SILVIS, Ill. – The UBC Thunderbirds finished third at the NAIA Championship after shooting their best 18 of the tournament with a team score of 301 (+13) in the fourth and final round on Friday.
Despite the strong finish, the T-Birds (+69) could not close the gap and catch second place Oklahoma City University (+58) or new NAIA Champion Keiser University (+42) on the final day. UBC did, however, pull away from fourth place SCAD – Savannah (+82) and the rest of the field.
The T-Birds see their national championship streak snapped with the third place finish, after winning each of the last three NAIA Championships that they have participated in, dating back to 2019. There was no tournament in 2020 and Keiser University also won in 2021 when UBC could not compete due to border restrictions.
Keiser's Ho Ki Lau (+1) won the individual championship by two strokes, while the top two T-Birds made the All-Tournament Team: Elizabeth Labbe (+13, T8) and Grace Bell (+17, T14).
Just behind them were Bo Brown (+20, T23), Jessica Ng (+25, T30), and Una Chou (+26, T33).
UBC was perhaps the most consistent team at the event, finishing first in pars made. Labbe led the tournament in individual pars as well. Brown was one of the top players on par 5s, finishing under par on those holes over the course of the Championship.
The 'Birds have the chance to bounce back and defend a different national in just over two weeks when they play the Golf Canada Canadian University/College Championship for their final event of the season. That tournament takes place in Sudbury, Ontario at Idylwylde Golf & Country Club, June 3-6.