OCC's Dickson captures conference singles crown

Orange Coast College sophomore Hali Dickson captured the Orange Empire Conference singles title on Saturday (April 11) by fending off Annely Heinze of Riverside City College, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) in the championship match that went to a tie-breaker in the second set.

Dickson, the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament, won all five of her matches in straight sets and had not surrendered more than five games in any match until the finals.  Heinze, the No. 3 seed in singles, advanced to the finals without dropping more than four games in any of her four winning matches.  Dickson defeated Renee Walton of Irvine Valley, 6-2, 6-3, in one semifinal to reach the title match while Heinze defeated Ashley Athanas of Irvine Valley, 6-0, 6-4, in the other semifinal. 

In doubles action, Heinze would not be denied twice as she teamed with Kelli Reynolds to give the Riverside City College duo a tough 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Walton and Tiana Cung in the only doubles match of the tournament to go three sets.  Heinze and Reynolds were the No. 4 seed heading into the tournament and won three matches to reach the finals.  The only other challenge along the way was a 6-4, 6-2 win over Saddleback's top doubles team of Ashley Glick and Brianna Garrett.  Walton and Cung were not one of the top four seeds in doubles but upended No. 3 seeded Dickson and Emily Nickles, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals. 

The top 12 singles players and top 12 doubles teams from the conference tournament will advance to the regional and state competition which starts April 22 in Ojai as part of the prestigious Ojai Tournament.  Those results will be available at www.OjaiTourney.org

For a complete bracket results of the 2015 Orange Empire Conference women's tennis tournament, please click HERE