Riverside Athletics Week in Review – 11/6/18: Football Rolls Orange Coast, Water Polo Reaches SoCal Stage, Basketball Starts Season on Winning Note
The Tigers routed the Orange Coast College Pirates by the final score of 58-0 on Saturday to remaining undefeated on the season*. Riverside held the Pirates scoreless which is the second time this season they have issued a goose egg to their competitor. They accomplished this feat back in late September against Long Beach. Offensively, the Tigers racked up 637 yards with a near even split of rsuhing and passing yards. Stone Smartt earned the nod under center and went 11-for-21 with 266 yards and five touchdowns. He located seven different receivers while favoring Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy racked up 92 yards on four catches leading to a pair of touchdowns. Zechariah Holifield paced the defense with nine tackles, while Nickolas Figueroa recorded two sacks for a loss of 12 yards.
Riverside (9-0, 4-0 NSL) will host the No. 12 Saddleback College Gauchos on Saturday, November 10 in what has shaped up to be a National Southern League conference title game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
* Fullerton has forfeited all nine of its 2018 wins and all 10 wins of 2017, according to the SCFA
The Tigers placed second in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Championships this past weekend. Despite losing in double overtime to Fullerton in the championship ballad, Riverside defeated Cypress to reach the final stage. Sophomore Nikkol Webber paced Riverside on the offensive end by firing home three scores to go along with an assist and two steals. Freshman tandem Patricija Ostarcevic and Ameila Bennett each fired home a pair of scores, while Bennett led the team in assists with four. Furthermore, Ostercevic drew a team-high three ejections. Sophomore Calean Loroff continued to be a strong presence by scoring one goal and dishing out one assist. Freshman Hannah Peercy was dynamic by dishing out two assists, pocketing two steals, and firing home a score. Sophomore Hannah McCarley hauled in her 12th win of the season by recording 11 saves accompanied by a pair of assists
The Tigers earned the third seed at the Southern California Regional tournament this weekend and will play the winner of the Golden West versus Cuesta contest on Friday, November 9 at 12:45 p.m.
After dropping their first game of the OEC Championships, the Tigers rallied to defeat Saddleback College in the third-place contest. It is the second-straight season Riverside has hauled in the bronze medal at the conference championships. The Tigers utilized an all-around strong showing highlighted by the performance of freshman David Romero in the cage. He reeled in a career-high 20 saves while dishing out two assists. He picked up his seventh win of the season. Sophomore Jacob Bills recorded a team-high four goals to pace the offense. Freshman Ethan Saenz, freshman Ty Narramore, and sophomore Alexis Gutierrez followed with two netters. Sophomore Norbert Kovacs fired home two goals and dished out one assist.
Riverside has reached the Southern California Championships as the sixth seed and will face off against Long Beach on Friday, November 9 at 5:45 p.m.
The Riverside City College men's and women's cross country teams participated in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Championships Friday morning hosted by Cerritos College. Both sides performed well with the women earning sixth place and the men finishing in eighth place.
Women
The Tigers earned their sixth-place finish after finishing with a team time of 1:37:04.30. Sophomore Sujey Esteva was the top finisher for Riverside with a time of 18:54.3. to land in the top-25 at 21st overall. Freshman Emiliana Merida Cano followed in 33rd place with a mark of 19:20.6., backed by freshman Ariel Martinez finishing in 37th place with a time of 19:33.4. Freshman Aliy Camacho finished closed behind at a clip of 19:34.4. to earn 38th place. Freshman Genesis Obispo landed just outside the top-40 in 42nd place after crossing the finish line with a time reading 19:41.6.
Men
It was the 2018 Orange Empire conference (OEC) Champion Enrique Villa who paced the Tigers leading them to an eighth place finish with a team time reading 1:44:11.6. Villa placed ninth overall marking the fifth time this season he has placed in the top-10. He earned a personal time of 19:49.5. Sophomore Austin Dai finished in the to-25 as he crossed the finish line with a time of 20:13.8. to finish in 24th place. Freshman Ricardo Ruiz was the next-best finisher as he placed 71stoverall with a mark of 21:12.4.
"We went out and did what we needed to do to qualify for state," said Head Coach Jim McCarron. "Now we need to fine tune them up and get ready for a strong finish at the Woodward Park in Fresno."
Riverside will look to reel in a state title on Saturday, November 17 at Woodward Park in Fresno, CA.
The Tigers reigned supreme in a five-set thriller against the Saddleback College Gauchos on Friday after dropping the opening two sets. Riverside utilized a small core of players to get the job done. Freshman outside hitter Vashti Elias-Romero continued to pace the Tigers offense with a game-high 15 kills to go along with 14 digs. It is the seventh time this season she has recorded double-digit kills and digs. Sophomore setter Taylor Gardner reached her season peak with 38 assists while failing to record a single ball handling error. Furthermore, she added eight digs and a pair of block assists. Sophomore outside hitter Marcella Rodriguez chipped in nine kills, while sophomore outside hitter Telanni Childs followed suit with eight kills. Sophomore Kiara Oregon was efficient in her swings by hammering home nine kills to equal a .474 kill percentage. Freshman middle blocker Kayla McKinnon was a monster in the middle by recording a season-high and career-high nine block assists.
Riverside (14-8, 7-5 OEC) will play their final conference road game on Wednesday, November 7 against top-ranked Irvine Valley College at 6 p.m.
Riverside participated in the "We Play Hard" Tournament this past weekend and went 3-0 to haul in the championship trophy. It is the third-consecutive season the Tigers have reigned supreme in the tournament. They halted all three of their opponents to under 70 points highlighted by a championship effort in a 64-61 victory over Pasadena City. In that contest, Maurice Tutt paced the Tigers with 11 points and six rebounds. Rico Tate followed with nine points, three assists, and two steals. Tyree Winborn came off the bench to score eight points, while CJ Clark backed him with six points and two assists from the bench.
Riverside (3-0) will face off against Long Beach (2-0) at home on Wednesday, November 7 at 6 p.m.
The Tigers went 1-1 in the Bakersfield tournament highlighted by a 55-50 victory over Antelope Valley. In the victory, Dayna Dewitt notched her second double-double in as many games by dropping 15 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. She was also 6-for-12 from the floor and made it to the charity stripe seven times. Dyani Brewer followed with nine points highlighted by hitting a pair of three pointers, while Marriah Nelson flushed eight points nad racked up 10 rebounds off of the bench.
Riverside (1-1) will host the fifth annual "Earn Our Stripes" Tournament beginning on Friday, November 9 through Sunday, November 11.
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