The Mt. San Antonio women's golf team got its first Orange Empire Conference win on Wednesday, posting a team score of 342 on the par-71 Oak Creek course in a conference event hosted by Irvine Valley College.

The Mounties used four scores in the mid-80's, led by Janet Romero's 83 while Danielle Nhem and Tiffany Lin added 86's.  The Mounties edged tournament host Irvine Valley (345) by three strokes and conference-leader Saddleback (349) by seven strokes.

Irvine Valley's Araceli Esquivel earned medalist honors with a 5-over-par 76 while Saddleback freshman Mekenzie Purcell (pictured) was a stroke back at 77.  Marisa Bhanubandh of Irvine Valley finished third with an 80 before Fullerton's Brooke Barker (83) and the Mt. San Antonio trio finished on the leader board.

All five teams will compete at Royal Vista golf course in Walnut on Monday (Oct. 24) and then the Arroyo Trabuco golf course in Mission Viejo on Wednesday (Oct. 26) before heading into the conference finals on Oct. 31 and Nov. 2.


Team results from Oak Creek:
Mt. San Antonio 342
Irvine Valley 345
Saddleback 349
Orange Coast 363
Fullerton 376

Individual results:
Araceli Esquivel, Irvine Valley 76
Mekenzie Purcell, Saddleback 77
Marisa Bhanubandh, Irvine Valley 80
Brooke Barker, Fullerton 83
Janet Romero, Mt. San Antonio 83