Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The legendary improvement that Rachel Wiebe showed in her time with the MacEwan Griffins women's golf team should serve as the benchmark of what's possible for female players who may feel they don't have enough game to don the Maroon and White.
"Her goal was to break 100 (in a tournament) when she first started with us," said head coach Jodi Campbell of the Red Deer product who graduated last season after two years with the Griffins.
"It took her probably a year and we worked with her over the summer after that. In her second season last year, she was throwing rounds down in the 80's like it was nothing. She shot 39 on the back nine at RedTail Landing one time and I was like 'wow, what's happening here?' "
This anecdote is meant to encourage any female students to come forward and try out for the 2018-19 MacEwan women's golf team, no matter where their game is at. A few days ahead of tryouts (Aug. 25-26 at Red Tail Landing GC and Highlands GC), the squad is two players short.
"There's opportunity for growth," said Campbell. "Our program is strong enough that with some coaching – the person's got to be coachable – we can tap into their natural athletic ability and pull out quite a bit of improvement if they're willing to put the work in.
"Rachel was and did."
Wiebe and seniors Elizabeth Stewart and Daniela Donnelly have all moved on from the program, leaving last season's fab freshman Hailey Turcotte and new recruit Jordan Hoyda as the only two members of the squad. Campbell would like to round out the team with four.
"It's a good time and all four of them can have an impact on the team," he said. "Obviously, there's opportunities to develop. You don't have to be a scratch golfer to play. There's lots of opportunities to develop over their term on the team. We like to remind the ladies of that. If you've got the foundation, we can build on that.
"I'm hopeful we'll have a diamond in the rough who shows up at tryouts."
Hoyda, who plays out of Edmonton's Glendale GCC, spent last season playing NCAA golf and hockey at Post University in Waterbury, Connecticut. She will be a huge addition to MacEwan's golf program this year.
"I've been able to work with Jordan a bit over the summer as well and I anticipate she's going to be a really great fit for the women's team," said Campbell.
On the men's side, the numbers are stronger and competition for spots will be fierce. The squad's resolve might even be stronger after a disappointing finish to the 2017-18 season – a third-place team placing, despite coming in as the favourites.
"I guess when I think about the guys team, we feel like we have some unfinished business from last year," said Campbell. "We underperformed at the ACAC Championship last year.
"So, we definitely want to come into the season and build on some younger pieces of the team."
With that in mind Campbell landed a solid recruiting class, which is led by locals Connor Ackroyd (Windermere GCC) and Jarrett Bossert (Belvedere GCC).
"I would probably say this summer has been one of the stronger recruiting seasons we've had in a while," said Campbell. "After last year's experience, we definitely wanted to bring in some new building blocks.
"I have no problem saying this is also in preparation for next year, too. We're going to be losing some key guys next year who have been around for five years – Josh Gorieu is going into his fifth year and Christian Solkowski is going into his last year for us.
"We're also trying to plan ahead and be prepared when we lose some really key elements on our team."
Ackroyd, of St. Albert, had a solid run on the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour this summer – his latest finish coming on Friday when he tied for 13th (80-78-73) in the Junior Boys class at the International Players Championship at Jasper Park Lodge. He also played in the prestigious CN Future Links Pacific and Western Championships.
Bossert, meanwhile, is coming off three tournament titles in the span of a week, capturing McLennan Ross Sun Junior Tour stops at Edmonton Petroleum GC on Aug. 8, Trestle Creek in Entwistle on Aug. 9 and the Belvedere Junior Club Championship on Aug. 11-12. The Fort Saskatchewan product finished tied for 15th (81-75-76) at the same Jasper Park Lodge event that Ackroyd played in.
"Those are two guys we've been really keying in on," said Campbell. "These are some highly-ranked events they've been able to qualify for and do well at. They're doing really well getting some events under their belts before the season here."
MacEwan golf tryouts are set for Aug. 25 at Red Tail Landing GC (1 p.m. tee times) and Aug. 26 at Highlands GC (2 p.m. tee times). The field will be reduced to the top 16 players after the opening round.
For anyone interested in joining the tryouts, Campbell asks them to contact him (780-886-3393 or campbellj22@macewan.ca) as soon as possible with the tryout event quickly approaching.
