The Fullerton Hornets were picked to repeat as Orange Empire Conference champions, according to the sports information directors in the conference. The Hornets have won at least a share of the past three Orange Empire Conference titles.

Fullerton has become a force in women's water polo in recent years. The Hornets finished third in the state in 2021 and were the state champions in 2019. The sports information directors for the conference were unanimous in selecting Fullerton to win the conference again this season as the Hornets garnered all three of the first place votes.

Riverside City College and Orange Coast College finished tied for second in the poll with RCC taking home two second place votes and OCC one. Golden West College, Saddleback College and Cypress College rounded out the voting.

During the pre-conference schedule Fullerton was 3-1, defeating both Riverside City and Orange Coast in the OCC Tournament before falling to Long Beach City College. Adrianna Wong and Nikki Salerno are out of the gate quickly, leading the team with 10 goals apiece.

Riverside City was 3-1 in pre-conference play with the lone loss coming against Fullerton. The Tigers opened OEC play with a win at Golden West (16-6) on Wednesday. Amber Nielson and Taylor Mason have been the sharpshooters so far for the Tigers, scoring 14 and 12 goals, respectively.

Orange Coast is off to a solid start and was 3-1 on pre-conference play. The lone lass was to Fullerton, with wins over Citrus College, Long Beach City College and Sierra College. The Pirates opened OEC play with a 12-9 win over Saddleback on Wednesday. Destiny Hernandez leads the Pirates with 13 goals through five games.

Golden West College, Saddleback College and Cypress College were all above .500 to start the conference schedule, which leads one to believe the Orange Empire Conference is once again one of the more dominant conferences in the state. Golden West was 3-2 in pre-conference play, falling to two Northern California programs in the process. Saddleback started 4-0 heading into OEC play, including a solid win over Ventura College. Cypress was 2-1 out of the gate, with the only loss coming against San Diego Mesa.

SID POLL

1 Fullerton (3) 18
T2 Riverside 13
T2 Orange Coast 13
4 Golden West 8
5 Saddleback 7
6 Cypress 4

Release by Brad Hoiseth