Ortega shoots 84 in Regional, just misses spot in State Finals

SBCC sophomore Saralisa Ortega turned in an 84 on Tuesday and tied for 13th in the Southern Cal Regional women's golf tournament at Temecula Creek Inn.

The top 13 individuals advanced to the State Championships and Ortega lost a scorecard playoff for the final berth. She led the Vaqueros with a 36-hole total of 173. Laine Johnson shot 88 on Tuesday and 177 for the tourney.

Lexandra So of Citrus was the medalist at 148 (73-75).

College of the Desert fired a 321 to beat the six-team field by 14 shots and claim the Regional title at 665. Canyons was second at 684 and the Cougars nipped Irvine Valley (686) for the last berth in the State Final 4.

 Tiffany Huang improved her score by 11 strokes with a 92 for the defending state champion Vaqueros, who finish their season with a 35-31-1 mark.

"This was a long course and lengthy courses are our nemesis," said coach Chuck Melendez. "We had a good year and I was happy we made it to the Regional with mostly new players. This is a really good group and I'm proud of the girls."

Southern Cal Regional
At par-72 Temecula Creek Inn
Final 36-hole scores
 Team (top 2 advance to state) -- 1, Desert 344-321--665. 2, Canyons 349-335--684. 3, Irvine Valley 338-348--686. 4, Fullerton 343-357--700. 5, Palomar 377-362--739. 6, SBCC 378-370--748.
 Individual (par 72) – 1, Lexandra So, Citrus, 75-73--148. 2, Laleaga Meredith, Irvine Valley, 75-80--155.
 SBCC scores – 13 (tie), Saralisa Ortega 89-84--173, Laine Johnson 89-88--177, Tiffany Huang 103-92--195, Nicole Reynolds 99-112--211, Stella Dulay 101-111--212, Sara Pettersson 113-106--219.