GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's and women's golf teams are set to hit the links to tee off another season of OUA golf. The teams will tee it up for the first time in the 2024 OUA season, this Friday (September 13) as they host the "Fall Kickoff" at Guelph Lakes Golf & Country Club.
A total of 19 golfers (11 men and 8 women) will represent the Gryphons varsity golf program this season, with both teams setting their sights on a podium finish after both narrowly missing out on medals a season ago, with U of G finishing in 4th-place in the final team standings at the 2023 OUA Golf Championships. This season, a total of seven events make up the Gryhons 2024 competition schedule, with Guelph hosting two events this fall. After hosting the "Fall Kickoff" this Friday (Sept. 13) at Guelph Lakes, the Gryphons varsity golf program will also host the "Gryphon Invitational" at Cutten Fields on Monday, September 30. The OUA golf season will culminate at the Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, with the Lancers serving as the host of this year's OUA Golf Championships, set to take place from October 4-6, 2024.
"Although we have had a significant amount of turnover from a season ago, we are excited to see where this new group can go in 2024," says head coach
Brian Bard, entering his third season in charge of the University of Guelph varsity golf program. "We feel that our team, both on the men's and women's sides, have what it takes to push for a podium spot at the OUA Championships."
The 2023 Gryphon men's golf team will have five fresh faces complementing their five returning golfers from last season, led by Will Dodd.
Dodd, a mechanical engineering major from Aurora, returns to Guelph for his second season after an impressive rookie year in 2023 which saw him earn OUA First Team All-Star honours. Dodd finished last season with a Top-10 finish at the OUA Golf Championships and was part of the Gryphons men's team that competed at nationals.
Liam Fischer, also a part of the men's team at nationals, returns for his senior season and serves as team captain for the Gryphons.
Nathan Freure and
Wyatt Fryer-Wilson are two returning Gryphons expected to step up this season and earn a spot in the Gryphons top five selections for the 2024 OUA Championship tournament. Will Drewery is a talented incoming rookie, who plays his golf out of Westmount Country Club in Waterloo, and arrives at U of G as the 2024 Ontario Jr. Boys Matchplay champion. "We lost three of our five starters from last year's OUA Championships, but all five of the new additions to our men's side are 2-handicaps or less," adds head coach
Brian Bard. "So we feel confident that the incoming rookies can help make an immediate impact for us right away this fall."
The Gryphons women's golf team will look to build upon their Top-10 finish at the 2024 Canadian University/College Championship heading into the new 2024 OUA season. Standout second-year golfer,
Ela Jones, returns to the team for her sophomore season after an impressive rookie season in 2023 in which saw earned OUA First Team All-Star status with her 4th-place finish at the 2023 OUA Championships. Jones, a molecular biology and genetics major from Kincardine, Ontario, wasted no time announcing her arrival at the OUA level a season ago, winning her very first competion after finishing atop the leaderboard at the 2023 season-opening event (the 2023 Western Invitational at St. Thomas Golf & Country Club). Over the summer, Jones represented Team Canada at the 2024 FISU World University Championships overseas in Finland, and should once again lead the way for the Gryphons during the 2024 season.
The Gryphons women's golf team also welcomes back another proven talent for the 2024 season in
Jacqueline Giles, who returns for her fourth season with the team. Giles, who also majors in molecular biology and genetics, hails from Georgetown, Ontario and finished 9th overall at the 2023 OUA Golf Championships to earn OUA Second Team All-Star honours. Back in 2021 as a rookie, Giles made program history by
becoming the first Gryphons women's golfer to be crowned individual scoring champion at an OUA Golf Championship.
Kennedy Bergeron and
Ava Crane highlight the class of incoming rookies for the Gryphons in 2024, both of whom are poised to compete for a top-four spot for the Gryphons come the OUA Championships in Ocotber. Bergeron comes to Guelph after finishing first in the Durham Jr. Tour, while Crane joins the team with a strong tournament background and plays her golf out of Bayview Golf Club in Toronto. "We have two really proven returners in Ela and Jacqueline, plus some exciting new additions with strong tournament backgrounds," says head coach
Brian Bard. "So our women's team should once again be right there with the best teams from across Ontario when it comes to fighting for a spot on that podium at OUA's."
