Vaqueros take 2-stroke lead in Desert Classic

SBCC grabbed a two-stroke lead in Friday's opening round of the Desert Classic women's golf tournament at Bermuda Dunes CC.

Carolin Chang is third at 76 and Vanessa Watkins shot 81 for the defending state champion Vaqueros, who totaled 332 strokes. Cuyamaca, located in El Cajon, Calif., is two strokes back and Saddleback is third in the 11-school field at 351.

Li Chi Liu of Desert was the medalist at 2-under 70 and teammate Kabrea Rosas shot 71.

Temperatures were in the mid-90s on the course that hosted the PGA Tour's Bob Hope Desert Classic for 50 years .

"This course is a little longer than we're used to and the greens are tough," noted SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. "The greens don't hold well and that makes it tougher to judge the distance on approach shots."

The Vaqueros will be shooting for their second straight Desert Classic title in Saturday's final round, which starts at 7:30 a.m.

Desert Classic
At par-72 Bermuda Dunes CC
First round
 Team (11 schools) – 1, SBCC 332. 2, Cuyamaca 334. 3, Saddleback 351. 4, Irvine Valley 353. 5, Desert 354. 6, Mt. SAC 356. 7, Citrus 395. 8, Mt. San Jacinto 401. No score: Bakersfield,  Crafton Hills, Palomar.
 Medalist – 1 (tie), Li Chi Liu, Desert, 70. 2, Kabrea Rosas, Desert, 71. 3, Carolin Chang, SBCC, 76.
 SBCC scores  -- 3, Chang 76, Vanessa Watkins 81, Danielle Picard 87, Savanah Boss 88, Daniela Ruffo 94, Corina Garcia 97.