Chang, Villa help Vaqueros grab lead at Desert Classic

Carolin Chang and Vanesa Villa fired 1-under 71s on Friday and SBCC took the first-round lead in the Desert Classic women's golf tournament at Indian Canyon GC in Palm Springs.

The Vaqueros shot 10-over 298 and built an 18-stroke lead over Citrus (316). Palomar is third in the seven-team field at 321 and Desert is fourth at 324.

Isabella Doub shot 77 and Miraya Ramirez and Danielle Picard both posted 79s, giving Santa Barbara five players in the 70s.

Janette Chan of Bakersfield was the medalist at 70. Chang and Villa are in second, one stroke back.

"The conditions were nice and cool for Palm Springs, which means it was 95 instead of 115 degrees," said coach Chuck Melendez. "The greens were pretty hard and we had a tough time keeping balls on the greens.

"I was pretty happy with our team score and Vanesa did a nice job of stepping up. Miraya and Danielle also played well."

The final round gets under way on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. The Vaqueros, who've already won the South Coast Classic and WSC No. 1, will be shooting for their third straight victory.
 
Desert Classic
First round
At par-72 Indian Canyon GC
 Team – 1, SBCC 298. 2, Citrus 316. 3, Palomar 321. 4, Desert 324. 5, Mt. SAC 330. 6, Irvine Valley 340. 7, Mt. San Jacinto 349.
 Medalist – Janette Chan, Bakersfield, 70.
 SBCC scores – 2 (tie), Carolin Chang 71, Vanesa Villa 71, Isabella Doub 77, Miraya Ramirez 79, Danielle Picard 79, Natalya Cruz 88.