WOMEN’S TENNIS
Orange Coast 8, Saddleback 1
COSTA MESA — Tuesday marked a familiar success for the Orange Coast women.
The undefeated Pirates clinched the 2008 Orange Empire Conference championship title with a win over Saddleback Tuesday.
The Pirates, ranked No. 1 in Southern California by the California Community College Tennis Association, tied with Saddleback for the 2007 OEC title. They won outright in 2006, and 2005 and went on to win the state title as well.
The Pirates (15-0, 9-0 in the OEC) won all but one match Tuesday afternoon. No. 1 singles freshman Brittnie Furuvald folded in a three-set tiebreaker.
However, Furuvald and partner Brittany Bass, the No. 1 doubles team, avenged a Mar. 11 loss to Saddleback’s Erica Hung and Ryles Stowell, winning, 8-3.
The conference tournament begins April 17 to determine individual winners to advance to the Southern California regional.
“This has been really, really fun,” said coach Janice Maran. “They bonded so quickly. They became best friends so quickly. They clicked as a team and they feed off each other for competition and excitement. They just really got along so well, it made my life real easy.”
The Pirates still have one more conference match against Irvine Valley Thursday, but will remain champions regardless of the outcome.
Orange Empire Conference
Orange Coast 8, Saddleback 1
Singles – Furuvald (OCC) lost to Hung, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2; Bass (OCC) def. Stowell, 6-2, 6-0; Wallace (OCC) def. Warren, 7-6 (7-5), 7-3; Eshelman (OCC) def. Wood, 6-0, 6-1; Garcia (OCC) def. Wallin, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Mathieson (OCC) def. Hulse, 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles – Furuvald-Bass (OCC) def. Hung-Warren, 8-3; Wallace-Eshelman (OCC) def. Stowell-Wallin, 8-5; Garcia-Mathieson (OCC) def. Wood-Sexton, 8-3.
MEN’S TENNIS
Orange Coast 6, Saddleback 3
MISSION VIEJO — The Pirates took over sole possession of second place in the Orange Empire Conference after the away match Tuesday.
Landon Draper, Pat Lam, Kevin Kordestani and Kevin Saenz all won in singles for Orange Coast (11-5, 8-3 in conference). The doubles teams of Lam and Kevin Tran, as well as Draper and Gio Villicana, were victorious.
Orange Empire Conference
Orange Coast 6, Saddleback 3
