HORNETS LAND TOP OEC SPOTS OF 2020
The Orange Empire Conference (OEC) athletic directors, sports information directors and administrators voted on the top 10 moments of 2020 with Fullerton women's water polo claiming the top spot and men's soccer No. 5.
10.
SANTA ANA'S EMILY ROSAS THROWS BACK TO BACK NO-HITTERS IN OEC ACTION
Emily Rosas recorded two consecutive no-hitters as she shut down the Golden West and Orange Coast lineups in Orange Empire Conference action. In 12 innings of work, Rosas struck out eight batters and led Santa Ana to back-to-back wins.
9.
IVC'S RENATA BATH ('18) RECEIVES CCCAA SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARD
CCCAA Women's Volleyball State Scholar award winner, Last spring, Bath reached the CCCAA State Women's Beach Volleyball Championship semifinals in the pairs event with teammate Lea Kruse and helped her IVC squad finish third in the state championship team event, was named OEC Co-Most Valuable Player, CCCAA All-State, AVCA All-American, team-high 293 digs, 3.93 digs-per-set, 10 or more digs in 18 matches (2018 stats)
8.
RCC TRACK & FIELD SWEEPS PODIUM AT OEC INVITATIONAL
The men won 10 of the 19 events coming in the 4 x 100 M Relay, 100 M, 4 x 400 M Relay, 200 M, Long Jump, 400 M Hurdles, 100 M Hurdles, 1500 M, High Jump, Pole Vault and Discus. The women followed with 11 top finishes coming in the Shot Put, Discus, Hammer, Triple Jump, 4 x 100 M Relay, 4 x 400 M Relay, 400 M Hurdles, 100 M, 200 M and 400 M.
7.
RCC MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS #2 SANTIAGO CANYON, CLINCHES SHARED OEC TITLE
The Tigers were down by two points entering into the second half. However, a second-half jolt from freshman guard Zekiah LoVett carried the Riverside to a 76-72 victory. LoVett went 5-for-8 from long range en route to a season-high 23 points. The outcome looked bleak for Riverside with under two minute remaining after the succumbed to a 13-2 run to put the Hawks ahead. Nevertheless, freshman point guard Melvin Walker cashed in at the charity stripe following a technical foul to snag the lead. From there, Riverside went 9-of-01 from the line to seal the win.
6.
SADDLEBACK WOMEN PLACE SECOND AT STATE
Dana McGrath was her normal self, leading the pack of Gaucho harriers with a sixth place finish at the state finals. She covered the 5k course in 18:48.7, finishing 21.2 seconds off the pace set by Moorpark's Sophia Cortina. She was followed by teammates Nayelli Hernandez (18), Holly Morales (19), Cayla Porter (28) and Alexis Park (38), who all finished in the top-40 in the team competition. McGrath earned All-America honors as a result of finishing in the top 14 at the state finals. Saddleback knew it would be a tall task to out-duel either Glendale College or Hartnell College, who entered as the favorites to win the state title after winning their respective regional finals. The Gauchos grabbed hold of the moment, finishing second and outdueling both Mt. San Antonio College and Hartnell to finish second in the state.
5.
2019 FULLERTON COLLEGE MEN'S SOCCER TEAM - BACK-TO-BACK OEC CHAMPIONS
The 2019 Hornets did not necessarily begin the season how they had hoped with a 4-3-2 overall record by the end of September. Despite the cooler weather in October and November, the Hornets heated up only losing 3 regular season games, while winning 8 OEC games. Finishing strong with a 1-0 win over a tough Golden West College squad, the Hornets earned their second straight Orange Empire Conference championship trophy. FC went on to beat Bakersfield College at home 1-0 in the first round of the CCCAA Regional Playoffs. The Hornets lost in the second round to visiting Oxnard College 2-0.
4.
GOLDEN WEST MEN'S WATER POLO WINS 2019 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Manuel Augosto scores state championship clinching goal with 10 seconds remaining against LBCC. He was also Co-MVP in the OEC.
3.
IVC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GOES UNDEFEATED
#4 Irvine Valley's women's basketball team finished a perfect Orange Empire Conference schedule with a 64-49 win over Fullerton at home in late February. The triumph – along with two forfeit victories over Orange Coast – pushed IVC's record to 26-2 overall and 14-0 in conference.
2.
IVC WOMEN'S INDOOR VOLLEYBALL GOES UNDEFEATED
Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team finished its second undefeated regular season in three years in November. The Lasers, ranked No. 1 in the state, earned their 19th sweep of the season and 14th in Orange Empire Conference play with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-18 win at Saddleback. Irvine Valley improved its record to 23-0 overall. The Lasers, who had already wrapped up their third straight OEC title, went 16-0 in conference.
1.
2019 FULLERTON COLLEGE WOMEN'S WATER POLO TEAM - OEC AND STATE CHAMPIONS
They were ranked No. 2 during the first half of the season and then moved up to No. 1 after one weekend tournament at Cuesta College. In that tournament, the Hornets had to battle three teams that ranked in the top 4 in the state. Led by sophomore Bryanna Santis' 11 goals, went on to beat No. 1 Riverside City, No. 4 Long Beach City, and No. 3 Santa Barbara City. The Hornets held the No. 1 spot heading into the state tournament where they had to face Orange Empire Conference rival, No. 2 Riverside City College in the final match, which they defeated to haul in a state title.
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HONORABLE MENTION
SANTA ANA'S GIOVANNI BARAJAS WINS OEC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
Giovanni Barajas put on a show to bring home the Orange Empire Conference championship as he blew away the field to win with a time of 21:48.45.
CYPRESS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS FULLERTON IN COME-FROM-BEHIND FASHION
The Chargers trailed the Fullerton Hornets by 7 with under 2 minutes to play, 62-55. All-OEC selection Pressilla Blanco, put the team on her back and made a jump shot to cut the deficit to 5. With 13 seconds to go Sara Weber knocked down two free throws to trail by 3. With 7 seconds to go Blanco made a layup to make the score 62-61. The Chargers forced a turnover on the next possession and Blanco drew a foul. Pressila was sent to the line with 3 seconds to go down by 1. Blanco hit both free throws to put the Chargers up 63-62.
SANTA ANA WOMEN'S SOCCER WINS THREE STRAIGHT TO EARN FIRST PLAYOFF BERTH SINCE 2009
Santa Ana women's soccer got hot down the stretch of Orange Empire Conference play, defeating Irvine Valley, Golden West and Orange Coast by a combined score of 11-0. The Dons earned a spot in the 2019 California Community College Athletic Association SoCal Regional Playoffs, qualifying for postseason play for the first time since 2009.
CYPRESS BASEBALL SWEEPS FULLERTON
The Chargers kicked off the short OEC season against Fullerton. The Chargers swept the series (16-2, 14-3, 12-1) The Chargers outscored Fullerton 42-6 in the 3 game series. Spencer Serve- 5 RBI, HR, Hayden Winters - 4 RBI, HR, 3B, Mario Tostado- 5 RBI, HR, 2B, Trevor Jones -7 RBI, Bobby Silvis, 5 RBI.
