UBC Okanagan Heat’s Julia Alexander-Carew and UBC Thunderbirds Una Chou share top spot in women’s individual championship
Kamloops, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds got their title defence off on the right track during Tuesday’s opening round at the 2025 Canadian University / College Championship, leading both the men’s and women’s team competition after 18 holes at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C.
UBC’s male and female sides battled windy conditions on Tuesday to build four and eight shot leads respectively over their closest chasers, though several players in the field remain well in contention for an upset, particularly from the male Ontario University Athletics (OUA) contingent.
A third year for the Queen’s Gaels, Daniel Abraha of Kingston, Ont. paced an OUA-packed leaderboard to open the first round of the Canadian University / College Championship.
Starting his round on the ninth hole on Tuesday, Abraha played the tougher back nine at one-under par while collecting eight pars to throw his name into contention. He added birdies at Nos. 4, 6 and 8 to steal the clubhouse lead from McMaster Marauders’ fifth-year Nicolas Dessureault of Oakville, Ont. and solidify his place atop the leaderboard entering Wednesday.
“I was very aware that the course was playing pretty firm out there,” said Abraha following his round on Tuesday. “Not putting yourself short-sighted made it much easier to avoid or limit the amount bogeys you made out there,” he added.
Dessureault sits in a tie for second place with Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks’ Matthew Whitehead of Cambridge, Ont. The two opened the tournament with rounds of two-under par to track closely with Abraha, while Kai Baerg of Edmonton, Alta, Alex Mauro of Windsor, Ont. and Zachary Burt of Guelph, Ont. sit two back of Tuesday’s leader and in a three-way tie for fourth.
Defending champion Una Chou of San Diego, Calif. got off to a flying start on Tuesday, carding a trio of birdies through her first five holes to find her familiar footing at the top of the women’s individual leaderboard. A double bogey at the 16th hole bumped her down to a one-under par finish but kept her well in the mix to defend her title throughout the week.
Julia Alexander-Carew of Oakville, Ont. will enter Wednesday in a deadlock with Chou at one-under par after rallying from a pair of bogeys at the turn with an eagle on the par-5 15th to highlight a strong start from the sophomore representing the UBC Okanagen Heat.
“I think that eagle on 15 set me up to finish the last three holes pretty strong and gave me some extra-needed confidence,” commented Alexander-Carew following her first round. “Anything can happen in a four-day tournament. I just think continuing to do what I’m doing and be aggressive when I can, but also just playing smart and minimalizing those big numbers,” she added.
Grace Bell of Calgary, Alta. and Bo Brown of Mississauga, Ont. rounded out the top four spots in the women’s individual championship on Tuesday, helping carve out a nine-shot lead for the UBC Thunderbirds in the women’s team championship. Lauren Nedo of Coquitlam, B.C. and Morgan Best of Pointe Claire, Que. sit in a tie for fifth at three-over par.
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.
The field will be reduced to the top nine male teams and top six women’s teams – including any squad within 10 shots of the lead – following the conclusion of the third round on June 5. As for the individual competition, players within 10 shots of the leader will make the cut, or any player within the top 10 of the leaderboard.
To view the full leaderboards from Tuesday’s first-round action, please click here. For Wednesday’s pairings and tee times, please click here.
Men’s Team Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 76 | +4 |
| 2 | Montreal Carabins | 80 | +8 |
| T3 | Victoria Vikes | 82 | +10 |
| T3 | Queen’s Gaels | 82 | +10 |
| T3 | UBC Okanagan Heat | 82 | +10 |
Women’s Team Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | UBC Thunderbirds | 72 | E |
| 2 | UBC Okanagen Heat | 81 | +9 |
| 3 | Victoria Vikes | 92 | +20 |
| 4 | Laval Rouge et Or | 94 | +22 |
| 5 | Fraser Valley Cascades | 95 | +23 |
Men’s Individual Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Daniel Abraha (Queen’s Gaels) | 69 | -3 |
| T2 | Nicolas Dessureault (McMaster Marauders) | 70 | -2 |
| T2 | Matthew Whitehead (Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks) | 70 | -2 |
| T4 | Kai Baerg (Alberta Golden Bears) | 71 | -1 |
| T4 | Alex Mauro (Windsor Lancers) | 71 | -1 |
| T4 | Zachary Burt (Waterloo Warriors) | 71 | -1 |
Women’s Individual Championship – Top-5
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE | TOTAL |
| T1 | Julia Alexander-Carew (UBC Okanagen Heat) | 71 | -1 |
| T1 | Una Chou (UBCThunderbirds) | 71 | -1 |
| 3 | Grace Bell (UBC Thunderbirds) | 72 | E |
| 4 | Bo Brown (UBC Thunderbirds) | 73 | +1 |
| T5 | Lauren Nedo (UBC Okanagen Heat) | 75 | +3 |
| T5 | Mogan Best (Fraser Valley Cascades) | 75 | +3 |
The post UBC Thunderbirds lead team divisions, while Daniel Abraha tops male individual leaderboard after windy opening round in Kamloops first appeared on Golf Canada.