For the third consecutive year, the UBC Okanagan women's golf team is on the podium at the Canada West Championship as they won a silver medal at this year's event hosted at Ledgeview Golf Club.
The Heat solidified themselves as a perennial powerhouse in the conference with a second place finish at the conference's title event, upgrading from a bronze medal in 2022 and matching their silver in 2021.
The team, who had to battle wind and heavy rain on Monday, totalled 32-over par 242 in the first round, before firing an impressive six-over par 220 in the final round.
"This is another great result for our program as we continue to establish ourselves as one of the top teams in the country," said head coach Clay Stothers following the tournament. "I'm very pleased that we learned from what happened on day one and applied those changes on day two. Our mental toughness really shone through and we persevered through some extremely tough conditions."
Led by rookie Julia Alexander-Carew as the top Heat finisher, the team saw a trio of top-10 results, with all five golfers landing inside the tournament's top-15.
Alexander-Carew, originally from Oakville, Ont., continued the excellent start to her career as a final round four-under par 68 tied the low score of the tournament and boosted her four spots into fifth place. She has finished as the top UBCO competitor in all three events in her young career.
"Julia shooting 68 as a rookie in a conference championship is so impressive," added Stothers. "She showed herself to be a leader on our team with that performance and shows that the quality of players that are choosing our program continues to grow."
Lauren Nedo (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Emily Cornwall (Calgary, Alta.) shot six and five shots better respectively from Round 1 in Tuesday's final round to lock into the top-10, while Khushi Hooda (New Delhi, India) slid into a tie for 11th. Kayleigh Trowman (Port Stanley, Ont.), seeing tournament action for the first time this year, rounded out the Heat in 15th position.
UBCO INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
5. Julia Alexander-Carew - 151 (+7)
T7. Lauren Nedo - 159 (+15)
10. Emily Cornwall 160 (+16)
T11. Khushi Hooda 161 (+17)
15. Kayleigh Trowman 163 (+19)
TEAM RESULTS
1. UBC Thunderbirds - 423 (-1)
2. UBCO Heat - 462 (+38)
3. UFV Cascades - 476 (+52)
4. Victoria Vikes - 481 (+57)
5. Alberta Pandas - 485 (+61)
6. Calgary Dinos - 497 (+73)
7. Lethbridge Pronghorns - 570 (+146)