COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : OCC Men, Women Win State Swimming Titles

Orange Coast continued its dominance in community college swimming, winning the men’s and women’s titles with record-setting performances as the State championships concluded Saturday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

The Pirate men defended their title with a record 736 points, topping the mark they set last year. Matthias Otte swam the 200-yard backstroke in 1 minute 48.26 seconds, topping the previous national community college record of 1:48.97.

On the women’s side, Orange Coast won its fourth consecutive title and eighth in the last nine years, finishing with 472 points, 145 1/2 ahead of Diablo Valley. The Pirates’ 200 freestyle relay team of Michelle Quigley, Kristen Welch, Jenny Sheldon and Meg Reilly set a national record at 1:38.53, breaking Diablo Valley’s 1:39.40 mark.

In the Orange Empire Conference men’s tennis tournament:

Golden West Wins Doubles Title--Tim Leonard and David DiMarino of Golden West took the conference doubles title Saturday at Riverside. They beat Justin Zillman and Shawn Lucero of Orange Coast, 6-4, 6-4.

Earlier Saturday, DiMarino had lost in one singles semifinal to Riverside’s Gerald Kahle, 6-3, 6-3. Riverside’s Matt Koch beat Saddleback’s Danny Wood, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the other semifinal.

Kahle then went on to take the singles’ title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

Kahle was selected as the conference’s most valuable player.

In the Orange Empire Conference women’s tennis tournament:

Fouret Wins Twice--Jamie Fouret of Saddleback won the singles and doubles titles without dropping a set in three matches.

Fouret defeated Michele Mateljan of Riverside, 6-1, 6-1 in the singles final, after eliminating Orange Coast’s Heather Ellis, 6-1, 6-0, in the semifinals.

Fouret then teamed with Makiko Suwa to take the doubles titles, topping Michelle Jannone and Shannon Curren of Orange Coast, 6-4, 6-4.