Saddleback captures first conference title since 2006

The Saddleback College women's golf team hadn't won an Orange Empire Conference title since the 2006 season but snapped that drought on Wednesday when the Gauchos captured the OEC's 36-hole conference championship title and ran away from the rest of the pack in the conference standings.

The Gauchos had won six out of the seven conference titles from 2000 to 2006 but had only managed five conference runner-up finishes since.  The Gauchos carded team scores of 335 on Monday and 341 at the Los Serranos Country Club on Wednesday for a two-day total of 676.  Mt. San Antonio, with identical 344 scores, finished second at the conference championship with a 688 while Orange Coast (362-350) and Irvine Valley (359-353) each posted 712.  Orange Coast won the tie-breaker to finish third in the championship event.

Saddleback entered the conference championship one win behind Irvine Valley in the conference standings and nine wins ahead of Mt. San Antonio.  The Gauchos posted the lowest team score on both days to earn the team title outright with 28 wins while Irvine Valley finished second with 22 wins and Mt. San Antonio finished third with 16 wins.

Individually, Marisa Bhanubandh came from five strokes back to win medalist honors at the conference championship and also end the conference season with the lowest average in the conference to earn Player of the Year honors.  She carded an even-par round of 74 on the final day of the championship.  Mekenzie Purcell of Saddleback, who was tied with Araceli Esquivel of Irvine Valley at the top of the leader board heading into the final round, posted an 81 and finished as the event runner-up as well as the individual conference runner-up.  Esquivel posted an 85 to finish third in the overall conference scoring.

Other top finishers at the conference championship included Mt. San Antonio's Janet Romero who posted rounds of 82 and 81 for a 163 total, Deanna Pagaduan of Saddleback who ended up with a 164 total (80-84), and Calyn Hockerson of Orange Coast who followed a first-round 88 up with a 79 on the second round.

Saddleback and Irvine Valley will send their entire teams to compete at the Southern California Regional Championship on this same Los Serranos tract on Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 7-8).  Mt. San Antonio will be represented by three individuals in Romero, Danielle Nhem, and Kendall Montero.  Orange Coast will also have three individuals participating in Hockerson, Lina You, and September Mirghanbari while Fullerton will be represented by Gwen Bates and Brooke Barker.