Rodriguez the Best, Vaqueros a Close Second at Alisal Ranch

By Jimmy Friery

SOLVANG, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Golf team placed second for the third Western State Conference (WSC) match in a row, this time hosting WSC #4 at Alisal Ranch on Monday. While no one has been able to top Canyons this season so far, the Vaqueros came as close as ever by shooting a 286 (-2), just three strokes behind the leaders.

Speaking of leaders, freshman Reynaldo Rodriguez had the best round of all 48 golfers on the day. He shot a 68 (-4), leading the Vaqueros to their best result of the season so far.

Only seven golfers altogether finished under par, and Aidan Watts was one of them. His one-under 71 was tied for fourth. Hugo de Mollerat du Jeu was even par, thus finishing in the top eight. Brayden Mlodzik rounded out the scoring for the Vaqueros with a 75 (+3), 15th of all golfers.

To emphasize how close the top two were, the second-place Vaqueros finished 10 strokes better than third-place Ventura and 17 better than fourth-place Citrus. Naturally, Canyons and Santa Barbara were the only teams to score under par.

The Vaqueros look to keep the momentum going next Monday at WSC #5, hosted by Ventura at River Ridge Golf Club.

Team scores:

1. Canyons, 283 (-5)
2. Santa Barbara, 286 (-2)
3. Ventura, 296 (+8)
4. Citrus, 303 (+15)
5. Glendale, 308 (+20)
6. Bakersfield, 315 (+27)
7. Antelope Valley, 325 (+37)
8. Hancock, 327 (+39)

SBCC scores:

1. Reynaldo Rodriguez, 68 (-4)
2. Aidan Watts, 71 (-1)
3. Hugo de Mollerat du Jeu, 72 (E)
4. Brayden Mlodzik, 75 (+3)
5. Max Cali, 78 (+6)
6. Wyatt Taylor, 79 (+7)