Carolin Chang carded a 3-under 71 and Vanessa Watkins shot even-par 74 as SBCC rallied from a seven-shot deficit to capture the Southern Cal Regional women’s golf title for the second straight year.
Chang, the defending state individual champion, shot 73 and 71 for a 4-under 144 to earn medalist honors at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills. It was her ninth medalist award this year and 17th in the last two seasons. Watkins took second with rounds of 76 and 74 on the par-74 South and North Course, respectively.
The Vaqueros shot 307 on Tuesday for a 36-hole total of 633 that edged Cuyamaca (319-315–634) by one stroke. Irvine Valley (700) was third and Saddleback was fourth at 716. The top four teams advanced to the State Championships.
SBCC improved to 93-0 on the year with its 14th tourney win of the season and 20th in a row over the last two years.
Savanah Boss was her usual consistent self, shooting 86 and 83 for a 169. Danielle Picard improved her first-round score by 12 strokes with a 79 and finished at 170.
“I’m very proud of my team,” said coach Chuck Melendez. “That was a really good response to trailing in a tournament for the first time this year. We were down seven strokes and we talked about just making one more putt. We took that to heart.
“It was a very determined effort, led by Carolin and Vanessa. Danielle played great, shooting 79 with an early on the 12th hole after having a tough day on Monday.”
The Vaqueros will defend their state title on Sunday and Monday in the 36-hole State Championships at Morro Bay Golf Course.