Tigers Settle for Second at Tijeras Creek Wednesday; Co-lead OEC Standings with Orange Coast

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA -- Carding a collective team score of 373, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's golf team finished second at the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) match at Tijeras Creek Golf Course, hosted by Saddleback College last Wednesday (Mar. 15), but has forged a tie atop the OEC standings.

Cypress won the match with a team score of 361 to go 5-0 on the day, followed by Riverside City (373), and Orange Coast (376). Host Saddleback was fourth (390), followed by OEC-hosted Mt. San Antonio (399) and Irvine Valley (406).

Currently, Orange Coast (12-3) and Riverside (12-3) lead the OEC standings, followed by Cypress (11-4), Saddleback (7-8), Mt. San Antonio (3-12) and Irvine Valley (0-15).

Gaining medalist honors was Matt Rafter of Cypress, who shot a 69, followed by teammate Dylan Hall of Cypress, who shot a 70.

Tetsu Kase and Justin Collins of Orange Coast each shot a 71, as did Andrew Thompson of Cypress.

Leading the way for RCC was sophomore Everett Najera (Corona - Corona HS '15), who shot an ever-par 72, followed by freshman Brian Nielsen (Riverside - Poly HS), who fired a 73.

RCC sophomore Robby Melton (Riverside - Citrus Hill HS '15) shot a 75, freshman Michael Herrera (Moreno Valley - Valley View HS '16) was next with a 76, followed by sophomore Nick Bridge (Riverside - Norte Vista HS '15), who carded a 77, and sophomore Jordan Sams (Lake Arrowhead / Rim of the World HS '10) shot an 80.

Riverside will next compete on Monday, Mar. 20, when it visits El Camino CC for the SoCal Preview which begins at 12 p.m.

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