Vaqs Qualify for State, Betts Wins SoCal
Chino Hills, Ca. The 2024 Vaqueros Women's Golf Team kept it going for another week as they qualified for the 3C2A Championship at Monarch Dunes next week (November 17/18). SBCC needed to finish within the top 5 teams at SoCal in order to qualify for state, and they did just that, finishing in 5th place with a 2-day team score of 706. Cuyamaca College finished in 4th at 697, Orange Coast College came in 3rd with 670, WSC rival Moorpark came in 2nd with a 680, and Mt. San Antonio College took home the team medal with a score of 617. "We were only 9 shots away from securing 4th place, which is great. All of the ladies bounced back from a tough showing on day 1 to improve their scores on day 2," said head coach Devin Engebretsen. "A special shoutout to Kirra Petty who shot 102 on Sunday, but bounced back in a major way on Monday with an 83. That just shows what she's capable of."
While the team scoring was shaking out, a drama-filled day 2 on the individual side was taking shape. SBCC fresman Annie Betts came out of the gates strong on Day 1, firing a bogey-free 70 (-4, par 74). "Annie shot one of the best rounds I've ever seen in person. 4 birdies, and no bogies is outstanding," commented Engebretsen. "The crazy thing is, she probably left 3-4 more birdies out there." Betts ended up as the round 1 leader at -4, followed by Mt. SAC player Kylie Lau with an even par 74. WSC individual champion Sayha Kitabatake shot a 76 to end Day 1 six shots down to Betts. "We knew going in that Mt. SAC has some really incredible players, and of course Sayha from Canyons is phenomenal so Annie had her work cut out for her," added Engebretsen. Day 2 started steady with Betts coming into hole #7 1-under par, but then she hit some snags. Her first bogey of the tournament came on 7, followed by another on #8, then a double bogey on #9, leaving her with a +3 39 on the front 9. She started the back 9 with another bogey on #10. Now facing a 1 shot deficit to Lau, something clicked with Betts, and she went into birdie overdrive. "As most golfers know, when the wheels come off a bit, it's hard to get back on track. Huge compliment to Annie for her mental strength and overall perserverence on her last 8 holes," said Engebretsen. Holes 11 and 12 were parred, followed by a birdie on 13, a par on 14, birdies on 15/16, a par on 17 and a closing birdie on 18, moving Betts back to even par for the day, and an overall tie for first place. The 3C2A SoCal Regional Championship tiebreaker is determined by a card-off. Comparing the Day-2 back nine scores first between Betts and Lau, they were still tied. It then goes to the last 6 holes of competition, and Betts won that portion playing it -4, while Lau's bogey on 17 saw her shoot -3 over the last 6. "It was a really incredible finish for both ladies. They were going toe-to-toe on every shot. Kylie threw one in on #15 to 5 feet, and Annie answered with a dart to 2 feet. It kind of went back and forth like that down the stretch," added Engebretsen. The last SBCC golfer to win the individual SoCal Regional Championship was Carolin Chang in 2016. The Vaqs travel to the State Championship on Novemebr 17/18 at Monarch Dunes GC in Niomo, Ca looking to continue their steady play and bring home some medals.
