OCC men finish third at OEC Championships; OCC women take fourth

RIVERSIDE -- The Orange Coast College men's water polo team finished in third place at the 2011 Orange Empire Conference Championships after topping Fullerton College, 15-3, on Saturday.

On the women's side, the Pirates also advanced to the third-place match, but fell to Fullerton College, 8-7, also on Saturday.
 
For the OCC men, the tournament started with a 12-8 loss to host Riverside City College on Friday before responding with a convincing win against the Hornets on Saturday.
 
Against the Tigers, Teddy Bandaruk had a pair of goals to lead the Pirates (15-8), while Cody Serrano, Dustin Serrano, Garrett Hill, Ian Kistle, Jake Mohler and Sergio Cortes each added single goals. Goalie Garrett Speed had six saves in the loss.
 
Against the Hornets, the offense came alive with five goals in the first quarter and eight goals in the third to blow the match wide open. Goal scorers for the Pirates include three goals from Cody Serrano, two goals each from Chad Naughton, Dustin Serrano, Sergio Cortes and Ian Kistle and single tallies by Anthony Diaz, Ben Burnett, Mindaugus Galinis and Trevor McGhie. Speed was strong in goal, notching seven saves to preserve Coast's win.
 
On the women's side, after beating Cypress and falling to Golden West on Thursday, the Pirates (20-8) came up a goal short against the Hornets in the third-place matchup. Alyssa Katreeb led Orange Coast with three goals, while Danielle Lopez and Erika Castillo added two goals apiece. In goal, Kristen Peters came up with five saves in the loss.
 
Both teams have advanced to this weekend's Southern California Regional Championships -- also held at Riverside City College. The OCC men will are seeded eighth and will take on ninth-seeded Mt. San Antonio on Thursday at 1:15 p.m. On the women's side, OCC earned a No. 6 seeding and will take on third-seeded Cerritos on Friday, beginning at 4:30 p.m.