Windsor Lancers’ Alek Mauro leads men’s individual championship by six strokes, UBC Thunderbirds’ Una Chou stays atop women’s individual championship.
Kamloops, B.C. – Alek Mauro of Windsor, Ont. strengthened his grasp on the men’s individual championship on Thursday with a six-under 66, while the UBC Thunderbirds narrowed in on their team division championship ambitions during a busy third round in the Canadian University / College Championship at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C.
The Thunderbirds enter Friday’s final round with a 12 and 17 stroke lead over the Victoria Vikes and the UBC Okanagan Heat in the respective men’s and women’s team championships. Both teams are looking to secure their eighth and 17th national championship and repeat as champions for the 26th time under the helm of coach Chris Macdonald.
“Having won last year’s tournament puts us in a great position to defend,” commented UBC third-year Jessica Ng of Vancouver, B.C. “With the experience level of this team, we have all been in this situation before and will be able to stay calm, present, and focused for the final round.”
On the men’s side, Mauro – who started his afternoon with a one-shot lead over UBC’s Aidan Schumer of Columbus, Ohio. on Thursday – overcame a slow start to begin to pull away from the field in the men’s individual championship.
A bogey-free front nine including five birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fourth catapulted the fifth-year senior into a six-shot lead over his closest chaser Anthony Jomphe of Chicoutimi, Que. – who carved out a consecutive round of 69 to challenge for the podium.
“I just hit the ball really straight today,” commented Mauro. “Just hit some good drives and put myself in good positions to have wedges into most of the greens,” he added. Mauro’s approach play was admittedly the key to his success on Thursday and allowed him to spin his shots close to the pin on numerous occasions for birdie looks.
New contenders emerged in the men’s individual championship on Thursday after Dan Kirby of Woodstock, N.B.(Victoria Vikes) and reigning champion Dylan MacDonald of Markham, Ont. (UBC Thunderbirds) fell out of the hunt after struggling to put their game into gear.
Jagre Knight of Parksville, B.C. (Victoria Vikes) decorated his scorecard with four birdies and seven-consecutive pars to end his third round 69 and sit in a tie with Schumer for third place on the leaderboard. Ryan Massicotte of Quebec, Que. (Bishop’s Gaiters) recovered from a triple-bogey at the 17th with five-straight birdies on holes three through seven to put himself in a tie for fifth alongside Daniel Abraha of Kingston, Ont. (Queen’s Gaels) and just a shot off the podium to start his final round.
Though unable to make headway in the men’s individual championship, the Thunderbirds continued to roll in the women’s individual competition on Thursday with Ng leading the way with the lowest round of the day after carding a three-under 69. Ng squeezed an eagle at the par-5 fourth hole between a pair of birdies at holes three and five to begin her ascension into the top five of the leaderboard.
“My putting and approach shots were crucial in today’s round,” commented Ng. She admitted to her struggles with the flatstick leading up to Thursday but was pleased with her ability to stay patient and allow the birdie putts to roll.
Tightly contesting the UBC Okanagan Heat throughout the opening two rounds, Una Chou of San Diego, Calif. and the rest of the Thunderbirds found separation from their provincial rival before the turn on Thursday. Julia Alexander-Carew of Oakville, Ont. and Lauren Nedo of Coquitlam, Ont. found trouble at the par-5 eighth hole, each walking off the green with double bogey as Chou and her teammate Grace Bell of Calgary, Alta. both converted on birdie putts.
The chaos left Chou with a four-shot lead heading into the back nine and Bell in a tie with Alexander-Carew for second at even-par. The Thunderbirds’ duo was unable to capitalize the rest of the way, however, each dropping a shot in the final three holes while Alexander-Carew found redemption with birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 to enter Friday’s final round in striking distance of the individual women’s championship title.
“Our team is very competitive and supportive of each other, which helps us stay motivated and focused on building our lead,” added Ng who also believes the Thunderbirds are more than capable of defending their 17-shot lead over the Heat come Friday.
Bo Brown of Mississauga, Ont. (UBC Thunderbirds), Nedo and Brynne Davies of Calgary, Alta. (Victoria Vikes) all sit in a tie for fifth on the individual leaderboard after rounds of 75, 76 and 72 respectively on Thursday.
The top three daily scores count towards the women’s team total throughout the week, while the top four daily scores accrued by the male teams count towards their overall total.
To view the full leaderboards from Thursday’s third-round action, please click here. For Friday’s final round pairings and tee times, please click here.
Men’s Team Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 292-275-288 | -9 |
| 2 | Victoria Vikes | 298-280-289 | +3 |
| 3 | Laval Rouge et Or | 303-293-285 | +17 |
| 4 | Humber Hawks | 301-291-290 | +18 |
| 5 | Montreal Carabins | 296-293-299 | +24 |
Women’s Team Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 216-215-214 | -3 |
| 2 | UBC Okanagan Heat | 225-216-221 | +14 |
| 3 | Victoria Vikes | 236-228-228 | +40 |
| 4 | Laval Rouge et Or | 238-235-235 | +60 |
| 5 | Fraser Valley Cascades | 239-234-241 | +66 |
Men’s Individual Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Alek Mauro (Windsor Lancers) | 71-68-66 | -11 |
| 2 | Anthony Jomphe (Montreal Carabins) | 73-69-69 | -5 |
| T3 | Jagre Knight (Victoria Vikes) | 76-67-69 | -4 |
| T3 | Aidan Schumer (UBC Thunderbirds) | 72-68-72 | -4 |
| T5 | Ryan Massicotte (Bishop’s Gaiters) | 74-69-70 | -3 |
| T5 | Daniel Abraha (Queen’s University) | 69-71-73 | -3 |
Women’s Individual Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Una Chou (UBC Thunderbirds) | 71-69-73 | -3 |
| 2 | Julia Alexander-Carew (UBC Okanagan Heat) | 71-71-72 | -2 |
| 3 | Grace Bell (UBC Thunderbirds) | 72-73-72 | +1 |
| 4 | Jessica Ng (UBC Thunderbirds) | 77-73-69 | +3 |
| T5 | Bo Brown (UBC Thunderbirds) | 73-74-75 | +6 |
| T5 | Lauren Nedo (UBC Okanagan Heat) | 75-71-76 | +6 |
| T5 | Brynne Davies (Victoria Vikes) | 77-73-72 | +6 |
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