CHILLIWACK, B.C. – The UBCO Heat men's and women's golf teams are in the thick of contention after the opening round of the Canada West Championships that wrapped up on Monday afternoon at the Chilliwack Golf Club.
The Heat women's team, who are hunting for their first Canada West banner, sit tied for first place with the UBC Thunderbirds after 18 holes. The Heat and Thunderbirds, sister-school rivals, are both at even-par 216, 15-shots ahead of the third-place Victoria Vikes.
Three members of the Heat shot even-par 72 in the opening round, led by reigning national champion
Julia Alexander-Carew. She is joined in a tie for second place on the individual leaderboard by fifth-year
Lauren Nedo along with rookie
Kiana Chen.
The three golfers trail UBC's Katherine Hao for top spot on the individual leaderboard after Hao fired a two-under par 70.
The other Heat golfers competing include
Bess Chan, a Canada West all-star a year ago, sitting tied for fifth place at one-over par 73, while rookie
Shinyao Zhang sits in 13
th at four-over par 76.
Meanwhile, in the men's competition, it's the Heat and Thunderbirds battling once again at the top of the team leaderboard. UBCO sits in second-place at 10-under par 278, three shots back of their sister-school rivals who are at 13-under par 275
.
The Manitoba Bisons sit in third place at eight-under par 280.
Second-year
Chris Jo paced the Heat in the opening round as he shot four-under par 68, good for a tie for third-place on the individual leaderboard. He trails Manitoba's Derek Benson by two shots in the race for the individual title.
2024 Canada West individual champion
Ryan Gillis also got off to a strong start, shooting three-under par 69, tied for seventh overall.
Two other Heat golfers finished at under par after round one, including rookie
Oakley Mayner, tied for ninth at two-under par 70, while
Andrew Rouble is tied for 12th at one-under par 71.
Ryan Vest rounded out the Heat scores in the opening round, shooting three-over par 75 to sit alone in 29
th.
The second and final round will get underway on Tuesday morning to determine this year's champions.
