Tees dotted the field and eyes crossed the green to watch the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) golf championship at Sunningdale Golf & Country Club from October 17-19. U of T’s contingent was swinging for the stars on this day, but achieved mixed results.
Both teams finished in the top seven in their respective divisions, but the women’s team also managed a medal. They finished second only to host Western in the three-day event and earned silver medals for their efforts.
Bad weather wrought havoc on golfers all weekend. Rain, clouds, and high winds caused delays in the tournament and made the course incredibly difficult when play resumed.
The top individual performer on the Blues women’s squad was Jenn Beattie, who finished tied for third with Guelph’s Lisa Boyko. Each of them racked up 170 points in the championship, a tournament where the fewest number of points wins.
Danielle Greene and Beth Evans also finished in the top ten for U of T, finishing seventh and tenth respectively. Greene was selected to the first all-star team for the event, while Beattie and Evans took home second-team honours.
The men’s team, meanwhile, was not able to capture medals, but still finished in a respectable seventh place in a 12-team field. Impressive rookie Mark Bania led Blues’ men’s scorers with a measly 152 points, which was good enough for a share of ninth place overall.
Waterloo was crowned men’s champion after amassing a team total of 598 points, 13 points fewer than second-place McMaster, and 15 better than the Ottawa Gee Gees, who took home bronze medals. Jason Wellings had the best individual performance, finishing with 146 points.
The Blues can now sit back and enjoy a relaxing offseason full of exams and essays knowing that their seasons ended quite well. Beattie and the rest of the women’s team will have medals to shine, while the men’s team will be proud to have outdueled five strong teams.
