%20(2)-1.png)
Recap by: Derrick Ow, NCGA
Santa Margarita High and Victoria Cui were the big winners at Wednesday's annual CIF State Girls' Championship at Poppy Hills.
Santa Margarita won its third title in four years, finishing with a team score of even-par 355. The Eagles also won CIF crowns in 2022 and 2023.
Pacing Santa Margarita was Donina Zhou with a 68 and Nora Qu with a 70. Other Eagles scores were Emily Song (71), Angelina Tao (73), Annika Raja (73) and Madelyn Cheng (75).
Defending champion Torrey Pines placed second at 363. The Falcons, who've won the title a record six times, were led by a 71 from Kate Hu.
Stevenson School, who won its first NorCal Girls' title, placed third at 367.
In the Individual Championship, Cui sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole to claim the title by a stroke over a trio of players. Cui, who plays at Crystal Springs Uplands, had a dream finish, carding birdie on holes Nos. 16, 17 and 18.
Rina Kawasaki of Palos Verdes, the 2024 champion, Ashley Gettleman of Stevenson, and Zhou all came in at 68. Gettleman had a chance to win it with a birdie on 18 but had to settle for a par.
