With their Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship just over a month away, the SFU women’s golf team started the spring season off with a 10th-place finish at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout in Vallejo, CA from February 28 to March 3.

The team hopes to build off the momentum given by their top 10 finish. As head coach John Buchanan puts it, “the group we have this year is knocking on the door,” and it’s reflected in the attitude and performance of the team.

This year, Buchanan and the team are planning on taking another step forward for the program. “Our goal is to make it to regionals, and continue to place better each tournament,” golfer Breanna Croxen (New Westminster, BC) said. “Ultimately, we want to carry on that momentum into next year and hopefully aim for something bigger.”

The golf program has a young core that holds promise for the years to come. This year’s team consists of freshmen Croxen, Kylie Jack, and Michelle Waters, sophomores Erin Farner and Katie Milligan, juniors Mackenzie Field and Kirstin Jorgensen, and senior golfers Jennifer McTeer and Rochelle Rezansoff.

As Waters (Qualicum Beach, BC) noted, “If everyone can come together and work hard, I think we’re capable of pushing this team forward and making SFU a competing factor in the NCAA in the coming years.”

Last year’s 2013–2014 GNAC Championship finish marked the best collective stroke average ever for SFU’s women’s golf program. And if the Tim Tierny is a sign of things to come — shooting a collective 654 strokes, just under 50 strokes better than last year’s 702 stroke finish — this year’s group will play even better.

This might just be the year where the team solidifies its place as a GNAC contender for years to come.

“The team has a fantastic work ethic and positive attitude,” commented Farner (Calgary, AB). “It’s exciting to see our team’s progress in our attitudes, which I predict will carry through to an improvement in team scoring.”