Pirates share Conference Crown!
MISSION VIEJO -- For the ninth straight season, the Orange Coast College women's tennis team has captured at least a share of the Orange Empire Conference championship after the Pirates toppled Saddleback, 8-1, on Thursday at Saddleback College.
The Pirates have captured the OEC crown and have owned it alone or shared the top spot consecutively since the 2016 season, excluding the 2020 season that ended due to the COVID pandemic.
On Thursday, Coast (15-1, 5-1, co-champs with Riverside), picked up a doubles sweep with wins coming from Ava Bocek/Tori Varela (8-6), Mebuki Kitakuni/Kaylee Ho (8-3) and Breckyn Burg/Kayla Cheng (8-3).
In singles play, OCC won 5-of-6 matches with straight-set wins coming from Varela (6-0, 6-1), Bocek (6-1, 6-1) and Sydney Friesan (6-0, 6-0), while Mebuki won after her opponent retired. Ho needed a third-set tiebreaker, but pulled out a 6-4, 3-6 (10-7) win for the Pirates.
Coast will now take part in the OEC Tournament, hosted by Fullerton College, next week, with dual playoffs taking place, starting on Tuesday, April 8.
