VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's golf team completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Association of Independent Institutions conference championship Tuesday in Chesterton, Ind.
 
With the triumph, UBC has earned the A.I.I.'s automatic berth to the 65th annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships May 24-27 at TPC Deer Run in Moline, Ill.
 
"The men are peaking at the right time, we were the best team in the NAIA this fall (August to December) and then played challenging courses at Arizona, Sacramento, Las Vegas and Seattle (Chambers Bay) this spring where our ranking dropped a few spots," said UBC head coach Chris MacDonald. "The players have remained optimistic and worked hard and now we are heading to nationals after shooting our best scores of the season (19 under par team score) at conference over three rounds."

The Thunderbirds dominated the two-day, 54-hole event as all five players finished under par and in the top five on the individual leaderboard.
 
In the team results, UBC entered the day with a 28-stroke advantage after the first two rounds on Monday. The T-Birds then posted a result of 4-under par 284 on Tuesday, and concluded the event at 19-under 845 (284-277-284), the fifth-best 54-hole team score in school history.
 
The Victoria Vikes were second at 14-over 878 while the SUNY Delhi Broncos came in third (926).
 
Senior Nate Ollis (Victoria, B.C.) and junior Evan Holmes (Calgary) tied for individual medallist honours with a three-round total of 6-under 210. Ollis opened with an even par 72 before finishing with consecutive 3-under 69's. Holmes went 70-69 on Day 1 before carding a 1-under 71 on Tuesday.
 
In his first-ever A.I.I. championship tournament, rookie Andrew Harrison (Camrose, Alta.) tied for third. He signed for a 1-over 73 in the final round to finish at 4-under 212.
 
Junior Jack Wood (Banff, Alta.) and sophomore Trent Abraham (Hamilton, Ont.) tied each other for fifth place at 2-under 214. They shot identical rounds of 72, 70 and 72 over the two days in Chesterton.
 
Runners up last season, UBC regains the A.I.I. banner it last won in 2014 in Bremerton, Wash.