All seven teams will be taking dead aim at the top of the Orange Empire Conference as the 2023 women's golf season gets underway with a solid blend of returning standouts and some strong freshmen newcomers.

Leading the veterans will be Fullerton College standout Cathilyn Lee, who topped ALL of the golfers in 2022 winning the individual state title at Morro Bay after shooting a 75-79-154 for the two-day event. Lee and College of the Canyons' Motoko Shimoji each shot 154s, but Lee took the top spot by way of a tiebreaker. 

Last year's OEC champion Saddleback College and OEC runner-up, Fullerton College each advanced to the State Finals, with the Bobcats taking third overall and the Hornets placing sixth.

In addition to Lee, the Hornets have returners with high-level experience, including Liviana Griffin (FC), Rhea Sigur (FC).

After the opening match of the season at Soboba Golf Club, Cuyamaca's Kiana Glossner torched the opposition and the course with a 7-under-par, 65 … a full EIGHT shots better than the rest of the field. 

Mt. San Antonio College showed the depth of a conference champion contender with four golfers shooting 84 or better to take the top team score of 320 after the opening week. Fullerton was second at 350, followed College of the Desert (353), Saddleback (357), Cuyamaca (379), Orange Coast (380) and Mt. San Jacinto (N/S). Those four Mountie standouts were Kayla Loera (73), Natalie Neal (81), Alana Lo (81) and Kylie Lau (84). 

The two-round Orange Empire Conference Championships will take place Oct. 23 & 25 at Temecula Creek Golf Club. The Southern California Regionals will be Nov. 5-6, followed by the CCCAA State Championships at Hunter Ranch in Paso Robles Nov. 13-14.

Release by Tony Altobelli, Orange Coast SID