Depending on what happens between now and the Fall, a Prince George woman could soon be teeing it up against some of the best golfers in the pacific northwest.
Natasha Kozlowski has officially transferred to Simon Fraser University (SFU) for the 2020-21 season after carding her rookie campaign with the University of the Fraser Valley.
The 18-year-old’s first year of college golf with the Cascades came with its accolades, including a team bronze-medal at the 2019-20 Canada West Women’s Golf Championships.
She’ll now move up into the NCAA Division Two rankings with SFU, which is the only post-secondary school in Canada to have that status of competing against American programs.
In fact, it was on this day (July 10) 11 years ago that SFU’s bid to join the NCAA was accepted and placed into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) across all varsity sports, including golf.
For Kozlowski, this means she could be hitting fairways in places like Oregon, California and Idaho later this year.
“I had an opportunity to play in the United States but I wanted to stay in Canada,” she said in a team release about switching to the red and white.
“When SFU recruited me, I made the decision to stay and study criminology."
Kozlowski has proven success on a national level prior to stepping onto the university greens, including multiple Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) last summer that led to the highest-ranking among junior girls in Canada.
Prince George's Natasha Kozlowski has some hot irons in her bag right now 🏌️♀️ With two @maplejt wins in back-to-back starts, she has climbed to the top of the circuit's national rankings 🇨🇦⛳️ | https://t.co/DwdNQE2tQI #CityOfPG @bc_golfer @PGMatters pic.twitter.com/F9GjigL4N2
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) May 23, 2019
SFU Women’s Golf Head Coach Matthew Steinbach believes the 2019 College Heights Secondary graduate has huge potential to make an impact on his squad despite heading into a season of unknowns.
“Natasha will be an important player for our team culture – on and off the golf course – as a student-athlete who has already lived away from home and played University golf for one year,” Steinbach replied.
“Natasha adds a level of depth to our program as someone who is hungry for an opportunity to develop and compete.”
As of this publication, nothing has been determined or scheduled for the 2020-21 season of SFU’s NCAA Division Two golf circuit as COVID-19 continues to spread in Canada and the United States.
Last year, the women’s golf team ranked 18th among 188 Division Two schools in North America with five of its players named to the All-GNAC First Team and Steinbach earning Coach of the Year honours.
Kozlowski finished with three top-10s and five top-15s in six individual events with UFV, including a tie-for-third at the Chilliwack Ladies’ Amateur in her college debut.
In addition to the bronze-medal win at Canada West, the Cascades also qualified for the national championships, but was cancelled as a result of COVID-19.
Before moving to Abbotsford, Kozlowski won her second consecutive Ladies Simon Fraser Open on her home course of Prince George Golf and Curling Club and was named Senior Female Athlete of the Year at College Heights Secondary.
