Pirates return to State Golf Championships!
MURRIETA -- The Orange Coast College men's golf team finished fourth overall at the Southern California Regional Golf Championship and will advance to Monday's state finals after carding a team score of 773 on Monday at the Bear Creek Golf and Country Club.
The top four teams advanced to Monday's 36-hole California Community College Athletic Association State Men's Golf Championship, which will take place at the Desert Island Golf and Country Club, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Joining the Pirates in Palm Springs from Monday's SoCal Regionals include College of the Canyons (743), Santiago Canyon (760) and College of the Desert (765) as well as the top six individuals who were not on teams that qualified for the state championship.
The Pirates were once again led by freshman standout Marcus De La Rosa, who came out strong and stayed strong throughout the 36-hole afternoon, carding an even-par 72 in the morning round and a 2-over-par, 74 in the afternoon round for a combined score of 146. De La Rosa finished the day tied for fourth, along with College of the Desert's Ryan Emery and trailed COC's Will Barnett (142) and Jason McGuinness (145) as well as SCC's Austin Trcka (145).
The Pirates had all five scoring golfers shoot in the 70s as they finished the morning round in third place with a 375. Justin Collins and Connor Hurst each shot a 74, while Jeremy Dorff carded a 77 and Jordan Meas shot a 78.
The scores went up across the board for the majority of the golfers in the afternoon round, but the Pirates managed to hold off a late charge by Palomar and finished the day eight shots ahead of the Comets for the final team slot.
Hurst fired a 78 for Coast, followed by Meas (81), Dorff (82) and Austin Briggs (83).
Winners of six of the past seven Orange Empire Conference titles (including this year), the Pirates return to the State Championships for the third time since 2010. In 2010, Coast finished fifth in the state and in 2013, the Pirates finished runner-up in the state, its highest finish since willing the title back in 1958.
