The final day of the CCAA Golf National Championship is now in the books. The players endured all that the East Coast weather could throw at them. In a day that saw sunshine to start the players wanted to go low early before the North Atlantic storm blew in. They made the turn just as the rain and gale force winds came up making the next five holes extremely difficult. Fortunately the rain stopped and they finished the round in much better conditions.

"It's tough on you mentally out there but they guys handled it well. It really grinds on you when the wind is blowing so hard you can't even use an umbrella." Commented Coach Penny.

Chase Martin lead the way with a buttery 74 in the tough conditions. He was followed closely by Michael Harrison's 76 which included a chip in at the last. In his first nationals Colton Leslie continued to impress with final round 81. Braden Clarkson, also in his first nationals, carded an 84 and Darion Geddes fired a 87.

It was a solid outing for the team as they improved on last years 14th place finish to finish 12th, just missing out on a top 10 finish.

Coach Penny was all smiles after the round. "I'm very pleased," he said. "This is a very young program, only in its fourth year, and we have improved every year and represented Augustana at the last three Nationals. It started out with, now Assistant Coach Braxton Fox, qualifying as an individual in year two and setting the foundation for back to back team qualifications. With improved placing each time.

"There were a lot of moral victories and personal best scores at the season ending Championship. We have a strong core returning a lot to build on." said Penny.

As the championship comes to a close the Vikings would like to thank Holland College, the staff at Fox Meadow Golf Course, tournament volunteers and the entire organizing committee for their hospitality and a first class tournament. It was truly a great week and a wonderful experience. The team looks forward to once again representing Augustana next year in Ontario.

Our thanks to Vikings Fan and Volunteer, Jeff Fox, for his outstanding on the spot reporting from Prince Edward Island this week.