Concordia golf swings into action

A program revived looks towards a sustainable future

SportsFeatureSamuel Kayll — Published September 8, 2026 6 minutes

For one, the sport's individual nature means athletes often train and prepare for tournaments at their own golf courses. While the team organizes group practices, much of the preparation occurs through individual work. 

The university golf season also poses distinct changes. While other varsity athletes prepare for a year-round season with practices and games across months and semesters, the entire golf season consists of three tournaments across five weeks in August and September, leaving little room for error in competition. 

And for several years, the program did not exist at all. 

From 2021 to 2023, no Concordia golf teams participated in Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) competitions. The women’s team’s absence stretches back even further to 2019, while no tournaments were held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For some teams, this would spell doom.

But thanks to the hard work of student-athletes, Concordia golf resumed competition in 2024 on both the men’s and women’s sides. Since then, the program has gradually moulded itself into a contender in the RSEQ—and an edition that hopes to stick around. 

Sacha Riverin-Cholewicki played CEGEP golf at John Abbott College, so when he arrived on campus at Concordia, he asked the athletic department if it was possible to start a golf team. The answer: no money.

Riverin-Cholewicki did not take no for an answer, though. He reached out to Paul Chesser, Concordia’s vice-president of Advancement, a member of the same golf course where he trained. With Chesser’s support, the program slowly raised itself off the mat. 

“We raised all the funds ourselves with [Chesser’s] help,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “The school has now started giving us money from their golf tournament, so it's raised by us and the school now.”

Fellow John Abbott alumna Sophia Luponio joined the restoration efforts on the women’s side, working alongside Riverin-Cholewicki to drum up support. The former three-sport athlete and current women’s team captain emphasized the pair’s belief in a new beginning for the team.

“At the beginning, it was basically us and Paul mainstreaming this entire thing,” Luponio said. “But we definitely knew it was possible. Other schools have great golf programs. And we just got it rolling like that, and now we have a great program.”

As a revived program, Luponio highlighted outreach and recruiting as a point of emphasis as the team reentered competition. 

“The first year, we only had three girls competing. The last two years, we've had a full roster of five girls,” Luponio said. “So I'd say from a female perspective, it's just people actually knowing that we have a golf team. And we've done a lot of work through social media to try to get our name out in that sense.”

With a season compressed into a month-long sprint, the team uses the summer to train and organize for the intensity of the August and September rush. As individual players use their own courses to practice, they work themselves into competition shape. 

“We do have the privilege of being able to hop on a golf course at any time that we need to or we want to. So I'd say most of that is done through that process,” Luponio said. “We also over the winter had a membership at a simulator called Nakhjavani Golf. And a lot of prep was done through that.”

But even two of the most motivated student-athletes at Concordia cannot do it alone. Luckily, they found an extremely familiar coach: Joel Fitleberg, who previously served as the golf coach at—where else?—John Abbot College.

Fitleberg heard about Concordia’s situation from a regular at his golf course. When he recognized the names of several Stingers golfers as former competitors at John Abbott, he was intrigued. 

“I actually just decided to go watch them play, and at the time they didn't really have a full-time coach. They had a parent helping who wanted to help and be a manager, but he was not a coach,” Fitleberg said. “So when I went up there, he was encouraging me very much to jump on board.”

As a coach, Fitleberg enjoys the opportunity to work with his former CEGEP athletes, not just as competitors but also as people.  

“[The coaching role is] a volunteer position. My expenses are covered, but I'm not paid for this position,” Fitleberg said. “It's not something that I would have done, except for the fact that I really like these students. It's very rewarding.”

Those former players include Luponio and Riverin-Cholewicki, who both played under Fitleberg at John Abbott. He acknowledged their responsibility as team captains and leaders, praising their work to revitalize the program.

“I knew people had tried to bring the golf team back and they were unsuccessful in years before me. If ever you really want to get something started, it’s always possible to do so.” — Sacha Riverin-Cholewicki, Concordia men’s golf captain

“I come in, and I do my coaching, but they do a lot of the organizing. And not because I'm asking them to. They just take it upon themselves,” Fitleberg said. “They're both highly motivated, very skilled, very organized. They know what they want, they know what they're doing. So it really does make it very easy for me.”

Concordia wrapped up its first tournament of the year on Aug. 26, with both teams flashing promise. The men’s team tied for fourth, a finish that would have sent them to the national tournament at the RSEQ championship. Meanwhile, the women’s team landed third, just one position outside the top two required for a nationals berth. 

Both captains hope to parlay the team’s early success into an eventual trip to nationals. 

“It's golf, so you never know what's going to happen. You have good days, bad days. I think for me, finishing top 15 to top 10 in the province would be my goal,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “But definitely for the men's team, we want to make it to nationals. That's [...] our goal.”

Just as important, however, is the long-term stability of the program. And both Luponio and Riverin-Cholewicki agree on one thing as the catalyst for success: money. 

“We'd love to have more tournaments in the future, but I think we can't really go anywhere without that fundraising aspect of it,” Luponio said.

Fitleberg recognizes the need to invest in the program to aid its prospects in competition and recruiting. He hopes to discuss the situation with the athletic department at the conclusion of the season. 

“We had an initial conversation about where the program is going to go. But right now, to be honest, I'm focusing on this season,” Fitleberg said. “And then again, because it happens so quickly, once it's finished, I think then we'll sit down and have more of a discussion going forward.”

For now, the team can sit back and admire a job well done. From reviving a floundering program to national competition in just two years, Concordia golf is aiming high in its ambitions. And Riverin-Cholewicki remains proud of the work he and the team have accomplished. 

“I knew people had tried to bring the golf team back and they were unsuccessful in years before me,” Riverin-Cholewicki said. “If ever you really want to get something started, it's always possible to do so.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 47, Issue 1, published September 8, 2026.