Bernakevitch reclaims B.C. club professional title

Lindsay Bernakevitch jumped out to a big lead at the PGA of B.C. Club Professional Championship at University Golf Club in Vancouver, and it was good thing he did.

Bernakevitch opened with a 6-under par 66 to grab what the Victoria Golf Club head pro thought was a comfortable lead going into the final round. But bogeys on the two of the first three holes forced Bernakevitch to sweat it out to the end and hold on for a two-shot win and his second PGA of B.C. Club Professional Championship title in four years.

Dave Zibrik of Point Grey Golf and Country Club fired a final-round 67 to claim the runner-up spot, while Matthew Palsenbarg of Northview Golf Academy finished third.

“This feels really good,” Bernakevitch said in a statement after claiming the $2,650 top prize.

“I played with some nerves early on in my round and it has been so long since I’ve been in contention in a tournament. In the end, I got a couple of putts to drop late and I pulled it out.”

2006 champion Bill Kelly of Glacier Greens in Comox finished in a tie for fifth place.

Spartans roll to volleyball gold

The Claremont Spartans lived up to their billing at last weekend’s Camosun Chargers Fall Classic Senior Boys Volleyball Tournament.

Ranked fourth in the province in the pre-season rankings, the Spartans swept Oak Bay 2-0 (25-20, 25-22) in the gold-medal match. Claremont also scored a straight-set win over Pacific Christian in the semifinals. Oak Bay defeated St. Michaels University School in the other semi.

Crash Wergeland of Claremont was named the tournament MVP, while the all-Tournament team featured Logan Judge of Royal Bay, Luke de Greef of Lambrick Park, Carter Fry of St. Michaels, John Jackson of Pacific Christian, Diego Maffia of Oak Bay and Nick Babeff of Claremont.

Golden effort by squash players

Lucia Bicknell made the most of home-court advantage at the recent Shawnigan Junior Open squash tournament.

Bicknell, the two-time Canadian champion who attends Shawnigan Lake School, defended her Shawnigan Junior Open Girls Open division title without dropping a game, while defeating school-mate Anika Kurji in the final match.

In the Boys Open final, Shawnigan’s Mitchell Kahnert was victorious over Matt Bicknell, who plays out of Evergreen Squash Club in Vancouver.

In other action, Aaron Wong of Shawnigan Lake School won the Boys Silver division.

Marathon volunteers wanted

The 39th Annual Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon is just over a week away and organizers are looking for the final few volunteers to round out a group that is more than 1,600 strong.

People can volunteer in several areas, including Race Expo on Oct. 5 and right up to race day on Oct. 7 in positions such as finish line, aid stations, recovery zone and the Thrifty Foods Kids Fun Run.

Interested individuals can register online at: runvictoriamarathon.com/volunteer or email volunteer@runvictoriamarathon.com.