3C2A Women's Golf takes center stage in Solvang for state championship beginning Sunday
SOLVANG - The best of the best will make their way to the River Course at the Alisal in Solvang for the 3C2A Women’s Golf State Championships, which take place Sunday and Monday beginning at 9 a.m. A link to live scoring will be available here.
At last weekend’s Regionals, it was Orange Coast College and Reedley College taking up the team low scores, headlining an elite field of golfers for what promises to be an exciting 36-hole championship.
OCC, champions of the Orange Empire Conference, posted low team scores for both sessions and earned a nine-shot win over runner-up, Mt. San Antonio College with a 36-hole team score of 638 this past weekend at Olivas Links in Ventura. The Mounties (647) were followed by College of the Canyons (676), Santa Barbara City College, Allan Hancock (723), Moorpark (735), Bakersfield (757) and Citrus (994). It was OCC’s first-ever Southern California Regional championship, and the Pirates will compete for their first-ever state championship this weekend.
On Sunday's opening round, Sophie Thibodeau shot the low round of the day for the Pirates, carding a 4-over-par, 76, closing out her round 1-under par over her final six holes. Michelle Khin was close behind with an 81, while Sofia Ingle (82) and Nalani Sam (84) each earned scoring rounds for the Pirates, followed by Lilly Thurston (88) and Audrey Crinella (90).
The team score of 323 put OCC four shots clear of Mt. SAC and 17 shots ahead of Canyons after Day 1.
Coast managed to better its team score on Day 2 with a 315, five better than Mt. SAC's 320 and 21 clear of Canyons (336).
Khin was the low shooter on Monday, carding a 3-over-par, 75. After a 2-over start through the first four holes, Khin settled down and went 2-under par over the next seven holes to earn her impressive score.
Thibodeau, this year's OEC individual champion, was just one shot off her leading play on Sunday and carded a 5-over, 77. Ingle was close behind with an 81, while Crinella bettered her Day 1 result by eight strokes and carded an 82, with Thurston (82) and Sam (83) also shooting impressive rounds for the deep and talented Pirates.
College of the Canyons’ standout, Sahya Kitabatke, last year’s individual state champion, led the way at SoCal Regionals with a 73-72-145 two-day total, eight shots clear of Thibodeau and Mt. SAC’s Kaitlyn Wang’s two-day total of 76-77-153.
Up in the north, the Tigers showed who the top team was out of the region with a two-round score of 627 at the Madera Golf and Country Club. Modesto was 17 shots behind the Tigers with a team score of 644, followed by Napa Valley (697), Sierra (711), Sacramento City (725), San Joaquin Delta (745) and Taft (802).
The Reedley depth led the way as the Tigers earned four of the top 10 spots of the tournament. Tessa Hernandez finished third with a two-round score of 150 (78-72), while teammate Jacie Johnson was close behind in fourth at 154 (77-77). Marissa Martin placed eighth after carding a 161 (84-77), while 10th place went to Tiger teammate Sarah Randolph after she carded a pair of 81s for a two-round total of 162.
Low individual honors went to Taft College’s Faith Hamstreet, who shot a two-round total of 145, shooting a 73 in Round 1 and a 72 in Round 2. Regional runner-up honors went to Modesto’s Sydney Streeter, who went 76-71 for a total score of 147, two shots in back of Hamstreet.
(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)