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The University of Victoria golf teams are looking to defend a trio of titles at the Vikes Shootout, which plays out on Monday and Tuesday on what is expected to be a damp Cordova Bay Golf Course.
Third-year player Andrew Funk, a graduate of Parklands Secondary, will attempt to claim his third straight Shootout individual crown. He also led the Vikes men鈥檚 to the team title in 2015. UVic鈥檚 Quinn Fitzgerald also claimed the individual women鈥檚 trophy last year.
Lawren Rowe comes in as the Vikes鈥� hottest golfer. The third-year product of Mount Douglas was named the UVic鈥檚 male athlete of the month in September.
Rowe won the school鈥檚 first tournament of the season, the Coastal Collegiate Classic, by seven shots finishing 14-under par. He was then the men鈥檚 top finisher at the Western Washington Classic, finishing three-under and in a tie for sixth.
His performances moved Rowe up 541 spots into seventh in Golf sa国际传媒鈥檚 amateur top-10 ranking.
鈥淗is play over the summer in elite events combined with his play in Oregon show how talented he is,鈥� Vikes head coach Justin Clews said of Rowe recently. 鈥淎 lot of the success is a byproduct of his work ethic.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always looking for ways to improve his game even further. He鈥檚 very knowledgeable about the golf swing, and a lot of what he learns about his ability and his golf swing is self taught.鈥�
Last season, Rowe finished the runner-up at the Canadian University/College Golf Championship, hosted by the Vikes at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville. He was also named a NAIA All-American after a number of solid results, including a third-place finish at the NAIA Golf Championship in May.
The men鈥檚 golf team was named UVic鈥檚 team of the month in September. They finished tied for fourth out of 17 teams in Washington, and Rowe and Funk were both in the top-10 overall.
At Cordova Bay, the Vikes will compete against UBC, Corban University, University of Calgary, the University of Alberta, Skagit Valley, Lethbridge University and the University of Manitoba.
鈥淚t will be a strong challenge, especially from UBC. The guys ultimate goal is to take the team victory, but they understand that UBC has been playing well lately, too, so it's not going to be easy,鈥� Clews said.
鈥淭he guys are pretty excited to defend their title. Going into the Shootout last year we were considered an underdog to UBC whereas, this year, we are more evenly matched. It could potentially be a coin flip, but I think our guys are pretty prepared for this event.鈥�
The Vikes women鈥檚 team has struggled getting out of the gates.
UVic finished 13th at the Western Washington Invitational in Bellingham.
鈥淭hey struggled in Bellingham. Unfortunately, they are not playing to the ability that they know they can play. I鈥檓 confident that they鈥檒l play well at the Shootout,鈥� Clews said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a very tough task to beat UBC for the women. I think it鈥檚 achievable, but it鈥檚 not going to be easy.鈥�
