LEWISTON, Idaho – Six Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship tournaments, six wins for UBC Thunderbirds women's golf. The T-Birds (+29) rode a dominant day two performance to a 19-stroke win over second place Lewis-Clark State (+48).

Even after seeing four of five starters from the previous season graduate, the T-Birds women extended their run of incredible dominance in the conference, still having won every CCC event they've entered since joining in 2018.

The UBC men (-8) saw their five-year run as conference champions snapped, as, despite posting the best single round of any team in the event on Wednesday (-10), the blue and gold could not quite close the gap to catch host Lewis-Clark State (-12), which won its first conference championship in program history.

While the men won't be bringing home a banner, they still have plenty to celebrate, as both teams also finished atop the CCC standings to bring home their sixth straight regular season titles.



Individually, it was a storybook ending to the dazzlingly decorated conference career of the lone senior on either UBC team, Jessica Ng.

Ng posted a final round of 72 (E) to finish at +5 for the event, leapfrogging two of her teammates down the stretch to earn her second individual title at the conference championship tournament in three seasons, this one by two strokes. Add that to being medalist at last year's NAIA Championship, a Canada West individual title in 2023, eight team conference championships and five national championships (with two still to play) and Ng enters rarefied air as one of the great winners in UBC Thunderbirds history.

"Today I got off to a bit of a shaky start," admitted Ng. "I was two over on the front nine, but I was able to keep my head down, stay patient and got my game back together on the back nine. I was able to finish with two birdies, and birdying my last hole to seal the deal felt great."

Ng also noted how different her experience was this season, after being a year behind the rest of the legendary core of T-Birds women who won three of the last four NAIA Championships, before seeing them all graduate and suddenly becoming the most experienced player on either golf team for her final campaign.



"It's definitely a really strange feeling for me," mused Ng. "I went from being the youngest in our lineup almost all the time, to the oldest.

"I went from sitting in the back of the van, to the front," she laughed.

Even with Ng's time in the CCC now done, the future is bright for the 'Birds, as evidenced by first-year Grace Yao and second-year Keira Hou (+7) tying for second at the Championship tournament behind their teammate. Sienna Harder (+10) tied for sixth, and Sarah Yang (+12) tied for eighth, showing the remarkable depth of the young group.

"It was a great week for the team," added Ng. "We all came together, had a good time doing it and played some really solid golf.

"We really got it together for the second and third day to take and hold the lead. It feels great to win another conference title with the team in my last year.

"We're all ready to put in the work to go to nationals and compete with the best."



UBC's even younger men's team proved similarly deep, with all five T-Birds cracking the top-12. Jake Houston (-4) posted the best round of anyone all tournament long in Wednesday's finale, carding a 66 (-6) to secure the team lead and finish tied for third overall. Aneesh Kaura (-1) was right behind him in a tie for fifth, Manpreet Lalh (+2) tied for 10^th, while both Tim Hachey and Leighton Wright (+3) tied for 12^th.

Following the scores being finalized, the blue and gold were given more reason to celebrate as they dominated the end of season conference awards.

Keira Hou was named CCC Player of the Year after posting the lowest scoring average in conference events, 73.8. Joining Hou on the All-Conference Team were teammates Jessica Ng, Sienna Harder and Sarah Yang. Ng and Harder were third and fourth in scoring average, respectively.



The UBC men also took four of the 10 All-Conference spots, including the top three. They were led by CCC Player of the Year Jake Houston, whose scoring average of 71.3 narrowly edged out teammates Aneesh Kaura and Leighton Wright's marks of 71.6. That meant UBC just missed out on having two men's golfers win Co-Player of the Year for a third straight season. Manpreet Lalh's mark of 72.2 placed him sixth in the CCC, joining Wright and Yang in a trio of first-year T-Birds who earned the honour.



With the conference championship secured, the Thunderbirds women have earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Women's National Golf Championship, which will take place at Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ann Arbor Michigan, May 19-22. The T-Birds will be looking to win their fourth NAIA title in five years and the ninth in program history.

The Thunderbirds men do not get an automatic qualification to the tournament this year, however, based on their No.15 national ranking, they stand a good chance of receiving an at-large berth. The NAIA Men's National Championship is taking place at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois May 12-15. The tournament field is typically set roughly 10 days before the event, meaning word on whether the 'Birds have qualified could come as soon as this weekend.