SALEM, Ore. – The University of Victoria men’s golf team continued its strong 2014-15 season, winning the Corban Spring Invite by 11 strokes, while the Concordia University women’s golf team surged past the Victoria, claiming first place on the women’s side.
The Corban University men’s golf team surged past the Concordia University squad on Tuesday, defeating the Cavaliers for the first time in program history en route to setting a number of program records and taking second place overall at the Corban Spring Invite. Among Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) competition, the Warriors finished as the top program, finishing in front of Concordia by two strokes.
On the men’s side, the University of Victoria claimed the overall men’s title, totaling a three-round mark of 859 (281, 285, 293), with Mike Griffin nabbing the top spot in the tournament with a three-round score of 210 (70, 69, 71).
The Warrior men set a number of records during the tournament, with the best single round in program history (282) coming on Tuesday. For the tournament in its entirety, Corban notched a three-round team mark of 870 (295, 293, 282), resetting the school record book in the three-round category as well.
Leading the charge for the Corban men was senior swinger Jared Lambert (Redmond, Ore.), as he racked up a three-round total of 212 (71, 70, 71), finishing in second place overall and as the top CCC golfer at the tournament. Freshman Kade Crossland (Buhl, Idaho) registered another solid tournament as well, tying for third place as an individual while shooting a three-round mark of 213 (70, 74, 69).
One of the key pieces throughout the tournament for the Navy and Gold was senior David Patterson (Camas, Wash.), as he tied for seventh place as an individual and surged towards the final hole on Tuesday with his best score of the tournament, shooting a 69 to help Corban leapfrog the Cavaliers. His three-round score was 217 (76, 72, 69), showing steady improvement each day.
Sophomore Blake Netter (Canby, Ore.) was the Warriors’ fourth golfer, recording a three-round total of 231 (78, 77, 76), while senior Thomas Graves (Lincoln City, Ore.) came up big on the final day of the tournament for the Navy and Gold, signing his scorecard with a final-round 73, totaling 232 (79, 80, 73) for the tournament.
Following the big day, Corban's three seniors sat down in a post-tournament interview to talk about the performance:
“Led by our seniors, we had an outstanding tournament on our home course in their final tournament at Creekside,” said head coach Paul Pickerell. “They did a great job of battling to the very last putt, and made up five shots over the last round to beat Concordia for the conference win by two shots, as well as cutting 11 shots off of Victoria’s 22-shot lead to finish second overall in the tournament. Our three seniors combined for an even-par score in the last round and Kade Crossland shot a two-under 69, helping the team register a record-breaking single-round performance of 282.”
Tying with Crossland in third place overall was Rocky Mountain College’s Daniel Thompsett at 213 (72, 69, 72), while Kolton Kyne tied for fifth with a score of 215 (73, 73, 69) for Concordia, finishing as the top Cavalier golfer. Dylan Cramer was the next best swinger for the Cavs, taking 10th with a score of 219 (76, 70, 73).
Following Concordia’s third-place finish as a team, Oregon Tech took fourth overall with Josh Whitley pacing the Owls’ play with a tournament total of 221 (71, 77, 73).
On the women’s side, Concordia used a final round score of 313 to storm past the University of Victoria (B.C.), notching a three-round team total of 947 (327, 307, 313). As the second-place team, Victoria tallied a three-round team mark of 952 (315, 310, 327).
Individually, Victoria’s Michaela Abey won the individual title with a score of 223 (69, 79, 75), while Kelsey Whiles shot a total of 230 for Concordia, taking second overall (81, 73, 76). Victoria’s Cari Chow placed third overall with a three-round mark of 231 (80, 73, 78).
For Corban, the Warriors received some solid performances from a number of golfers. Sophomore Carrie Wallace (La Grande, Ore.) finished as the team’s top swinger with a tournament total of 257 (77, 92, 88), while fellow sophomore Brooke Spencer (Oakland, Ore.) registered a score of 260 (94, 90, 76), finishing strong with the solid third-round score of 76.
Competing in her first-ever collegiate event for the Navy and Gold, sophomore Mikenzee Frazier (Lebanon, Ore.) tallied a three-round mark of 308 (102, 101, 105). Additionally, freshman Lauren Kessel (Oakland, Ore.) ended up having to withdraw from the tournament on the final day due to illness.
“We started the tournament with a full team for the first time this year, so we were excited about that,” said Pickerell. “Lauren got ill on the second day of competition, so we were unable to complete our scores, but Mikenzee, Carrie, and Brooke all had highlight rounds where they competed well.”
The Warriors return to action on Saturday and Sunday when they travel to Portland for the Warner Pacific Spring Invite. Golf will be played at the Glendoveer Golf Club both days.