Canyons Repeats as CCCAA SoCal Regional Champions
COC will now defend last season's state title at this weekend's CCCAA State Championship event in Morro Bay.
Story by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director
SAN DIMAS, Calif. — College of the Canyons has won a second consecutive California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Championship after a 29-stroke victory at Via Verde Country Club on Monday.
COC sophomore Haruka Koda also won the individual SoCal Regional championship after carding a two-day score of 145 (72/73). Koda, the Western State Conference (WSC) Player of the Year, also earned medalist honors in six conference events as well as the annual North-South Invitational in Morro Bay earlier this year.
Koda's individual regional title is the second in as many seasons for Canyons. In 2018, then-freshman Jessie Lin accomplished the same feet.
Lin also put together a strong showing at this year's event, shooting a two-day score of 158 (81/77) to finish tied for third overall.
COC sophomore Paige Heuer at 165 (85/80) tied for seventh in the individual standings.
Sophomore Shabana Poswal rounded out the Cougars' scorecard with a two-day total of 177 (89/88).
Fredeliza Lieberman (198-94/104) and Delaney Young (233-114/119) also competed but did not score for COC.
Canyons carded a four-player score of 645 to easily outpace runner-up Saddleback College (674-346/328) and third place College of the Desert (682-344/338). Santa Barbara City College (702-350/352) slotted into the fourth spot.
Those four programs will be joined by Northern California programs Reedley, Modesto, Sierra and San Joaquin Delta College at this weekend's CCCAA State Championship Tournament at Morro Bay Golf Course. Reedley won the NorCal Regional title with a score of 656 (326/330).
The 2019 CCCAA Southern California Regional Championship is the fourth in COC women's golf program history (2001, 2007, 2018, 2019).
Earlier this season Canyons won the 10th WSC championship in program history (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2019)
The Cougars will now be gunning for back-to-back CCCAA state championships after also winning the title in 2018. Canyons also previously won state titles in 2001 and 2007.
The two-day, 36-hole state championship tourney gets underway at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17, at Morro Bay Golf Course.
Canyons has played well at Morro Bay in recent years. Earlier this season the Cougars shot a 636 (319/317) at the North-South Invitational to top runner-up Desert (662-338/324), third place Reedley (665-329/336) and fourth place Saddleback (666-326/340).
COC also won the same event in 2018 en route to a state championship run at the same course.
CCCAA Southern California Regional Championships, Round 1 — Nov. 10, 2019 — 18-hole Scores — Via Verde Country Club
TEAM SCORES — 1. Canyons (327) 2. Desert (344) 3. Saddleback (346) 4. Santa Barbara (350) 5. Mt. SAC (360) 6. Cuyamaca (375) 7. Mt. San Jacinto (415) 8. Bakersfield (468) 9. Antelope Valley (NS) … CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES — Haruka Koda (72-medalist); Jessie Lin (81-tie fifth); Paige Heuer (85); Shabana Poswal (89); Fredeliza Lieberman (94); Delaney Young (114).
CCCAA Southern California Regional Championships, Round 2 — Nov. 11, 2019 — 36-hole Final Scores — Via Verde Country Club
TEAM SCORES — 1. Canyons (645-327/318) 2. Saddleback (674-346/328) 3. Desert (682-344/338) 4. Santa Barbara (702-350/352) 5. Mt. SAC (706-360/346) 6. Cuyamaca (729-375/354) 7. Mt. San Jacinto (812-415/397) 8. Bakersfield (948-468/480) 9. Antelope Valley (NS) … CANYONS INDIVIDUAL SCORES — Haruka Koda (145-72/73-medalist); Jessie Lin (158-81/77-tie third); Paige Heuer (165-85/80-tie seventh); Shabana Poswal (177-89/88); Fredeliza Lieberman (198-94/104); Delaney Young (233-114/119).
Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.