Santa Barbara High Wins SoCal Golf Championships

Santa Barbara High hit the jackpot in its third shot at a CIF Southern Section team championship during the past week.

Led by Andrew Perez‘s five-under-par 67, the Dons took the boys’ golf championship by storm on Thursday, May 29, at the Southern California Golf Association Course in Murietta.

Santa Barbara’s five scoring players totaled 355 strokes, six shots better than Sunny Hills and Clovis West, which tied for second at 361. All three teams will play in the CIF/CGA State Championships on Tuesday, June 3, at the Santa Maria Country Club.

The Dons made a big move Thursday at the par-five 8th hole. Perez, who claimed the Southern Section individual title a week earlier, eagled the 515-yard hole. Teammates Jack Perry, Ray Gerow, and Shane Lebow all recorded birdies.

Perry finished the round with a two-under-par 70, while Gerow and Lebow both came in at even-par 72. Mason Field rounded out the team score with a 74.

It was Santa Barbara’s first CIF team title since 1972.

A day earlier, the Dons’ tennis team faced Irvine University High in a battle of unbeatens for the Division I championship at the Claremont Club. After thumping balls back and forth for several hours, the teams had split their 18 sets, 9-9. The tiebreaker was games won, and University had the edge, 81-77.

Santa Barbara’s volleyball team also finished second to Valencia in last Saturday’s CIF Division II championship match.

COLLEGE NEWS UCSB won the Big West Conference Commissioner’s Cup – an annual award for the best athletics program in the Big West – for the seventh time in 10 years. The Gauchos won conference titles in seven sports during the 2007-08 school year. Runner-up Long Beach State claimed five titles.

WEEKEND EVENTS: The Santa Barbara Breakers, undefeated (11-0) in the West Coast Pro Basketball League, are nearing the end of their regular season. They host two games this weekend – the High Desert Rattlers on Friday and the Ventura Jets on Saturday – at the SBCC Sports Pavilion.

Downhill runners, take your marks Sunday morning at the intersection of State and Pedregosa Streets. The first race of the Platinum Performance State Street Mile will go off at 8 a.m. The event is a benefit for the District Attorney’s Office Victim/Witness Assistance Program. See sbmile.com for info.

Top Sporting Events: May 30-June 11

Friday, May 30

Basketball High Desert Rattlers at Santa Barbara Breakers, SBCC Sports Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 31

Basketball Ventura Jets at Santa Barbara Breakers, SBCC Sports Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 1

Running Platinum Performance State Street Mile, from Pedregosa to De La Guerra, 8 a.m.

Tuesday, June 3

High school boys golf Santa Barbara High at CIF/CGA State Championships, Santa Maria Country Club, 9 a.m.

Wednesday, June 4

Run-walk-swim Night Moves at Leadbetter Beach, 6:25 p.m.

Saturday, June 7

Running Vicki’s 3,000-Meter Runs, SBCC’s Nick Carter Track, 8:30 a.m.

Baseball Urban Academy at Santa Barbara Foresters, UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, 4:30 p.m.

Basketball High Desert Rattlers at Santa Barbara Breakers, SBCC Sports Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 8

Baseball Oceanside at Santa Barbara Foresters, UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, 1 p.m.

Water polo Pre-Olympic exhibition: U.S. men vs. Australia, Elings Aquatic Center at Dos Pueblos High, 4 p.m.

Wednesday, June 11

Baseball San Luis Obispo Rattlers at Santa Barbara Foresters, UCSB’s Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, 5 p.m.

Run-walk-swim Night Moves at Leadbetter Beach, 6:25 p.m.