Vaqueros win third straight North-South title; Watkins takes second

Vanessa Watkins shot 75 on Monday and SBCC reigned supreme in the North-South Invitational women's golf tournament at Morro Bay Golf Course.

Watkins shot 71-75 and took second in the 93-player field with a two-day total of 2-over 146. Aman Sangha of Canada (68-75--143) won by three shots.

SBCC freshman Stephanie Farouze (78-82) tied for sixth at 160. Watkins and Farouze were named to the All-Tournament team.

It was the third consecutive North-South crown for the Vaqueros, who are 41-1 this year. They shot 329 on Monday for a 642 total that was 13 shots better than defending state champ Sierra. The Vaqueros avenged their only loss this season, which came to Sierra in the season-opening South Coast Classic on Aug. 28-29.

Santa Barbara went 99-1 last year and was the state runner-up to Sierra, who handed the Vaqueros their only loss in the State Finals.

Modesto finished third in the 15-team tourney at 679, followed by Canyons (685), Irvine Valley (707) and Desert (713).

Morro Bay GC will host the CCCAA State Championships on Nov. 12-13 for the third straight year. The Vaqueros won their fourth state title in 2015 and finished second last year.

"The course played tough today," said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez, whose team is 140-2 the last two seasons. "The pin placements were much more difficult than the first round. Vanessa played great, we wouldn't have won it without her.

"We're still a work in progress and I know we're going to keep improving as the year goes on."

The Vaqueros will compete in WSC No. 4 on Monday, Oct. 2 at Crystalaire Country Club in Llano, about 25 miles from Palmdale.
  
North-South Invitational
At par-72 Morro Bay GC
Final 36-hole scores
 Team --  1, SBCC 313-329--642. 2, Sierra 329-326--655. 3, Modesto 346-333--679. 4, Canyons 353-332--685. 5, Irvine Valley 358-349--707. 6, Desert 355-358--713. 7, Mt. San Antonio 374-352--726. 8, Moorpark 361-378--739. 9, Citrus 363-377--740. 10, Canada 362-379--741. 11, San Joaquin Delta 378-377--755. 12, Mt. San Jacinto 379-387--766. 13, Bakersfield 391-383--774. 14, Antelope Valley 378-400--778. 15, American River 407-408--815.
 Medalist -- 1, Aman Sangha, Canada, 68-75--143. 2, Vanessa Watkins, SBCC, 71-75--146. 3, Lichi Liu, Desert, 74-78--152. 4, Janita Vongphoumy, Modesto, 78-75--153. 5, Nao Bando, Sierra, 75-80--155.
 SBCC scores -- 2, Watkins 71-75--146. 6 (tie), Stephanie Farouze 78-82--160. Elly Carlson 83-84--167, Lauren Calvin 81-88--169, Jessica Safford 91-92--183, Elle Gaston 91-92--183. Competed as individuals: Juliet Parsons 109-96--205, Kayla Karst 103-107--210.
 SBCC overall record -- 41-1.