Paced by freshman Felicia Titus, who posted her third consecutive competitive round of 79, the Irvine Valley women's golf team finished in fourth place at the annual Desert Classic Invitational at Indian Canyons Golf Resort in Palm Springs last weekend.

Sierra College won the event with a two-day score of 640, Santa Barbara took second (646) and defending Orange Empire Conference champion Santiago Canyon was four strokes better than IVC for third. Santiago Canyon came in at 656 and the Lasers were at 660.

"The tournament is usually a good indicator of the depth and talent for women's golf in the state," IVC Coach Ben Burnett said.

So Burnett likes his team's chances to challenge Santiago Canyon for the title this season and compete as one of the top teams in the state.

Titus led the way with back-to-back scores of 79 in the tournament for a total of 158.
But also playing well for IVC was freshman Samantha Roberts, who finished at 163.

Next for the Lasers were sophomores Val Watts at 169 and Alex Calvillo at 173.

Freshman Bianca Brown ended with a two-day score of 177.

"We have played four competitive non-conference rounds of golf so far, lowering our team score each round," Burnett said.

The team started the season with a score of 339 in the Santa Barbara Invitational, then had a 333 in the Tee Off Classic last week. The Lasers' score in Palm Springs was six strokes better.

The Lasers open conference action next Monday at their home Oak Creek course at 12:30 p.m.