Pickering, ON - The Liz Hoffman trophy returns to Western for the first time since 2008 as the Mustangs Women's Golf Team clinched the OUA Championship earlier this month. 
 
The Championship Tournament held on October 15th at Cherry Downs Golf Club consisted of 18 holes of stroke play. Western won the team title by 11 strokes, claiming three of the top seven individual scores. Dawning the purple and white at OUAs for the first time, Lexie McKay produced a standout performance, clinching an individual silver medal with a +4 score and earning a spot as Mustangs Athlete of the Week. 
 
"It has meant so much to me after transferring to Western this year and also missing out on competition for a while due to the pandemic," said McKay. "After years of hard work and ups and downs, having the opportunity to compete for my school and win was a dream. I have definitely found my place here at Western." 
 
"Lexie's performance was clutch," added coach Charles Fitzsimmons. "Whenever she got into trouble, she stayed calm and was able to hit a great shot including down the stretch on the 17th hole. She had a lot of pressure on her as the team's number one player and she rose to challenge." 
 
Strong performances from the rest of the team eventually secured the victory for the Mustangs by a wide margin. Veteran Rylie Grogan doesn't consider herself as such, bearing in mind that a COVID cancelled season last year has limited her time competing at the university level. 
 
"My last time competing would have been in second year which didn't give me much advantage over the other girls," said Grogan. 
 
Despite this and the addition of some fresh faces on the course, Western managed to build team chemistry and add another banner to the collection. 
 
"The three girls I was competing alongside hadn't played in OUA's before and it was their first year in tournament play at Western," said Grogan. "However, we have formed a really strong bond together since the beginning of the season and now it's even stronger. Although golf is seen as an individual sport, we embraced it like a team and supported each other." 
 
With so much at stake and a tee timed start, the Mustangs were left to wait in anticipation. Western put up some good scores and felt confident about their chances of clinching the gold but had to nervously wait for four hours before it became official. 
 
"During the round we aren't able to look at our phones but once each of us finished our rounds, we would check it quite often," said Grogan. "For the following hours of waiting in anticipation for all the girls to finish, we would occasionally look at the leaderboard and check to see where we stood." 
 
"Each player gave it their best that day," added McKay. "Winning with this team meant everything. There's hardly a better feeling in sport than winning with a team." 
 
Both McKay and Fitzsimmons commented on the instant chemistry of the group that had been felt since try-outs, and how it was that along with the team bond and support that aided them in their quest for glory. The team's passion for golf and belief in each other turned their consistently strong season play into a championship reality.
 
With this win Mustangs coach Charles Fitzsimmons not only added a gold medal to his collection, but also took home a major award after being named OUA Coach of the Year. His ability to rally the team in a shortened season and create an enthusiastic yet focused environment remains worthy of recognition, and his impact is felt widely across the team. 
 
"I give a lot of credit to coach Charles for building such a positive team environment where we can all thrive," said McKay. 
 
Fitzsimmons had previously won the OUA Championship as a Western player back in 2017, making him one of the few to win as both a player and coach. 
 
"Both have unique stresses and joys," said Fitzsimmons. "The one thing that is common is the pride and bond you feel when a group comes together to win a championship. It's truly special and something I will always cherish." 
 
Having it been over a decade since the Mustangs last secured a Championship victory, the Mustangs hope to build off of this season's success to produce more consistent results. 
 
"We hope this is the start of a new era with more championships in our near future," said Fitzsimmons. "Co-coach Alan McLean and I are working hard to create a program here that will attract great players and make us perennial championship contenders." 
 
Western will look to replicate their dominant play when they compete in Nationals at the end of May. 
 
For more information on the Championship, visit the link below 
https://westernmustangs.ca/news/2021/10/16/womens-golf-mustangs-win-2021-oua-championship.aspx