The 2018 regular season for your Windsor Lancer Golf teams has come and gone in a very busy but productive period of two weeks for both the men & women.
McMaster Invitational – September 27th @ Heron Point
The site of the 2018 OUA Golf Championships played host to the 2018 McMaster Invitational. Head coach Adam Wagner was excited to be able to give his players a chance to see the course where the OUA Championships will be contested. "I felt like this was a great chance to see the course in advance and get an idea of what we are up against before the Championship".
Leading the way on the Men's side for the Lancers was Jarrod Smith who carded a 79. Graham Byrne shot 82, Austin Friesen was 83, Michael Nunes finished at 84 and rounding out the scoring for the Lancers was Beau Hunter who carded an 85.
"Definitely not th results I was expecting", said Lancers head coach Adam Wagner. "I felt like we fielded a very strong team and potentially the team who could represent us at the OUA Championships on this same course in a few weeks".
On the Women's side the Lancers did not fare much better and unfortunately could not defend their team title they won on this same golf course a year prior. Playing shorthanded due to school commitments, the Lancers were down one player which meant all of the remaining three scores posted would make up the team score.
Melanie Burgess was the low player for the Lancers carding an 81. Tavia Maurovic was 84 and Nicole Cesca was 92.
Up next the Lancer travel back down the 401 to the Waterloo / Laurier Invitational on the weekend.
Waterloo / Laurier Invitational – September 29 & 30
On Saturday the Lancer Golf team was back in action at the Waterloo/Laurier Invitational. This is a familiar event for the Lancers as this event is a staple on their calendar. Rebel Creek was the site of the first round on Saturday. The Lancers came out on fire and got off to one of the best starts in a long time. "I was very impressed with the start our players had as they found a way to make some early birdies in the first few holes" said Head Coach Adam Wagner. The momentum continued on a perfect weather day in October and the Lancers remained hot throughout the rest of the round. Austin Friesen lead the way for the Lancers making 7 birdies on the day and 1 bogey to shoot a very impressive 66. "That is the lowest score I have seen in my tenure and I would think that is the lowest score we have seen in a very long time" said Wagner. Shantess Penashue also shot an impressive 73, both Jarrod Smith and Graham Byrne were 75 and Marcus Slipchuk was 76. Following the first round of play the Lancers were tied for the lead going into the second day of this 36 hole event.
Unfortunately for the Lancers they could not continue the hot play of the prior day and faltered coming down the stretch at Grey Silo, the site of Sunday's round. Graham Byrne played a very impressive one bogey and one birdie round as he was able to lead the way for the Lancers with an even par score of 71. Austin Friesen continued his solid play and unfortunately made a timely bogey on the 18 hole to finish in a three way tie for the gold medal position with a player from Guelph and Queens. Jarrod Smith was
very consistent on the course and didn't let too much bother him on his way to a 75. Shantess Penashue was 80 and Marcus Slipchuk rounded out the scoring for the Lancers with an 81.
On the Women's Side the Waterloo Invitational was the event on tap this weekend at Cambridge Golf & Country Club. The Women continued their solid play at this event and were able to walk away with a Team Silver Medal. "I am proud of the effort these girls gave this weekend" said Coach Wagner. "They fought through a tough field and were able to play some excellent golf and bring home the silver medal". Leading the way for the Lancer women was Melanie Burgess who shot 79 and 80 to finish in 5th position. First year player Sophia Fallea who was playing in her first event had a pair of 84's for an 8th place finish. Rounding out the scoring for the Lancers was Nicole Cesca who posted an 86 and 87 and Lexi Lawrence who was 89 and 90.
Next up for the Lancers is the Guelph Invitational at Cutten Fields on Monday
Guelph Invitational – Monday October 1 @ Cutten Fields
Weather was the story of the day today as the Lancers travelled to Guelph to compete in the Guelph Invitational. 4 degrees Celsius to begin the day and rain were the storyline of the day as the Lancers battled through the elements to compete in this event. On the Men's side the Lancers play shorthanded due to school commitments and counted all 4 scores of the players as the team score. Jarrod Smith continued to make a case for the OUA team and a big impression on the coaches as he battled his way to a 74. Justin Cheetham was next at 79, Graham Byrne was 81 and Michael Nunes was 85. Assistant Coach Ryan Robillard travelled with the players and was less than impressed with the weather but impressed with the way the player battled the conditions all day long and finished in 7th place overall as a team.
On the Women's side the Lancer Women continued their shorthanded play and fielded a team of three for the second time this season. Battling through the tough field and weather the Women fought hard to secure the bronze medal position. Melanie Burgess was 85, Sophia Fallea was 87 and Lexi Lawrence was 93.
Next up for the Lancers they will wrap up their regular season at home as they host The Windsor Invitational later this week.
Windsor Invitational – Thursday October 4th and Friday October 5th – Ambassador Golf Club & Essex Golf & Country Club
In the final competitive tune up for the Lancer before they begin their final preparations for the OUA Championships, the Lancers took their turn and played host to the Western Mustangs and McMaster Mauraders in the Inaugural Windsor Invitational.
Round 1 was played at Ambassador Golf Club on Thursday afternoon. The players battled breezy conditions all day long and struggled to capitalize on the home course advantage that they had. "Hosting this tournament is a bid deal for our players and we are thrilled to get this event off the ground in the first year" said Head Coach Adam Wagner. "The success of this event in the first year is something we are looking forward to building off of and making this a yearly event here in Windsor".
The Lancer Men were led by Austin Friesen who posted 75, Graham Byrne was 77, Jarrod Smith was 78, Justin Cheetham was 80 and Shantess Penashue was 81.
On the Women's side the struggles continued for the host Lancers. "Our players had some trouble with the greens today for some reason" said head coach Adam Wagner. "We had some issues with the speed of the greens and lag putting seemed to be a soft spot in our game today". Tavia Maurovic and Sophia Fallea led the way both posting an 86. Melanie Burgess posted an 87 and Nicole Cesca was 91.
In Round 2 at Essex the players were treated to some cool conditions in the morning but excellent scoring conditions to finish off the inaugural event. On the Men's side the Lancer Men finished in the bronze medal position posting a team score 617 for the two days. Justin Cheetham was the low lancer at 75, Austin Friesen was 76, Graham Byrne was 77, Jarrod Smith was 79 and Shantess Penashue was 85.
In the Women's draw the women finished in the silver medal position behind the Western University Mustangs. Melanie Burgess was the low Lancer Women who shot 76 and also finished in the Silver medal position in the individual category as well. Sophia Falle and Nicole Cesca came back to post matching 83's and Tavia Maurovic was one shot back at 84 today.
The Lancers will take the coming week to prepare for the 2018 OUA Championships hosted by the McMaster Mauraders at Heron Point Golf Club on October 14-16.
