2008: ASAKA SIM, SBCC Rally for State Titles

By Dave Loveton, SBCC sports information
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008
California State Finals at par-72 Olivas Park GC, Ventura
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Sim sparkles as Vaqueros rally to claim state title

Freshman from DP wins individual crown

VENTURA -- Asaka Sim fired a 2-over-par 74 on Tuesday and SBCC rallied to capture its second State Women's Golf title in three years. The Vaqueros, who started the day four shots off the lead in third place, recorded a season-best 311 at Olivas Links GC to finish 15 strokes ahead of Sacramento City.

"This feels wonderful," said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. "It's better than the first one (in 2006) because we have an all-freshman team and this was kind of unexpected."

Sim finished at 9-over 153 to take home the individual title. Her older sister, Sumika Sim, turned in a 78 on Tuesday for a 157 total. The Vaqueros used a balanced attack with Jackie Molstad posting a 79 and Jenna Boyle carding an 80. Molstad finished at 163, one stroke ahead of Boyle's 36-hole score.

SBCC totaled 637 strokes to overtake the first-day leader, Palomar. Sacramento City was second at 652, followed by Palomar (663) and Sierra (664). The title has never been won by a Northern California school.

"On the drive down, we set a goal of trying to take five strokes off each player's score," said Melendez, whose team improved its first-round score by 15 shots. "I was proud of the way they responded. We've played well but our character hasn't really been tested. Today, we played like champions."

Asaka Sim's 74 was the low round of the day and five shots better than her first-round score. Molstad also improved by five while Boyle shaved four strokes off her opening tally. Sumika Sim's 79-78 scores were a pleasant surprise from the No. 4 player, a senior at UCSB who took a quarter off to play with the Vaqueros this year.

Jessica Ko (Santiago Canyon), Toyahni Beihn (Fresno City) and Samantha Kang (Canada) tied for second at 154 and Ko won a three-hole playoff to determine the runner-up.

It was the eighth overall state championship for the Vaqueros, who claimed the women's state golf crown in 2006 and and took second last year.

State Women's State Finals

Final round
At par-72 Olivas Links, Ventura

SBCC ...................... 326-311--637
Sacramento City ....... 325-327--652
Palomar ................... 322-341--663
Sierra ....................... 334-330--664

Individual state champion -- Asaka Sim, SBCC, 79-74--153.
SBCC scores -- Sumika Sim 79-78--157, Jackie Molstad 84-79--163, Jenna Boyle 84-80--164