Pirates one off the top spot after Day 1 at state championships
ARROYO GRANDE -- If Sunday's Day 1 of the California Community College Women's Golf State Championships is any precursor to Day 2, then golf fans will be in for a wild ride on Monday.
Playing the short, but challenging Cypress Ridge Golf Club (5.083 yards, par 72), the Orange Coast College women's golf team came in with a game plan and, for the most part, followed that plan well, en route to a team score of 315. That score puts the Pirates just one shot behind front-runner Saddleback (314) for the top spot in the eight-team field, with Modesto College (318) just three shots behind OCC and four behind the Bobcats.
"All in all, I was very pleased with our first day," OCC head coach Sean Collins said. "The course is on the short side and the first thought when you see it is, 'hit driver and go for it' on every hole, but with all of the hills and blind shots, that's not what you want to do here. We played a practice round and we thought it would be best to simply play to what you see and keep things as under control as possible. I think for the most part, we were able to do that. It's going to be a very exciting round of golf tomorrow."
The 2021 Pirates have had a quality 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup with Stephanie Tran and Meah Collins, but on Sunday, OCC showed some crucial depth against the top golfers remaining in the state.
In the No. 4 slot, Katherine Crinella joined Collins with the lowest scores for the Pirates, each shooting a 6-over-par, 78. Crinella came out sluggish with a pair of double bogeys over the first three holes, but proceeded to settle down and finish the final 15 holes at a combined 2-over. Over the final four holes on the front-nine, Crinella went par-par-bogey-birdie to carry some momentum into the back-nine.
There, Crinella rolled through the final six holes at a 1-under-par clip, including birdies on Nos. 14 and 16.
It was a similar performance for Collins, who started +5 through the front and finished +1 on the back, including birdies on the same holes that Crinella birdied (Nos. 14 and 16).
One shot behind that Pirate duo was No. 3 slot standout, Emma Ashcraft, who carded a 79. The OCC freshman came out strong and steady through the first six holes, shooting a 1-under-par over that frame. After a front-nine 37, Ashcroft gave back a shot with a bogey on 10, but fired right the pin on the 139-yard, par-3 and left her a 2-foot birdie-putt opportunity, which she made with ease.
Tran, OCC's top-of-the-lineup golfer, struggled with the putter on Day 1, but still worked her way through the course to a solid score of 80, putting all four of OCC's scoring golfers within three shots of each other.
"I think some of golfers feel like they left some lower scores out there, so that's encouraging for sure," Collins said. "I was happy that the ladies were smiling and in good moods after their round. It's going to be a bit cooler tomorrow and now that we've played the course a couple of times now, hopefully, we can keep using our knowledge to our advantage. Patience and control will be the key for us."
April Garcia (97) and Michelle Manzo (101) also played well for the Pirates, as they look for their first team state championship in women's golf in school history. This is the first time since 1999 that the Pirates have qualified for the state tournament.
Saddleback's top golfer -- Mari Mak -- fired a two-over-par 74, followed by Sabrina Ladd (77), Nikki Whipple (81), Amber Davalos (82) and Lia Harvey (85).
Modesto's Madison Blanc shot a 1-over-par, 73, followed by Shealyn Hanrahan (80), Allie Denning (82), Janea Caparros (83), Isabelle Rodriguez (85) and Makena Ebster (89).
"Allie was Modesto's No. 5 golfer, so to see that 82 go up instead of that 85 or 89 really helped them," Collins said. "Looks like that's a very talented and deep team as well."
Rounding out the top four teams was Reedley College, who carded a team score of 332. Avery Foster was the low-scorer for the Tigers after shooting a 1-over-par, 73.
The top four individual golfers for each round have their scores count for the team total.
Round 1 was suspended due to darkness for the bottom-half of the draw and to avoid a third-day of competition, tee times have been moved up to 9 a.m. for top four teams, which include the Pirates.
