During another great weekend of golf for McMaster, Nicolas Dessureault secured second place on the podium
The McMaster University golf team began their fall season on a high note, winning a silver medal at the McMaster Invitational.
After a successful previous season, Nicolas Dessureault returned for his fifth and final season of golf with McMaster. Last year, Dessureault was able to clinch the Ontario University Athletics title for McMaster for the first time in 18 years.
This season, Dessureault looks to continue bringing in good results for the team. Dessureault has already delivered on this, continuing his streak after a phenomenal performance in the McMaster Invitational at the Chippewa Creek Golf and Country Club.
He captured his first individual gold medal of the 2023 season after a great round, finishing four below par overall on the course and five points below the competition's silver medalist.
While reflecting on the season ahead, Dessureault emphasized the importance of the team component of the game. University golf has four golfers per team, where they compete as both individual athletes and as a team with an average score across golfers to place for medals.
“I think the group of guys this year has been really good. We want to play well for each other, it's one last year together . . . I think I’ve had good groups in my tournaments which has helped me stay where I need to be to perform. To get a bad group can really ruin your round, so I think I’ve been lucky,” said Dessureault.
I think the group of guys this year has been really good. We want to play well for each other, it's one last year together . . . I think I’ve had good groups in my tournaments which has helped me stay where I need to be to perform. To get a bad group can really ruin your round, so I think I’ve been lucky.
Nicolas Dessureault, golf player
With great golfers, including Matthew Martel, Micheal Guyatt and Jack Dool, also on the team, Dessureault wants to perform for both himself and his team this year. He also hopes to inspire younger golfers on the roster to try their hardest and learn the significance of working as a team within the sport of golf.
He also hopes to inspire younger golfers on the roster to try their hardest and learn the significance of working as a team within the sport of golf.
“I think team golf is different from individual . . . When you have a team, every shot really matters a lot more . . . That's what I tell the freshman is even if you have a bad round, the current shot could really matter,” said Dessureault.
Although not many know about the varsity sport, the relationship between McMaster sports and the varsity golf team are on bad terms.
It's been two months since most varsity sports have begun, with the largest emphasis thus far on the football and the soccer teams and their success this season. However, there are many other sports that are a part of the McMaster community which do not get as much attention as others. One of these sports is golf.
Currently, if you were to search up the roster for the men’s and women’s golf teams on the Marauders website, you would end up with an “Error 404” message. This essentially means that the editors of the website and the sports committee have not been updating the community on every team within the university. That is not the only outdated team page on the website. If one was to search up the rowing or the fastpitch teams, they would be greeted with the 2019 rosters, even though the current 2021 seasons are well underway.
Recently, the men’s golf team took part in the Ontario University Athletics regional qualifiers in Pickering where they finished in fourth place, meaning that they qualified to the national tournament in the spring.
Although the men's golf team reached remarkable success, they have not received much attention throughout the season. With only one article written about them on the Marauders website this season, their last spotlight on McMasters Sports page was in 2017.
Kavith Ranchagoda, a second-year computer engineering and management student, spoke about the mistreatment and the lack of effort McMaster puts into his varsity team.
“We did really well at the start of the season. We [tied for third] in the provincials and now we’re going to compete in the nationals . . . They barely cover us in the media and when they do, it's like a line or two,” said Kavith.
Kavith is considered as one of the best players that McMaster has to offer in golf. Competing at numerous regional and national tournaments in Canada, he excelled at every single one and was considering moving to the United States for further golf success when COVID-19 hit.
“Last year just before COVID-19 hit, I was meant to move to the U.S. for golf scholarships, but then the pandemic started. I chose McMaster instead not only because of my program, but because I [expected] good support from the athletics department as a golfer,” explained Ranchagoda.
During the Pickering regionals, Ranchagoda managed to tie ninth place in the whole competition, proving that he is an incredible asset to the varsity team. He believes that he will do even better at the national tournament in the spring.
“The provincial qualifier was a really good showing from me and I am proud of it. However, I do think that I will do even better in a couple of months when we start playing again,” said Ranchagoda.
However, Ranchagoda also explained the disadvantages associated with being a part of the golf team. He expressed his concern with the financing, the maltreatment and the obsolete feeling that the golf team has.
“Although we are really happy with our performances, it’s not perfect. Our coach is the one that buys extra gear and he facilitates us for every tournament that we play. McMaster does not provide us with extra gear,” said Ranchagoda.
Perhaps the worst part of the whole treatment of the golf team is the “yearly fee” that the varsity players have to pay to take part.
“We have to pay $1,000 to the university to take part in the varsity team. It is disappointing because many other teams don't have to, but we must. It’s also strange because we have to pay to represent a university. Also, the university does not provide the option for transport through their negotiated contract but it is cost prohibitive for us to utilize it since it does not fit our requirements for smaller group transport needs,”
Kavith ranchagoda
Ranchagoda’s statements certainly reveal a lot about how the McMaster varsity department is treating its sports teams with inequality. Without a doubt, this is a call for change within varsity teams in the university.
The McMaster University golf team was in Ottawa last weekend for the Ontario University Athletics Golf Championships at Loch March Golf & Country Club.
The two-day event is the only tournament that is officially recognized by the OUA, but universities hosted invitationals thought the year determine if teams meet the qualifying standards in order to be eligible to play in the OUA championships.
“Typically over a four-week snapshot the players are playing 14 tournament rounds,” explained McMaster head coach John Najev. “It’s fairly condensed, and it varies from us traveling to Ottawa with Carleton, down through Kingston with Queen’s, University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa and the London area for Western.”
Their last tournaments before the championships included Mac’s very own invitational on Sept. 28 and the University of Toronto’s Invitational on Oct. 6.
The 2017 season is Najev’s first as head coach. Last year, he was brought in to co-coach the team fairly late, so the team missed several events and was unable to truly get things organized. His main goal for this year was to bring the team up to standard.
“This year we finally have it structured to where I think a true team needs to be,” said Najev. “We have the proper apparel and we are playing a full schedule, which all helps our representation out there.”
Throughout the season, events hosted by different universities allow individual players to come, but not necessarily every player on the team. So when coach Najev has the opportunity to send everybody to an event he does.
“We have a great young squad and the team has bonded really well,” Najev said. “So although nine players are only eligible to play in the OUA championships, we’re taking the entire team because I look at it as being an entire team event.”
Though the competition in the OUA is tough, Najev believes the team will use this year as well as the next few years to grow to hopefully become a top calibre team.
“We’re not quite there yet, but I can see us being there in the next year or two,” said Najev. “We’ve had a third-place finish so far this year on the men’s side as well as the women’s side. And the women have had a couple fourth-place finishes, so we have been very competitive this season.”
It was not too long ago that McMaster’s women’s team was a one-woman team when Katie Schmidt was the women’s team first member. During her time at Mac, she was able make an immediate impact on the province, winning the OUA women’s individual golf title in 2002 as well as in 2003. Fast forward 14 years later and the Marauders women’s team currently has five women on it.
“Last year we only had two ladies and they had to compete as individuals,” said Najev. “The way the ladies’ competition works is that you send four players and the best three count. So now they are able to compete as a team.”
As for the men’s team, there are five returnees and six new players this year. Some notable returnees are Ethan Hurst, a third-year player and team captain, John McPherson, who is also in his third year, and Andrew Pearson who individually finished in sixth place in last year’s OUA Championship.
“It’s been a transition and learning experiences for a lot of the guys,” said Najev. “We’ve gone through some coaching and some fundamentals changes within their mechanics of their golf game, as well as their golf swings, to try to build and progress as we move forward for spring and the following years.”
This year, the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Western Mustangs dominated the OUA championships. Toronto’s Laura Upenieks won the women’s individual title while Charles Fitzsimmons of Western took home the men’s individual title. As for the team events, Western’s men brought home the team title, while U of T’s women won the women’s title.
Although the Marauders were not able to take home any trophies this year, they hope to take the team down south to get in some more playing time in the offseason.
“We’re looking to do some things in the springtime, like possibly going away somewhere in the sunny south during reading week,” said Najev.
Hopefully, with the lessons learned from this year’s championships, and experience from the invitationals in the U.S, they will be more than equipped to take on the OUA championships next year.
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On Sept. 29, McMaster Athletics inducted four McMaster University alumni athletes into the McMaster Athletics Hall of Fame:
The 34th annual induction ceremony and dinner was an intimate gathering held in the Therese Quigley Sport Hall in the David Braley Athletic Centre, with the inductees closest friends, families and supporters in attendance.
The night was filled with memories and laughter as the inductees reflected on their time as student-athletes.
The first inductee, Kwame Aidoo was a cornerback for five years on the Marauders football team. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother Kojo Aidoo, a fellow Marauder football Hall of Fame recipient. Aidoo was a four-time Ontario University Athletics All-Star, Canadian Interuniversity Sports All-Canadian in 2002, the 2004 co-recipient of the Coaches' Award for perseverance and leadership and a member of McMaster's Team of the Decade for 2000-2009.
Throughout his successful career at Mac, one thing Aidoo understood that it would not last forever, so it was important to look towards the future. Now looking back, 20 years removed from the last time he stepped foot on campus as a student, Aidoo attributes his best memories of being a student-athlete to McMaster's family-based atmosphere.
"As much as it's a big university, it is very intimate, so network in the community and get to know your classmates," said Aidoo.
The second inductee of the night, Katie Schmidt, was the pioneer member of the McMaster Women's Golf team. Schmidt captured the OUA women's individual golf title in 2002 and again in 2003. She was also a three-time Marauder Scholar, being recognized for her outstanding academic performance, and won the Edna Guest Award in 2005.
When asked what advice she would give current McMaster student-athletes, Schmidt said, "Play a sport you love and continue to play but work hard at school because that's what means the most.”
Aaron Carpenter was the third inductee, being recognized for four outstanding seasons on the Marauders rugby team. Carpenter was the OUA Rookie of the Year in 2002, and during his time here, he helped his team to three OUA Championships (2002, 2003, 2005) and one silver medal (2004). A three-time OUA All-Star and the OUA Most Valuable Player in 2003, it was no surprise that he took his talents to the professional level in England and to the international stage, playing for the Canadian national team.
"I had an amazing experience," said Carpenter. "It was difficult obviously because you're putting in a lot of time into rugby and trying to prove yourself there as well as trying to stay on top of your classes, so you need to lean on friends and family for support."
Carpenter now resides in England and was not able to make it to the induction, but two of his biggest supporters, his parents, received the award in his honour.
Lastly, Chiara Rocca was inducted for her contribution to McMaster women's basketball. In her first year, Rocca was named OUA Rookie of the Year and a member of the 2004 CIS All-Rookie team. Rocca’s career accomplishments include being a four-time all-star, OUA and CIS Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 2006, two OUA Championships in 2006 and 2008, a CIS bronze medal in 2008 and is currently the all-time leader in OUA career rebounds with 760.
"It was the best five years," reflected Rocca. "The friends I made there are still my friends now. The games that we won I'll cherish but the friends that I made and experiences that I had at Mac is what I'll cherish the most."
The night was an overall success as the inductees were welcomed with open arms to join Marauders legends in the Hall of Fame. Congratulations again to all the inductees.
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Brian Decker
Executive Editor
Bright spots have been hard to come by in 2011 for the McMaster men’s golf team.
With exactly zero team medals and only a few individual top-10s to show for in 2011, a season that began with hope was quickly becoming a struggle.
For fourth-year senior Mark Young, one day at his team’s home tournament changed that all.
Young shot a two-under par 68 to win the McMaster Invitational on Oct. 13, his first victory and the first win by a McMaster player in two years. His performance led the squad to a team-best 294 on the day and a silver medal, just one shot behind the winners from Guelph.
“It was nice to end up with some hardware for a change. We’ve been working hard all year to get results and they finally showed up,” said Young, who won by two shots over Guelph’s Eric Pattenaude and Chris Hemmerich and Toronto’s Richard Persaud.
Young hit all 18 greens in regulation on the day and could have walked even further away from the field if not for a sloppy four-putt on the par-3 7th hole.
“I was able to manage my nerves well and make some putts. I’ve never been in a position like that for Mac before. It felt great to play like I did down the stretch,” said Young, who birdied his second-last hole of the day
“[The four-putt] was hard to get over, but I composed myself well enough to finish one-under on my last seven holes. I’m hitting it as well as I ever have.”
It was far and away the highlight of what’s been a trying season for the Marauders. With just one team medal on the year, coach Alf Callowhill said the team would have hoped for some better results.
“We haven’t putted well in most of our tournaments. If we’d made a few more putts here and there we could have done some damage,” said the fourth-year coach.
The opportunity to do that damage presented itself this week at the OUA Championships at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston.
Unfortunately for Mac, the putts didn’t seem to want to fall, and the Marauders finished in seventh place, 22 shots behind the victorious Waterloo Warriors.
Brutal winds of 45 km/h and up as well as biting cold – expected conditions for Ontario golf in October – made conditions tough for the whole field.
“The conditions were the real story. The wind made pretty much any score in the 70s respectable,” said Young. “If you weren’t careful, you could run off a few bogeys or worse really quickly.”
Patrick Thornley and Greg Gabel led Mac with identical 75s on the first day, while rookies Jonathan Lam and Darryl McClure posted an 80 and an 81, respectively, giving Mac a total of 311. Young wasn’t able to carry over the momentum from the previous week, posting an uncharacteristic 84.
While the second day saw more benign conditions and lower scores, Mac wasn’t able to make up enough ground on the leaders. Gabel’s 74 – good enough to net a top-10 and a tournament All-Star spot – led Mac to second day of 305 and a total of 616.
“We were in a bit too much of a hole after the first day. Credit the guys for improving by six shots from day one. It just wasn’t enough this week,” said Callowhill.
Waterloo ran away with the team title, shooting a tournament-best 289 in the second round to win the Ruttan Cup. Fifth-year senior Garrett Rank shot a second-round 68 to win the Len Shore Trophy as OUA Champion for the second straight year.
“[Waterloo] really capitalized on the better conditions. We didn’t keep up with them the way we needed to,” said Young, who earned a spot on the season-long All-Star team.
On the women’s side, the Marauders struggled to an eighth-place finish at the Loyalist Country Club. Michaela DiMarcantonio led the Maroon and Grey with a two-day total of 169 to finish tied for ninth in the 32-player field.
Windsor’s Meaghan Pototschnik won the individual title at 159 while Waterloo ran away with the team title, finishing 18 shots ahead of second-place Western.
