The SBCC women’s golf team, coached by Chuck Melendez. (George Mategakis Photos)
SBCC shot a final-round 333 on Monday and cruised to its fourth CCCAA State Women’s Golf championship by 27 shots over Citrus.
The WSC champion Vaqueros totaled 655 strokes in the two-day, 36-hole event at 5,378-yard Morro Bay GC. Citrus shot 345 on Monday and finished at 682. Reedley, the Northern Cal champ, was third at 696 and Sierra was fourth at 709.
Individual State Champion Carolin Chang of SBCC.
“It feels tremendous to be the state champs,” said coach Chuck Melendez. “It starts with having talented players and they worked hard all year long. When someone wasn’t playing well, there was always someone else to pick them up.”
Santa Barbara’s Carolin Chang posted a 3-over-par 75 and won the State individual title by three shots over Jamie Lopez (76-78) of Citrus. Chang, a freshman from Taiwan, shot 7-over 151 for the tourney and earned All-State honors. Lopez finished at 154 and Fumiko Matsumoto of Desert was third at 155. SBCC freshman Isabella Doub (79-83) tied for fifth at 162.
“There were some insane pin placements and when you add in the wind, it made for a lot of slick greens,” noted Melendez. “Any score in the 80s was great today.”
It’s the second State championship for Vanesa Villa, the only sophomore on SBCC’s squad and a former Dos Pueblos High standout. Villa, who tied for ninth in the 2013 State Tournament, shot 84-86–170 and tied for 16th. Natalya Cruz added an 89 for the Vaqueros.
It was the fourth State title in women’s golf for the Vaqueros and their 10th overall. They went 80-6 this year with 11 tournament victories, including the last six in a row (4 WSC tourneys, the So Cal Regional and the State Finals). They’ve won two of the last three State titles and four of the last 10. The other championships came in 2006, 2008 and 2013.
SBCC’s four state titles are the second-most ever, trailing College of the Desert and Mt. SAC, who’ve won five apiece.
“Carolin led the way for us,” said Melendez. “It’s such an advantage to have the individual state champion. And we got very consistent play from the rest of our lineup.”
CCCAA State Championships
Final scores
At par-72 Morro Bay GC
Team – 1, SBCC 322-333–655. 2, Citrus 337-345–682. 3, Reedley 350-346–696. 4, Sierra 349-360–709.
Medalist – 1, Carolin Chang, SBCC, 76-75–151. 2, Jamie Lopez, Citrus 76-78–154. 3, Fumika Matsumoto, Desert, 75-80–155. 5 (tie), Isabella Doub, SBCC, 79-83–162.
SBCC scores – Chang 76-75–151, Doub 79-83–162, Vanesa Villa 84-86–170, Natalya Cruz 86-89–175, Danielle Picard 83-95–178, Miraya Ramirez 93-94–187.
SBCC final record – 80-6.
