Elmer van Butselaar captures OEC men's tennis title
RIVERSIDE -- Orange Coast College veteran freshman Elmer van Butselaar topped the field en route to the 2015 Orange Empire Conference men's tennis singles title this past weekend at Riverside City College.
OCC's 34-year-old newcomer from The Netherlands opened the tournament as a No. 4 seed and after a Round of 64 bye, van Butselaar defeated RCC's Julian Siapno, 6-2, 6-4 in the Round of 32.
From there, van Butselaar advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-1 win over ninth-seeded Connor Stephenson (RCC). In the quaterfinals and semifinals, van Butselaar won by default to earn a trip to the finals, where he would go up against Saddleback College's Ryan Mariano.
It was no contest as van Butselaar cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win to give OCC's top player the conference championship.
Next up for van Butselaar is a trip to the famous Ojai Tournament, home of the 2015 California Community College Athletic Association men's tennis regionals and state championships, set for April 23-26.
