Orange Coast College

Pirates place 11th at Victor Valley Invitational

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

VICTOR VALLEY - With some afternoon wind and some chilly temperatures, the Orange Coast College men's golf team took to the Spring Valley Lake Country Club for the season-opening Victor Valley College Invitational on Monday.

Led by the strong play of Justin Gray and Jon Evans, the Pirates finished the four-ball tournament in 11th place in a field saturated with some of the top teams in the state.

"As invitationals go, this is probably the one that all the teams want to be a part of," OCC head coach Sean Collins said. "Last year, I think we were second-to-last, so to finish 11th is very pleasing, especially against a field of teams like this."

Gray and Evans teamed up to shoot a 7-under-par 65 in the four-ball format, the second-best score in the entire field. Saddleback's Gavin Reid and Michael Bench edged out the Pirates' duo with an 8-under 64.

"Justin (Evans) may have had the best individual performance of anyone out there," Collins said. "I think he may have shot a 66 with his own ball if it was that type of format."

Other Pirate team scores included T.J. Vick and Kevin Ritter, who shot a 71 and Kyle Ritter and Dana Halden, who carded a 75.

The Gauchos won the tournament with a team score of 194, two shots ahead of Santiago Canyon and six shots ahead of Long Beach City. The Pirates shot a 211 for the event.

The Pirates next tee off at the Tee-Off Classic, held at Los Serranos Golf Course on Feb. 5-7, beginning at 8 a.m.