Watkins fires career-low 70; Vaqueros take second in South Coast Classic

Vanessa Watkins tied her career best of 1-under 70 on Monday and SBCC shaved 22 strokes off its first-round score on the final day of the South Coast Classic women's golf tournament at Buenaventura GC in Ventura.

Defending state champion Sierra shot a second straight 300 to claim the team title at 600. The Vaqueros (322-300), the state runner-up last year, were second at 622, followed by Canyons (655), Desert (676) and Moorpark (681) in the 10-team field.

Watkins, a sophomore from Arroyo Grande High, had two birdies and three bogeys in her round of 70, which was seven shots better than Sunday's round at Olivas Links. She finished fourth in a field of 57 golfers.

Nao Bando of Sierra was the medalist at 72-69--141 and she beat her teammate Emily Dixon (71-71--142) by a stroke.

Five of the six Vaqueros shot lower than the previous day by an average of seven strokes. They had five players shoot in the 70s. Jessica Safford, a sophomore from San Diego, posted the second-best score for SBCC (81-75--156), followed by Elly Carlson (83-77--160), Lauren Calvin (83-78--161) and Elle Gaston (85-79--164).

Juliet Parsons, who played as a non-scoring individual for the Vaqueros, cut 16 strokes off her first-round effort (87 after a 103).

"This course was a little easier than Sunday's and we played much better," said coach Chuck Melendez. "Vanessa is a very good player and I think she'll go even lower this year.

"Having five players in the 70s is always a recipe for success."

The first WSC match was also held on Monday and the Vaqueros topped the field with 300 strokes (16 over par). Canyons was second, 25 shots back, and Moorpark placed third in the six-team field at 330.

Watkins was the WSC medalist at 70. She was three shots better than Moorpark's Georgia Swevitt. Safford finished in fifth place at 75.

SBCC is 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the WSC.

The Vaqueros will play in the Desert Classic on Friday and Saturday at Tahquitz Creek in Palm Springs.
 
South Coast Classic
1^st round at par-72 Olivas Links GC
2^nd round at par-71 Buenaventura GC
Final scores
 Team -- 1, Sierra 300-300--600. 2, SBCC 322-300--622. 3, Canyons 330-325--655. 4, Desert 343-333--676. 5, Moorpark 351-330--681. 6, Bakersfield 346-348--694. 7, Irvine Valley 349-348--697. 8, Citrus 360-342--702. 9, Mt. SAC 352-359--711. 10, Antelope Valley 393-370--763.
 Medalist -- 1, Nao Bando, Sierra, 72-69--141. 2, Emily Dixon, Sierra, 71-71--142. 3, Li Chi Liu, Desert, 73-72--145. 4, Vanessa Watkins, SBCC, 77-70--147.
 SBCC scores – 4, Watkins 77-70--147, Jessica Safford 81-75--156, Elly Carlson 83-77--160, Lauren Calvin 83-78--161, Elle Gaston 85-79--164, Stephanie Farouze 81-84--165. Competing as individuals: Juliet Parsons 103-87--190, Kayla Karst 103-100--203.
 SBCC overall record: 8-1.

WSC No. 1
At par-71 Buenaventura GC
Final scores
 Team -- 1, SBCC 300. 2, Canyons  325. 3, Moorpark 330. 4, Citrus 342. 5, Bakersfield 348. 6, Antelope Valley 370.
 Medalist -- 1, Vanessa Watkins, SBCC, 70. 2, Georgia Swevitt, Moorpark, 73. 3 (tie), Brooke Logsdon, Moorpark, 74; Michaela Klundt, AVC, 74. 5, Jessica Safford, SBCC, 75.
 SBCC scores – 1, Watkins 70. 5, Safford 75. Elly Carlson 77, Lauren Calvin 78, Elle Gaston 79, Stephanie Farouze 84. Competing as individuals: Juliet Parsons 87, Kayla Karst 100.
 WSC standings – 1, SBCC 5-0. 2, Canyons 4-1. 3, Moorpark 3-2. 4, Citrus 2-3. 5, Bakersfield 1-4. 6, Antelope Valley 0-5.