Sherpa grabs fifth in North-South Invitational

Pratima Sherpa fired the second-best round of the day with a 3-over 75 on Monday and finished fifth in the North-South Invitational women's golf tournament at Morro Bay GC.

Sherpa, a freshman from Kathmandu, Nepal, was seven strokes better than her opening round. She shot 82-75--157 on the course that will host the CCCAA State Championships in mid-November.

"Pratima struggled with her putting on Sunday and she spent a lot of time practicing after the round," said coach and tournament director Chuck Melendez. "This is a tough putting course and I was happy with the way she came back and played today."

SBCC's Alexa Bleth shot 82 on Monday and tied for ninth at 160. The Vaqueros shot 343 and took seventh at 688 after winning a tiebreaker with Mt. SAC.

Haruka Koda of Canyons was the medalist with two rounds of 73 for a 2-over 146. Teammate Jessie Lin (72-77) was three shots back and Katie Stribling of Saddleback took third (75-79) in the 77-player field.

Canyons won its second straight North-South title, shooting 317 in the second round and 636 for the two-day tourney. Desert shot 324 on Monday and vaulted from sixth to second at 662. Reedley placed third at 665 and Saddleback was one stroke back in fourth.

The Vaqueros will return to conference play on Monday in WSC No. 4 at Antelope Valley CC with tee-off at 11 a.m.
 
North-South Invitational
At par-72 Morro Bay Golf Course
Final scores
 Team -- 1, Canyons 319-317--636. 2, Desert 338-324--662. 3, Reedley 329-336--665. 4, Saddleback 326-340--666. 5, Modesto 337-334--671. 6, Sierra 332-346--678. 7, SBCC 345-343--688. 8, Mt. SAC 351-337--688. 9, San Joaquin Delta 374-348--722. 10, Sacramento City 380-381--761. 11, Mt. San Jacinto 395-386--781. 12, Bakersfield 457-467--924. 13, Citrus 475-473--948. 14, Moorpark, no score.
 Medalist -- 1, Haruka Koda, Canyons, 73-73--146. 2, Jessie Lin, Canyons, 72-77--149. 3, Katie Stribling, Saddleback, 75-79--154. 4, Precious Saelee, Mt. SAC, 78-77--155. 5, Pratima Sherpa, SBCC, 82-75--157.
 SBCC scores -- 5, Sherpa 82-75--157. 9 (tie), Alexa Bleth 78-82--160. Cally Casterline 93-94--187, Marie Naud 97-92--189, Paris White 92-97--189, Honey Lawrie WD.
 SBCC overall record -- 19-12.