Riverside City College was back on top of the Orange Empire Conference standings to start the 2017 season as the Tigers posted a team score of 367 to win the Eagle Classic tournament hosted by Mt. San Jacinto on the Soboba Springs course.
The 15-team Eagle Classic event also served as the conference-opener for the six Orange Empire Conference teams, with Orange Coast (372), Saddleback (384), Cypress (386), Mt. San Antonio (391), and Irvine Valley (412) also competing.
Riverside sophomore Robby Melton (pictured) returns this year after missing last season and posted a 1-under-par 71 to lead all conference golfers. Tiger teammates Everett Najera and Nick Bridge added even-par 72's with Brian Nielsen posting a 74 to help Riverside hold off Orange Coast and the rest of the conference pack.
Orange Coast had solid scoring throughout the lineup with only five strokes separating its first through sixth golfers. Tetsu Kase and Taka Inoue each carded 73's for the Pirates with Jeremy Dorff adding a 74 and Josh McCollum and Justin Collins tossing in 76's to round out the team score.
Saddleback was led by Shane Barreira's 74 with Chris Reck adding a 76. Cypress was led by Dylan Hall at even-par 72.
With the win, Riverside earned five victories (5-0) to take an early lead in the conference standings with Orange Coast (4-1) and Saddleback (3-2) falling in line. The Tigers won the conference title in 2015 but fell off in 2016, allowing Orange Coast to take the title.
The next conference match will be on Wednesday, March 8, when the teams converge at the Navy Course in a match hosted by Cypress College.