CREDIT: JORDAN CROW

Fanshawe Athletics’ golf season kicks off with the Falcons hosting a Provincial tournament.

A Fanshawe Athletics press release from June 24 announced the Falcons will host the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) Invitational at the FireRock Golf Club on Sept. 14. The tournament will be the first game for Fanshawe’s men’s and women’s golf teams. The press release also announced the home games for nearly all of the Fanshawe Athletics teams during the 2019/2020 season.

Colin Robertson, the head coach for Fanshawe’s golf team, said that several colleges from across Ontario, including Humber College, Durham College, Mohawk College, and Niagara College, will come down to the OCAA Invitational to play golf for three rounds.

“It’s a really good opportunity for comrade and to build rapport and to get to know people,” he said. “But to also build strengths within each school team and to be able to really put together a product that is able to go onto Nationals from the OCAAs.”

The Falcons earned a record-breaking 28 OCAA and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) medals in the 2018/2019 season. Fanshawe’s men’s and women’s golf teams received several honours the past season.

The OCAA Championships website listed where Fanshawe’s golfers stood during the 2018/2019 finals. Braydon White and Alyssa Stoddart earned gold for the individual champions. The Fanshawe women’s golf team also earned gold.

The Fanshawe Falcons website also noted that White and Stoddart both won the CCAA All-Canadian Award and the OCAA All-Ontario Team award. Stoddart also earned the CCAA Championship All-Star Award. Mery Tarigan and Blake Mackey also received the OCAA All-Ontario Team honour. Brad Byers earned the CCAA Exemplary Leadership Award.

Robertson said that the success from the past season was “the best year in 43 years that the team, both men’s and women’s has ever had”, and that traveling to the Nationals was a first for Fanshawe golf in several years.

“The golfers certainly did their part and they’re still hungry. They want to do more,” he said. “They know what they’re capable of and I think they feel a lot more confident.”

Tarigan said she likes Robertson’s coaching.

“He gets me confident. He helps me with my swing,” she said. “It’s really nice.”

Robertson said he will make sure the team is physically and mentally prepared to take on any challenge. The team has a mental wellness coach, Charles Fitzsimmons, who helps the team stay grounded.

“When you’re a golfer, you have got to have a sharp memory, stay present, and be mindful,” Robertson said. “And that’s what we’re trying to work on and hopefully that translates to a better result.”

He also the College’s new GCHawk golf simulator will also be an asset for practices, especially for students who live nearby the school.

With OCAA Provincial Championships also on the way this fall, Robertson said that he wants the team to look at that tournament as “just another round of golf” and that “it’s nothing to be pressured about” going into it.

“If they treat it that way, the results will show through to be consistent and we’re certainly looking forward to giving it another go,” he said.

On the OCAA Championships website, the 2019 OCAA golf Championships are scheduled for Sept. 30 to Oct. 2 at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont.