Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
Tanner Fermaniuk holds two records in MacEwan Griffins' golf history – lowest two-round total at an ACAC regional tournament (136) and lowest round in a CCAA championship (65).
A lesser-known fact about him: he was a walk-on.
Not recruited, Fermaniuk attended a tryout with Griffins golf coach Jodi Campbell in 2010 and proceeded to become one of the best players in program history.
That's the message Campbell would like to convey to MacEwan students as he looks for a few more players to attend Griffins team tryouts this weekend (Saturday and Sunday at Red Tail Landing Golf Club, tee times starting at 1 p.m. both days). Contact Campbell at campbellj22@macewan.ca if you wish to join the tryouts.
"Sometimes you get a diamond out of the rough," said Campbell. "Maybe it's someone outside of my recruiting circle. Someone comes to tryouts and they have a really great attitude, a really solid golf game and they earn a spot on the team.
"Tanner Fermaniuk was that person. He played a lot of good years for us."
Two-time Griffins MVP and 2015 ACAC top women's player Elizabeth Stewart was also in the same boat.
"She wasn't sure if she was going to come out and play, wasn't sure if her game was going to be good enough," related Campbell. "She's going to be entering into her fifth season with us right now and is a perfect example of someone who was maybe a little hesitant with us in the beginning … but has come out and had some really great seasons with us. She's developed into a fantastic player."
Stewart is one of three returning women's players – joining Daniela Donnelly and Rachel Wiebe – from last season's ACAC silver medal-winning squad.
The men's defending ACAC championship team has had more turnover, losing graduating seniors, All-Canadians Barrett Belland and Brett Hawken. Mitch Lukasewich also isn't returning, leaving just three players – Josh Gorieu, Noah Lubberding and Christian Solkowski – who counted in MacEwan's team scores last season coming back.
Development players in 2016, Brandon Walterhouse and Keaton Lockwood, could move forward into regular team roles, but Campbell points out the success of a program depends on always having depth of talent waiting in the wings.
"The biggest fear when a team sees a lot of success, it might have some players … some student-athletes at MacEwan might be shying away because they think they're not up to the calibre of some of our players," said Campbell. "However, we've got a great program that develops players, and provides the opportunity to have people in the pool, developing with us.
"Player development is a big part of why we've seen that success."
All full-time MacEwan students are eligible for the tryouts. To register, fill out this form and contact Campbell to be added to the tee times list.
