Dear Athletes, Coaches, Parents, and Fans,

On behalf of Saddleback College, I want to welcome you to our beautiful campus for the 2008 California Community College Athletic Association State Swimming and Diving Championships taking place May 1st-3rd,2008.

Championship competition is the cornerstone of community college athletics and you should be proud of your accomplishments and the path you have taken to get here. The championship events over three days will test your athletic abilities in every area of competition and I wish you the best.

I want to extend a special thanks to the Saddleback College coaches and staff who have worked extra hard to bring you a quality championship event. I look forward to seeing you on the pool deck.

Sincerely,

Tony Lipold
Dean of Kinesiology and Athletics and Athletic Director

(OEC Conference Final Results - click here)
Orange Coast College won both the men’s and women’s titles at the Orange Empire Conference Swim Championships which concluded Saturday at the Saddleback College pool in Mission Viejo.

The Pirate men scored 819.5 points to easily outdistance the conference competition. Golden West was second with 617 points and Saddleback finished third with 454 points. In the women’s competition the final tally was much closer as the Pirates (680.5 points) held off a late charge by Riverside (653 points). Saddleback was third with 582 points.

No conference records were set on day three, but Saddleback’s Alex Peters earned co-Female Swimmer of the Year honors with Riverside’s Paloma Dinkel. Both ladies won each of the three individual events they were entered in with Peters setting a conference record in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday and another conference record in the 200-yard freestyle on Friday. Peters added a win in the 100-yard breaststroke on Saturday. Dinkel won the 100-yard individual medley on Thursday, the 200-yard individual medley on Friday, and the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday.
Orange Coast diver Nikki Burrelli was named as the conference’s Diver of the Year while Santa Ana head coach John Wright was named as the women’s team Coach of the Year.

Orange Coast swept all of the awards on the men’s side as Greg Hulse was named Swimmer of the Year, Jonathan Franzen was named Diver of the Year, and Anthony Iacopetti was named Coach of the Year. Hulse won the 50-yard freestyle on Thursday, the 100-yard butterfly on Friday, and the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday.

Saddleback will host the California Community College swimming and diving state championship meet this Thursday through Saturday, May 1-3, in the campus pool.

(OEC Conference Day 2 Results - click here)
Saddleback freshman Alex Peters continues to set Orange Empire Conference records during the second day of the conference championship meet.

After posting a record time of 4:57.10 in the 500-yard freestyle event on Thursday, Peters came back to set the record in the women’s 200-yard freestyle in today’s competition by posting a 1:51.55, edging the previous record of 1:51.99 set by Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen of Palomar in 1996.

Despite the record-setting performance, Saddleback dropped a spot in the team standings. Orange Coast still leads the women’s team standings with 494.5 points while Riverside has stepped into second place at 417 points and Saddleback is now third at 396.
In the men’s competition, Orange Coast remains on top with 589 points as the Pirates have solid depth in every event. Golden West is second (431) while Saddleback (312) is holding off Riverside (311) in a battle for third place.

The final day of the swim championships will be held on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Saddleback College pool.

(OEC Conference Day 1 Results - click here)
MISSSION VIEJO, CA - Orange Coast College leads in both the men’s and women’s competition after the first day of the three-day Orange Empire Conference Swim Championships hosted by Saddleback College, but the host Gauchos had the biggest individual performance of the day.

Saddleback freshman Alex Peters (Capistrano Valley HS) set a new conference record in the 500-yard freestyle during the preliminary heats in the morning, posting a time of 4:58.64 to better the time of Stephanie Netzley (5:00.08) set in 2001. Then, in the afternoon finals, Peters did even better by posting a time of 4:57.10 to win the event. The effort helped the Saddleback women keep pace with the Orange Coast women’s team which leads the competition with 225.5 points. Saddleback has 197.0 and Riverside is third with 182.0 points.

On the men’s side, Orange Coast has 302 points to take a comfortable lead over Golden West (181) and Cypress(177).