Chang fires 2-under 70; Vaqueros take lead in North-South Invitational

Carolin Chang fired a 2-under 70 on Sunday to earn medalist honors and lead SBCC to the first-round lead in the prestigious North-South Invitational women's golf tournament at Morro Bay Golf Course.

Chang has a three-stroke advantage over Lexandra So of Citrus. Deedra Dollesin of Sierra is third at 74. Chang has shot under par in five of her last six rounds.

Isabella Doub shot 79 and Natalya Cruz posted 80 for the Vaqueros, who totaled 314 on the 5,378-yard course which will also be the site of the State Championships in November. Canyons is second at 330 and defending state champ Desert is tied for third with Citrus at 332.

The 17-team field features all of the top schools in California.

"314 is a good score and I'm happy," said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. "This is a good bounce-back from our last tournament and I know we can do even better on Monday.

"We've had some illnesses and haven't practiced a lot recently. Natalya really clutched up for us. This is the first time she's played in a few weeks."

The final round starts on Monday at 8:30 a.m.

North-South Invitational
First round
At par-72 Morro Bay GC
 Team (17 schools) – 1, SBCC 314. 2, Canyons 330. 3 (tie), Desert, Citrus 332. 5, Reedley 334. 6 (tie), Sierra, Mt. SAC 340. 8, Modesto 344. 9, Butte 345. 10, Irvine Valley 347. 11, Fresno 356. 12, Delta 357.
 Medalist – 1, Carolin Chang, SBCC, 70. 2, Lexandra So, Citrus 73. 3, Deedra Dollesin, Sierra, 74.
 SBCC scores – Chang 70, Isabella Doub 79, Natalya Cruz 80, Miraya Ramirez 85, Danielle Picard 92, Ebba Magnusson 99.