Coast edges Riverside for OEC crown

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- By the narrowest of margins, the Orange Coast College women's swim team claimed the top spot at the 2013 Orange Empire Conference Swim/Dive Championships this past weekend at Golden West College.

In a final outcome that boiled down to the Pirates, the dual-meet champion Riverside City College Tigers and the host Golden West College Rustlers, it was the Pirates who pulled out a one-point victory with 744 points. RCC took second with 743, while GWC finished third with 732. Cypress (442), Fullerton (316), Saddleback (209) and Santa Ana (126) rounded out the team scores from the three-day event.

On Thursday, OCC sat in second place with 232 points, just behind RCC's 248. The Pirates posted a pair of victories in the opening day of competition as sophomore Mackenzie Bailie topped the field in the 100-yard individual medley, touching the wall first with a time of 58.11 seconds.

In the 1-meter diving competition, Ray Adams put on a strong performance and won the conference title with a score of 188.75.

On Friday, the wins began to mount for the Pirates as they finished Day 2 with a 12-point lead over the Tigers with 536 points. 

In the 200 medley relay, Bailie joined Nicole Buck, Vivianne Mai and Claire Aguilar to win the event with a time of 1:46.18, just ahead of GWC (1:46.86).

Bailie, the 2013 OEC Co-Swimmer of the Year (joining Zeineb Kalfallah of Golden West) added to her impressive medal collection with a win in the 50 butterfly (24.9), while Mai edged out Cypress College's Kelsey Kendall in the 50 breaststroke with a winning time of 30.97.

Adams, the OEC Co-Diver of the Year, finished second in the 3-meter event with 201.60, behind fellow Co-Diver of the Year, RCC's Aimee Bruns. 

On Saturday, the Pirates overcame a strong overall performance by the Tigers and Rustlers to win the OEC title by one point. 

For the third day in a row, Bailie earned an OEC individual title with a victory in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.31. Buck finished second at 58.06 and helped the Pirates pick up some late valuable points.

The Pirates will wrap up the 2013 season at East L.A. College this Thursday through Saturday for the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association Swim/Dive Championships.