OEC Golfers Heading to State Tournament

The Orange Empire Conference will be well represented at the 2014 CCCAA Men's Golf State Championship being held on Monday, May 12, at the Victoria Club course in Riverside.  And don't be surprised if both the team champion and individual champion are representatives of this conference.

OEC champion Orange Coast, runner-up Santiago Canyon, and third-place finisher Riverside each sent teams to the 36-hole regional championship last Monday at the StoneRidge Country Club in Poway.  Western State Conference champion College of the Canyons posted a team score of 363 in the morning round to hold the early lead over Orange Coast (366), College of the Desert (370), Santa Barbara (371), Riverside (372), Santiago Canyon (373), and a handful of other colleges.

Canyons went on to post a 360 in the afternoon to win the regional with a score of 723, but Riverside posted a 366 in the afternoon round to climb from fifth place into second place and earn the regional's other team spot in the state championship.   Orange Coast finished third, five strokes behind Riverside, and Santiago Canyon ended up in seventh place in the 10-team regional.  Riverside's Eric Cross fired a 4-under-par 68 in the morning round to lead the Tigers while Wes Hatton was 1-under-par (71) in the afternoon round.

The irony coming out of the regional event is that Riverside, although a bit of a long-shot to reach the state championship in the 10-team field, will likely be favored to win the state championship.  After all, the Victoria Club is the Tigers' home course and the players will know that course better than any other participant.  The key will be in how the Tigers manage their home turf.

In a 13-team invitational tournament hosted by Riverside on the Victoria Club course at the beginning of the season, Riverside won the event with a team score of 361 while College of the Canyons (377) placed fourth.  Both teams have altered their lineups slightly, swapping out one player in the 6-team line-up from that season-opening event.  Riverside has added Josh Roquet while Canyons has added Aaron Grimes.  Grimes carded a pair of 74's at the regional last week while Roquet posted a 77 and a 76.  However, Riverside's Clay Hjulberg (69) and Chad Hambright (70) both finished under par on the Victoria Club course in that earlier event.

In addition to the six Riverside golfers who will be competing at the state championship, the Orange Empire Conference will also be represented by five individual golfers.  Spencer Wilde of Cypress College (146) carded rounds of 77 and 3-under-par 69 to qualify as an individual.  The Orange Coast pair of Zach Eddy (144) and Marc Reyes (145) made the cut as individuals, as did Santiago Canyon's Nico Mendoza (148) and Tanner Dice (148).

Mendoza was the conference's Player of the Year after averaging 71.2 strokes per round and earning medalist honors in three of the 10 conference matches.  Reyes did not play in every conference match, but he did average 69.9 strokes per round and was the event medalist in four conference matches.  Eddy was the medalist in one of the 10 conference matches.

Tee times for Monday's state championship event will begin at 7:00 a.m. for the morning rounds and at 12:00 p.m. for the afternoon rounds with the awards ceremony scheduled for 5:30 p.m.    Saddleback is the last Orange Empire Conference college to capture the men's golf state championship, capturing titles in 2007, 1996, 1994, 1989, 1985 and 1983.  Fullerton (1970) and Santa Ana (1965) no longer field men's golf teams.  Orange Coast captured the state title in 1958.