Goleta, Ca. In the iconic setting that is Sandpiper Golf Club, the SBCC Men's Golf Team welcomed its Western States Conference opponents on Monday for the rain-makeup WSC #3 tournament. As the fog began to lift in the early afternoon, the Vaqueros started to see the birdies drop. Playing at over 7100 yards and a course rating of 75 (even par being 72), "The Pipe" is playing even tougher with waist high native grass flourishing througout the track from the winter rains. All of that makes what sophomore Ryan Gay did even more impressive. Gay was able to shoot an even par round 72, winning the day's low-round medal. Playing in his first WSC match of the season was Gay's fellow high school teammate and freshman Jack Vanderbeek who shot an impressive 77. "This was a sweet win, which was a result of a total team effort. Placing first today was a great momentum-builder to lead us into next week's WSC Finals," said head coach Ernie Carrasco.
The Vaquero's team total of 388 was tied with College of the Canyons, but SBCC won the tie-breaker marking their first team medal of the 2023 WSC campaign. Gay's medal effort of 72 was 4 shots better than two players from Canyons, marking his third individual medal of the season. Following up SBCC and Canyons were: Ventura College (397), Glendale (400), Citrus (406), Bakersfield (411), Allan Hancock (440), and Antelope Valley (442). Next on the docket for the Vaqueros is the Western States Finals on Monday, April 24, hosted by Ventura College at Las Posas Counry Club in Camarillo, Ca. The finals are slated for a 7:00 am tee off. If the Vaqueros qualify from there, the SocCal championships are next on May 1, followed by the CCCAA Championship on May 8 (qualification dependent).
