Lady Saints Golf Win OCAA Gold

by Brett Hedges

The St. Clair College women’s golf team won their first overall team title in school history at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association golf championships at Roseland Golf and Curling Club, Sept. 3.
Led by silver and bronze medal finishes from Heather MacKenzie and Ashley Unrau, respectively, the Saints won the overall team title by four strokes over Durham College’s Tiffany Albath, the women’s individual champion, and her partner Stephanie Mole.
MacKenzie trailed the leader by only two shots at the end of two rounds, but Albath shot a two-over par 74 over the final 18 holes to break away from the pack and win her second consecutive OCAA women’s individual gold and third consecutive OCAA medal.
“I’m happy with second,” said MacKenzie. “I was just hoping to shoot good for the team today. Team gold is what I really wanted.”
Going into the final round the Saints team, which also included Jordan Shatz who finished sixth overall, had built up a 14 stroke lead over Durham. But a 13 stroke third-round improvement over a humbling second round by Mole put pressure on the Saints down the stretch. Ashley Unrau responded with her tournament best score of 85 to capture individual bronze and cement the school’s first ever overall team title.
“We all played really well, stuck it out and achieved our goal of winning the team title,” said Unrau. “We went from third place (last year) to first place and we can’t get much better than that.”
Saints golf coach Kevin Corriveau said he was “thrilled” with the team’s school record-setting performance.
“For Heather and Ashley to both individually medal and for Jordan to play wonderful golf for the last three days to bring home the team title…I’m really excited for them,” said Corriveau. “It’s a big step going from third to first and I’m really happy the team stayed intact. I can’t be more proud of them.”
The next challenge for the Saints will be the 2012 PING Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Golf National Championships hosted by Durham College in Oshawa, Ont. The event will take place Oct. 15-19 at Oshawa Golf and Curling Club.
“Last year at nationals we finished in the middle or lower end of the pack,” said Corriveau. “This year our expectations have grown and they should. This will definitely boost our ranking.”
The Saints have a women’s national overall team title to their credit from the 2005 CCAA Golf National Championships hosted at Fox Glen. However, this year was St. Clair College’s first OCAA overall team title in either men’s or women’s golf.