PHOTO BY SEAN ROONEY Ciara Bonogofski of the Medicine Hat College Rattlers golf practices her putting at Desert Blume Golf Club Sept. 11, 2019.
It might be the end of one era and the beginning of another when the Medicine Hat College Rattlers golf team heads to Montreal next week.
On one hand, none of the three women’s players – Sierra Zukowski, Nicole Schultz and Ciara Bonogofski – figure to be back next year after three tremendous seasons together.
On the other, the men’s squad – with Derek Whitson, Chase Broderson, Brady Resch, Caleb Kinch and Mathieu Chapdelaine – could all return after securing the school’s first-ever conference title.
“It’s definitely a validation of all the hard work that we’ve put in,” said Zukowski, a graduating visual communications student. “It was all of our goals to get there, and I know after ACAC’s, we breathed a sigh of relief.
“Now preparing and going in to the nationals, especially competing for nationals the past few years, we definitely want to go there and compete, show our best games out there.”
It makes for an exciting trip to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association finals in Quebec, a 72-hole event beginning Tuesday.
The Rattlers hosted nationals last year where the women finished second to Red Deer and the men… well they played the role of good hosts. Prior to that Medicine Hat had only sent both men’s and women’s teams to nationals once – in 2015 to B.C. They’ve sent one team or the other now six years in a row, plus the odd individual as they can qualify separate from the teams.
“I’m really happy, obviously, but it’s been cool to just be us three,” said Zukowski, who went to Ontario in 2017 and returned there with Schultz and Bonogofski for a combined college and university championship tournament this past spring. “It’s weird the other part of our team hasn’t been there. This is going to be a really cool experience, we’re used to travelling together these past few weekends and we’re all really close, so I think we’re all really excited that both teams made it.”
For all of the familiarity on the women’s side, the rest of the team saw upheaval in the off-season. Trevor Moore departed as coach after a decade, with Dillon Batsel taking the new role and running with it. When Red Deer College chose to axe its golf team this spring, Broderson was among the athletic refugees, landing in the Gas City knowing Whitson – who he played against at nationals in 2018 – and rookies Kinch and Chapdelaine from junior events over the years.
It’s all worked out well as Broderson finished second individually for the second year in a row at Alberta College Athletic Conference finals, and the men brought their A-game at the right time last week after finishing back in the pack at two prior tournaments.
“It was obviously bad weather, everyone kind of grinds it out,” said Broderson, a second-year business student. “On the big stage everyone performed well.
“It’s been awesome. Everyone’s super inviting here, it’s been a great group.”
They now head to Quebec, where the home team of Andre-Laurendeau won the national men’s title last year (now-defunct Red Deer won the women’s). The Continental Golf Club – actually half-way between Montreal and Trois-Rivieres – is a par-72 layout which Broderson has only seen in photos which display a lot of trees lining the fairways.
The real question will be weather. When the Rattlers last went to Quebec in 2014, it was so bad that lift-and-clean rules got applied to the entire course, not just greens.
Broderson isn’t concerned.
“I think we can be good in any weather,” he said.
And there is more than golf to be played. Zukowski had never played golf in Ontario prior to her Rattlers experience, and now gets to see another province up close. Only Whitson has even ever been to la belle province.
“I think first and foremost we are there to golf and compete,” said Zukowski. “The school’s sending us there and that’s our first goal. But by no means does that mean we’re not going to enjoy every moment and have a good time outside of golf as well.
“We’re going to catch a Montreal Canadiens game, do some exploring of Old Montreal. If you’re there, you can’t not do some of those things.
“I’m sure we’re going to soak all of that in.”
And maybe make a run up the leaderboards while they’re at it.
