Heat golf teams settle for 2nd at provincials
UBCO men and women still qualify for nationals
The UBCO women went wire to wire with second-place team finishes in all four tournaments to capture the conference silver medal after the final PACWEST event in Abbotsford.
The women’s squad finished second in the UFV Invitational, with the Heat twosome of McKenna Lesiuk and Emily Adams shooting 171 (88-83) and 177 (87-90), respectively, on the par-70 course, finishing fourth and fifth overall individually.
That earned the Heat a berth in the 2017 PING CCAA Golf National Championships hosted by Durham College at Royal Ashburn Golf Club in Oshawa from Oct. 17-20.
For the four tournaments, Lesiuk led the team with a total score of 674 to finish in fourth place. Not far behind was Adams, with a total score of 698.
The UFV Cascades also won the women’s team title with a score of 1,244.
After not qualifying for the national tournament last season, the Heat women will return to the championship event for the first time since 2016 when they finished as national silver medalists at the Chilliwack Golf and Country Club. Adams was also a member of that squad.
Hritzuk, for the first time in his career, was named the PACWEST conference coach of the year for the 2017 season.
Leading both the Heat men’s and women’s teams to provincial silver medals this year and a history of consistently producing strong results on the course at UBCO — both on the team and the individual side — were among the many reasons that made Hritzuk a deserving recipient of the award.
“I am flattered and honoured,” Hritzuk said. “My success as a coach relies solely on the great players I have had the privilege to be involved with over the years. This award is more a result of their outstanding abilities than it is a result of my ability to coach.”
List of accomplishments under Hritzuk:
Team
2 national medals (1 silver, 1 bronze, all by the women’s team) 1 provincial championship (women) 9 provincial medals (1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze for the women; 1 silver, 3 bronze for the men)
Individual
1 National Champion 3 All-Canadians 2 Academic All-Canadians 2 National Tournament All-Stars 12 National Scholar Athletes 7 Provincial All-Stars 6 Provincial Academic Excellence 1 Provincial Player of the Year