Farouze shoots 77; Vaqueros take third in So Cal Regional

Stephanie Farouze shaved eight shots off her first-round score with a 5-over 77 on Monday as SBCC captured third place in the Southern Cal Regional women's golf tournament at the Alisal River Course in Solvang.

Farouze, a sophomore from Japan, shot 85 on Sunday and 77 on Monday for a 36-hole total of 162. She finished in 13th place out of 50 golfers.

"I stopped putting pressure on myself and just played the game," said Farouze, who birdied Nos. 12 and 15 on the 5,710-yard layout. "I tried to have fun and I played a lot better."

Farouze, who shot a season-best 3-under 69 at the Alisal River in last week's WSC Championships, sank an 11-foot putt for birdie on the short, par-4 15th hole.

Jessie Lin of Canyons was the medalist, shooting 69 and 71 for a 4-under 140 that was five shots better than her teammate and runner-up Haruka Koda (72-73--145). Brittney Do of Saddleback was third (72-76--148).

Canyons dethroned the three-time defending Regional champion Vaqueros with rounds of 298 and 305 for a 603 that was 44 shots clear of runner-up College of the Desert (647). The Vaqueros (334-325) were third at 659 and Saddleback took fourth at 664. The top four teams advanced to the CCCAA State Championships next Sunday and Monday at Morro Bay GC.

The Vaqueros were nine strokes better and qualified for state for the fourth straight year. They've won four state titles (2006, 2008, 20013, 20015) and placed second twice since 2006. They've finished first, second and third the last three years in the state tourney.

Alexa Bleth (80-83) tied for 14th with a 163 while Lauren Calvin and Corina Garcia tied for 18th at 167.

"As I've said all along, we're getting better and we're working hard," said 19th-year coach Chuck Melendez, who was also the tournament director. "We're passionate about the game and we have a good group of kids. I'm very pleased with what we did. We played nine strokes better than Monday and we won a trophy. That's a pretty good day."

Southern Cal Regional
At par-72 Alisal River Course
Final scores (Sunday & Monday)
 Team (top 4 advance to State Finals) -- 1, Canyons 298-305--603. 2, Desert 329-318--647. 3, SBCC 334-325--659. 4, Saddleback 329-335--664. 5, Mt. SAC 355-367--722. 6, Fullerton 365-363--728. 7, Cuyamaca 378-361--739. 8, Palomar 373-368--741. 9, Bakersfield 393-382--775.
 Medalist (par 72) -- 1, Jessie Lin, Canyons, 69-71--140. 2, Haruka Koda, Canyons, 72-73--145. 3, Brittney Do, Saddleback, 72-76--148. 4, Georgia Shevitt, Moorpark, 82-71--153. 5, Katie Stribling, Irvine Valley, 78-76--154.
 SBCC scores -- 13, Stephanie Farouze 85-77--162. 14 (tie), Alexa Bleth 80-83--163. 18 (tie), Lauren Calvin 85-82--167, Corina Garcia 84-83--167. Kayla Karst 90-98--188, Juliet Parsons 88-100--188.
 SBCC overall record -- 58-16.