SFU women's golf team wins GNAC championship in epic comeback

Heading into the second round in third place at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, the Simon Fraser University women's golf team let the birdies fly in the back nine to once again soar to the top of the podium.

SFU shot a 319 on Monday, April 22 to open the competition, trailing nationally ranked Concordia by eight strokes and Western Washington by four, but had an incredible closing round on Tuesday, April 23, shooting a collective 294 to win the program's third conference title in four years.

The Clan's championship performance was led by some strong play from veterans Belinda Lin, Jaya Rampuri and Kylie Jack, all of whom finished in the top 10. Overall, the Clan shot a 10-over par 613, defeating Concordia by three strokes. Lin also challenged for the individual title, shooting a six-over 148 for second place, finishing three strokes back of Lacy Sheldon of Western Washington.

As the only golfer to shoot a round under par, Lin (-2) bolted up the leaderboard on Tuesday and had birdies on three of the final four holes to lock up SFU's victory. Rampuri, meanwhile, came in third place with an eight-over and three consecutive birdies on holes 15 through 17, and Jack was not far behind with an 11-over for fifth.

Sophomore Estee Leung tied for 12th, shooting 20-over par, and Laura Jones tied for 24th with a 28-over par.

In total, SFU had 15 birdies in the second round, with 10 of them coming in the back nine to give the day's end a dramatic conclusion.

"This is probably the best moment in program history with the comeback win and our lowest round ever,” says Matthew Steinbach, SFU golf head coach. “I'm really happy with how everyone grounded out in the tough conditions and then in the back nine, they just played like rock stars."  

Up Next | With the win, the SFU women's golf team earned their first automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which will be held in Amarillo, TX on May 6 and 8.