October 14, 2021
Banner Season: Men's qualifiers join full women's contingent to compete for season's first banners
Burlington, Ont. - The first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships of the season have arrived, and whether arriving at the championship round via a regional qualifier or coming in for their first banner season swings of the year, the conference's golf contingent is set to tee off their 18-hole finale on Friday, October 15 at the Cherry Downs Golf Club.
OUA Golf Championships | Fan Guide | Tee Times | Scoring/Results
On the men's side, a total of nine teams, along with the top five individuals from each of the two lead-up events that weren't on the qualified teams, will take to the fairways for a final round of play, and leading the way are the two regional victors - the Windsor Lancers and Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Both teams were able to top the field in convincing fashion in their two-round qualifier victories, spearheaded by the top individual finishers in the event. Jarrod Smith (LaSalle, Ont.) and Thomas DeMarco (LaSalle, Ont.) led the for the Lancers, while Nik Workun (Ottawa, Ont.) topped the field for Ottawa, who also saw Spencer Grainger (Port Hope, Ont.) and Jared Coyle (Manotick, Ont.) secure top-10 finishes for the Garnet and Grey.
Defending champions Wilfrid Laurier finished second overall (574) in Region A, nine strokes behind the Lancers to secure their spot, while the McMaster Marauders shot a combined 576 to finish third. Guelph's Justin Allin (Toronto, Ont.) matched the Windsor pair's result (137) to finish tied atop the leaderboard and to help his Gryphons earn the final qualifying spot from the region.
The additional individuals joining the action from Region A's qualifier are: Brock's Tate Smith and Matt Morris, Western's Evan Kelly, Waterloo's Zach Burt, and Laurentian's Conrad Naponse.
Following Ottawa, meanwhile, the Queen's Gaels advanced to Friday's finale by shooting a 601, just edging out the third-place Carleton crew by one shot. These two schools also so representatives round out the individual podium from the event, as Kyle Warton (Sutton, Ont.) from Carleton and Michael Von Schalburg (King City, Ont.) from Queen's tied for second, shooting 145 across the two rounds.
The Toronto Varsity Blues grabbed the fourth and final team spot with a total of 626 at the Oshawa-based qualifier. The host Rams, meanwhile, will round out the men's team roster.
A pair of Ontario Tech Ridgebacks will join in the championship festivities, as Cory Williams and Noah McMullin were among the top individuals from non-qualifying teams. York's Stefan Nicora used a top-five individual finish to secure his banner season spot and will compete alongside teammate Tyler McLaughlin therein. Trent's Josh Stalteri rounds out the individual qualifiers with his two-round total of 164.
While the men's delegation began their banner season journey two weekends ago, Friday's championship round will be the first time that schools' women's squads hit the links therein. Even with the different path to the title, however, the goal will be very much the same throughout the 18-hole competition at Cherry Downs.
Much like the Lancers' men's team will aim for a repeat performance from the qualifiers, the women's group has their sights set on a duplicate outing from two years ago. Despite these aspirations, it will be anything but a carbon copy roster that takes to the tees in their quest for back-to-back banners. 2019 second-team all-star Laura DeMarco (LaSalle, Ont.) will lead the young blue and gold bunch on Friday, but even though the bulk of their core is new, the reigning champions bring with them a wealth of tournament experience and knowledge that they hope will carry them in their title defence.
The Lancers may have won the 2019 title, but it was all Varsity Blues before that, as the Windsor win snapped what was a seven-year reign for the Toronto women's team. With a championship pedigree in tow, the decorated program will be looking to get their hands on the Liz Hoffman Trophy once again in 2021. The eight-time provincial champions will turn to Adele Chun to spearhead their group this year, and the rookie standout has already proven to be up to the task. In three events prior to this weekend's finale, the Richmond Hill, Ont. native has finished atop the leaderboard twice, while also earning a fifth-place finish at the Brock Invitational.
Another promising player that appears destined for numerous event wins is first-year Gaels golfer Rachel Demaine. Despite this being her first OUA championship, the Oakville, Ont. native is no stranger to the competitive environment, having competed previously in GAO, Golf Canada, and CJGA events for the past few years. Demaine's bright future, as well the expected contributions from players like Alyssa Proderick (Kingston, Ont.) and Ally MacDuff (Bracebridge, Ont.), are among the reasons the Tricolour are hoping to make a charge up the leaderboard when they tee off this weekend.
Continuing with the theme of fresh faces, the Warriors are coming in with a complete roster overhaul from their silver-medal winning 2019 team. Despite the turnover, the black and gold are ready to compete among the conference's best in their first championship experience, hoping for similar strokes of success as their previous outings this season. Rookie Hana Yoshida (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is one to watch for Waterloo, as she looks to help her team build on what was a bronze-medal performance in her first ever university competition. The environment and business student also went on to finish fourth in her next outing at the McMaster Invitational.
No strangers to podium finishes either, the Golden Hawks are hoping their hardware-winning form carries into the conference's concluding event this weekend. Lauren Bevan (Pickering, Ont.) is among the top players anywhere in the OUA, having placed inside the top-10 in each of her tune-up events this season and even taking home the gold at the Brock Invitational. The first-year phenom's results have also paid dividends for the team as a whole, as the Laurier bunch has a pair of second-place finishes under their belt this season.
Someone who will bring OUA championship experience to the links on Friday is Brock's Emily White. The fourth-year player from St. Catharines, Ont. is looking to put a bow on her time as a Badger by improving on her top-25 finish from the 2019 banner season finale. The Badgers as a whole, meanwhile, are looking to better their most recent team result as well, which saw them finish seventh two years ago.
A couple spots behind Brock in 2019 were the Gryphons, and if they are going to climb the leaderboard this time around, it will be Rachel Bauer who plays a key role. The senior student-athlete, a native of Turkey Point, Ont., was the second-best finisher for Guelph in that last event, finishing the tournament in 27th overall.
The Western Mustangs fell just shy of the podium in 2019, and if they want to make the jump to a medal-winning position, it will come down to the play of individuals like Catherine Zhang and Cindy Won, among others.
Ashley Thompson and Madeline MacMillan will be among those suiting up for the Garnet and Grey, who finished in the penultimate spot on the women's leaderboard in the latest edition of the banner season festivities, while Melanie Kappei (Barrie, Ont.) will represent the Laurentian Voyageurs, who finished just two shots back of the Gee-Gees in 2019. Emma Harvie (Greely, Ont.), meanwhile, will suit up for Carleton.
Rounding out the women's lineup is the maroon machine, and for the Marauders, it will be the likes of Erin Oughtred (Hillsburgh, Ont.) and Coralea Kappel (Barrie, Ont.), among others, that hope to propel the Hamilton squad up the leaderboard against the rest of the talent-filled field of women's golfers.
With just a single round of play making up the 2021 OUA Golf Championships at Cherry Downs Golf Club, the men's and women's teams with the lowest combined scores will be crowned this year's champions, with the top individual finishers claiming the Len Shore Trophy (men's) and Judy McCrae Trophy (women's) as well.
OUA Golf Championships | Fan Guide | Tee Times | Scoring/Results
On the men's side, a total of nine teams, along with the top five individuals from each of the two lead-up events that weren't on the qualified teams, will take to the fairways for a final round of play, and leading the way are the two regional victors - the Windsor Lancers and Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Both teams were able to top the field in convincing fashion in their two-round qualifier victories, spearheaded by the top individual finishers in the event. Jarrod Smith (LaSalle, Ont.) and Thomas DeMarco (LaSalle, Ont.) led the for the Lancers, while Nik Workun (Ottawa, Ont.) topped the field for Ottawa, who also saw Spencer Grainger (Port Hope, Ont.) and Jared Coyle (Manotick, Ont.) secure top-10 finishes for the Garnet and Grey.
Defending champions Wilfrid Laurier finished second overall (574) in Region A, nine strokes behind the Lancers to secure their spot, while the McMaster Marauders shot a combined 576 to finish third. Guelph's Justin Allin (Toronto, Ont.) matched the Windsor pair's result (137) to finish tied atop the leaderboard and to help his Gryphons earn the final qualifying spot from the region.
The additional individuals joining the action from Region A's qualifier are: Brock's Tate Smith and Matt Morris, Western's Evan Kelly, Waterloo's Zach Burt, and Laurentian's Conrad Naponse.
Following Ottawa, meanwhile, the Queen's Gaels advanced to Friday's finale by shooting a 601, just edging out the third-place Carleton crew by one shot. These two schools also so representatives round out the individual podium from the event, as Kyle Warton (Sutton, Ont.) from Carleton and Michael Von Schalburg (King City, Ont.) from Queen's tied for second, shooting 145 across the two rounds.
The Toronto Varsity Blues grabbed the fourth and final team spot with a total of 626 at the Oshawa-based qualifier. The host Rams, meanwhile, will round out the men's team roster.
A pair of Ontario Tech Ridgebacks will join in the championship festivities, as Cory Williams and Noah McMullin were among the top individuals from non-qualifying teams. York's Stefan Nicora used a top-five individual finish to secure his banner season spot and will compete alongside teammate Tyler McLaughlin therein. Trent's Josh Stalteri rounds out the individual qualifiers with his two-round total of 164.
While the men's delegation began their banner season journey two weekends ago, Friday's championship round will be the first time that schools' women's squads hit the links therein. Even with the different path to the title, however, the goal will be very much the same throughout the 18-hole competition at Cherry Downs.
Much like the Lancers' men's team will aim for a repeat performance from the qualifiers, the women's group has their sights set on a duplicate outing from two years ago. Despite these aspirations, it will be anything but a carbon copy roster that takes to the tees in their quest for back-to-back banners. 2019 second-team all-star Laura DeMarco (LaSalle, Ont.) will lead the young blue and gold bunch on Friday, but even though the bulk of their core is new, the reigning champions bring with them a wealth of tournament experience and knowledge that they hope will carry them in their title defence.
The Lancers may have won the 2019 title, but it was all Varsity Blues before that, as the Windsor win snapped what was a seven-year reign for the Toronto women's team. With a championship pedigree in tow, the decorated program will be looking to get their hands on the Liz Hoffman Trophy once again in 2021. The eight-time provincial champions will turn to Adele Chun to spearhead their group this year, and the rookie standout has already proven to be up to the task. In three events prior to this weekend's finale, the Richmond Hill, Ont. native has finished atop the leaderboard twice, while also earning a fifth-place finish at the Brock Invitational.
Another promising player that appears destined for numerous event wins is first-year Gaels golfer Rachel Demaine. Despite this being her first OUA championship, the Oakville, Ont. native is no stranger to the competitive environment, having competed previously in GAO, Golf Canada, and CJGA events for the past few years. Demaine's bright future, as well the expected contributions from players like Alyssa Proderick (Kingston, Ont.) and Ally MacDuff (Bracebridge, Ont.), are among the reasons the Tricolour are hoping to make a charge up the leaderboard when they tee off this weekend.
Continuing with the theme of fresh faces, the Warriors are coming in with a complete roster overhaul from their silver-medal winning 2019 team. Despite the turnover, the black and gold are ready to compete among the conference's best in their first championship experience, hoping for similar strokes of success as their previous outings this season. Rookie Hana Yoshida (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is one to watch for Waterloo, as she looks to help her team build on what was a bronze-medal performance in her first ever university competition. The environment and business student also went on to finish fourth in her next outing at the McMaster Invitational.
No strangers to podium finishes either, the Golden Hawks are hoping their hardware-winning form carries into the conference's concluding event this weekend. Lauren Bevan (Pickering, Ont.) is among the top players anywhere in the OUA, having placed inside the top-10 in each of her tune-up events this season and even taking home the gold at the Brock Invitational. The first-year phenom's results have also paid dividends for the team as a whole, as the Laurier bunch has a pair of second-place finishes under their belt this season.
Someone who will bring OUA championship experience to the links on Friday is Brock's Emily White. The fourth-year player from St. Catharines, Ont. is looking to put a bow on her time as a Badger by improving on her top-25 finish from the 2019 banner season finale. The Badgers as a whole, meanwhile, are looking to better their most recent team result as well, which saw them finish seventh two years ago.
A couple spots behind Brock in 2019 were the Gryphons, and if they are going to climb the leaderboard this time around, it will be Rachel Bauer who plays a key role. The senior student-athlete, a native of Turkey Point, Ont., was the second-best finisher for Guelph in that last event, finishing the tournament in 27th overall.
The Western Mustangs fell just shy of the podium in 2019, and if they want to make the jump to a medal-winning position, it will come down to the play of individuals like Catherine Zhang and Cindy Won, among others.
Ashley Thompson and Madeline MacMillan will be among those suiting up for the Garnet and Grey, who finished in the penultimate spot on the women's leaderboard in the latest edition of the banner season festivities, while Melanie Kappei (Barrie, Ont.) will represent the Laurentian Voyageurs, who finished just two shots back of the Gee-Gees in 2019. Emma Harvie (Greely, Ont.), meanwhile, will suit up for Carleton.
Rounding out the women's lineup is the maroon machine, and for the Marauders, it will be the likes of Erin Oughtred (Hillsburgh, Ont.) and Coralea Kappel (Barrie, Ont.), among others, that hope to propel the Hamilton squad up the leaderboard against the rest of the talent-filled field of women's golfers.
With just a single round of play making up the 2021 OUA Golf Championships at Cherry Downs Golf Club, the men's and women's teams with the lowest combined scores will be crowned this year's champions, with the top individual finishers claiming the Len Shore Trophy (men's) and Judy McCrae Trophy (women's) as well.
