By: Charlene Aviles, Staff Writer
Shirin Anjarwalla
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Kinesiology
Favourite golf player: Rory McIlroy
Shirin Anjarwalla is a sophomore on the SFU women’s golf team. At 14 years old, she won the 2014 BC Juvenile Championship. In an interview with The Peak, she described her goals for the year and her experience at SFU’s latest tournament in Hawaii from October 25–27.
Anjarwalla’s love for golf first blossomed after watching her older brothers play, and she quickly joined them at age seven. SFU’s friendly golf coaches and teammates — who she had previously played with — played a key role in her signing with the team.
The life of an athlete requires patience and discipline, especially when things aren’t swinging in your favour.
“Having the rough days keeps me motivated, days where I’m not performing well or if I’m not playing my best, because I know my potential and I know where I can go with golf,” said Anjarwalla.
Anjarwalla’s goal this season was to “finish top 10 in every tournament.” She did so at the first tournament of the season with her second place finish.
In October, Anjarwalla competed in the Hawaii Hilo Dennis Rose Intercollegiate meet. She laughed as she described her team’s mix up with their schedule.
“On the last day of the tournament we ended up teeing off two or three hours earlier than we originally thought, but we didn’t know this. So we got a call from our coach saying that we had to get to the golf course right away [ . . . ] We barely had our hair done. None of us warmed up.” Despite the rushed start to the game, she believes they “played better because we weren’t overthinking.”
Anjarwalla has also learned to change her game style to improve technique and land more shots, opting to use her right hand as a left-handed player.
“There’s more than one way to play golf. It’s not a perfect game. I sometimes get caught up in needing to hit the ball perfectly or needing to finish the hole in the way it was meant to be finished,” said Anjarwalla.
Ryan Stolys
Pronouns: He/him
Major: Computer engineering
Favourite golf player: Jordan Spieth
Ryan Stolys is a junior on the SFU men’s golf team. In an interview with The Peak, he reflected on how he’s tackling new landscapes and striving to be a better athlete.
His golf journey began when he was “cut from [his] soccer team,” prompting him to begin playing golf at a summer camp, which eventually led him to signing with SFU in 2016.
At 18 years old, Stolys won the 2016 CJGA Nike Junior Golf Championships in Hamilton, Ontario. SFU’s great combination of athletic and academic opportunities motivated him to move from Richmond Hill, Ontario to sign with the men’s golf team.
Stolys also competed in Hawaii with the men’s team. His highlight of the three day competition was experimenting with a new landscape. He explained the Hawaiian golf course had black lava, which was completely new to him.
“The lava is unplayable, meaning wayward shots would be penalized more than the same shots would be at courses locally,” explained Stolys.
Reflecting on previous advice he received, he explained he keeps in mind “there’s always someone better.” Only five out of nine players on the men’s team are sent to tournaments.
“Having that drive to improve yourself is particularly important, because when you’re competing [in individual sports] there’s no one out there to lean on. Every single thing that happens out there is your responsibility,” said Stolys.
Stolys hopes to make the most of this season by helping the men’s team win regionals and nationals.
