CORVALLIS, Ore. – The first conference event of the new season tees off Monday as UBC returns to Cascade Collegiate Conference action.
Last year, the Thunderbirds had to opt out of the season due to border closures, but they return to host the first event of the season: the UBC Invitational/ Gail Moore Intercollegiate at Sudden Valley Golf Course in Bellingham, Wash.
The two-day event gets underway Monday morning and is one of three conference tournaments that will be played this season. The first day consists of an 18-hole round, while 36 holes will be played on Tuesday. It features No. 15-ranked UBC, Oregon Tech, Multnomah University, Bushnell University, Lewis-Clark State College, Corban University, College of Idaho, and Walla Walla University.
UBC looks to reclaim its CCC crown from 2019 where the Thunderbirds went on to take fifth at nationals. Ethan de Graaf returns for the T-Birds, bringing experience to a young squad. De Graaf took second in the 2019 Cascade Collegiate Conference Golf Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank.
Multnomah comes off a historic year, winning its first-ever CCC tournament to advance to the NAIA National Championship. The Lions are receiving votes in the latest NAIA poll and were picked to take second in the preseason conference poll.
Oregon Tech was picked to take third in the conference after coming up one stroke short of the conference title last year. Mayson Tibbs earned All-CCC honors and looks to lead the Owls this year.
Bushnell won the regular-season title last year but were picked to take fourth this year in the preseason poll. The Beacons are without 2021 CCC Golfer of the Year John Holzgang, but there are other Beacons looking to step up to lead the team.
LC State is under new leadership this year but hopes to build on last year’s debut performance in the CCC. The Warriors have a strong mix of experience and new players in the program this year and were picked fifth in the conference's preseason poll, along with grabbing one first-place vote.
Corban returns all but one of member of its 2020-21 roster – losing All-CCC honoree Kasey Crossland – while welcoming in six newcomers looking to make an immediate impact. The Warriors were picked to finish sixth in the CCC preseason poll.
C of I will return three of their top four scorers from last season – including their lone All-Cascade Conference pick, Tristan Belue. The Coyotes were picked to finish seventh in the CCC preseason coaches’ poll.
WWU rounds out the CCC teams competing today and looks to build on its eight-place prediction in the preseason poll.
In a tournament, five players compose the team but only the top four scores are used for the team score in each round. Live stats will not be available for the tournament.