Hanging Ten! Pirates return to top of OEC mountain
RIVERSIDE -- Last year, the Orange Coast College women's tennis earned a share of the Orange Empire Conference title with rival Riverside City College. This year, the Pirates got greedy and decided not to share with anyone, beating the Tigers, 6-3, on Thursday to earn their spot as Orange Empire Conference champions for the 10th straight season.
"I'm very fortunate to have such a great group this year," OCC head coach Chris Ketcham said. "They're resilient, hard working, and tremendous teammates to each other. In addition, with 6 of our 9 girls being second-year players, our team possesses a wealth of experience, which is evident in their mental and emotional toughness in dealing with pressure and adversity."
In the second OEC showdown of the season, the Pirates (20-0, 8-0 in conference) proved that the March 5 win by OCC (7-2) against the Tigers was no fluke.
It started a bit ragged as the Pirates trailed 2-1 after doubles play, with OCC's lone win coming at No. 3 when the duo of Ava Bocek and Minami Saito earned an 8-5 win over RCC's Fleur Libutan/Natalia Gomez.
But it quickly turned around for Coast in singles play, with OCC winning 5-of-6 matches to earn the overall win. Straight-set victories were turned in by Mebuki Kitakuni (7-5, 6-1), Kaylee Ho (6-3, 6-2) and Talia Saharyildizi (6-1, 6-3).
Bocek overcame a 7-6 loss in the opening set to rally for a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4, while at No. 3, Chantel Kamel did the same thing with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win to help close out the afternoon ... and the OEC title.
Coast will wrap up the regular season with a nonconference home match on Friday against L.A. Mission, beginning at 2 p.m. OCC will be the host site of next week's OEC Tournament, which kicks off on Thursday.
