Trojans happy to learn from first trip to Nationals

MONTREAL, QUE., (Oct. 18, 2019) - SAIT Trojans golf coach Stephen Yanitski is hungry to start next season.

The Trojans women's golf team of Carey McLean, Tashel Scantlebury and Karmen Mooney, along with men's golfer Dakota Smith all made the trip out to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships at Continental Golf Club in Sorel-Tracy, Que. While the results may not been exactly what they would have wanted, Yanitski couldn't be any more proud.

"Seeing the best the country this week really paints the picture of where our program needs to be," he said. "We'll be in only our third year next year, but we're close to competing with the best teams in Canada. We'll keep building, and we should be a permanent fixture at Nationals for years to come."

The tournament was supposed to be four rounds, but Thursday's Round 3 was cancelled due to rain, shortening the event to three rounds.

The women's team struggled out of the gates early, but fought hard all week long. Eighth in the nation is not bad at all for a program still in its infancy.

"It was a goal of ours at the start of the year to be present at this tournament, and we did just that," Yanitski said. "After achieving that, we set our sights a little bit higher on the leaderboard, but all in all, we're happy with what we accomplished and what we will take away for next year."

McLean (1st year, Deer Valley, Sask, Travel and Tourism) led the Trojans by finishing 19th overall with rounds of 94, 87 and 88. Scantlebury (5th year, Foxwarren, Man., Community Economic Development) went 97, 90 and 86 to place 20th. Mooney (5th year, Squamish, BC, Construction Project Management) carded rounds of 95, 96 and 89 to place 21st.

The 86 and 89 posted by Scantlebury and Mooney tied their career low rounds, which is significant since Continental Golf Club did not play to their strength as two of the longest hitters in the field.

"I am really happy with how they navigated the golf course today," Yanitski said. "They adjusted, and showed a different side to their game."

On the men's side, Smith (2nd year, Edmonton, Bachelor of Business Administration) also struggled off the start, but finished the three-round event with his best score (80) to end in a tie for 50th place.

"He had a challenging week; there were a few bounces that didn't go his way," Yanitski said about Smith, who went 86-81-80. "We're just happy to be able to bring him out here, as he will take back with him the knowledge gained and pass it on to our other men. Next year when we come out, we will be that much more prepared and he'll have played a big role in that."