and the rest of the team, not to mention so many other great teams at these CCC events."
"I've got to give a lot of credit to the school, and the coaches, and the guys," reflected Gandhi. "I walked into a great group, Coach MacDonald has been really good for me, I feel really lucky. Now I'm really excited to get down to Georgia with the guys and hopefully run back a national title!"
Not to be forgotten, the final award of the day saw
Chris MacDonald voted CCC Men's Golf Coach of the Year by the other head coaches in the conference.
MacDonald is also the reigning NAIA Men's and Women's Coach of the Year, with those awards automatically handed out to the coach of the winning team. He and both of his teams will all have the chance to defend their national titles in just under three weeks, at the NAIA Golf National Championships May 21-24.
