The community college fall sports season is rapidly heading to a close. The Pacific Coast Athletic Conference cross country championships took place last Friday; the PCAC men’s and women’s water polo finals are this weekend.
The Southwestern College men’s water polo team continues to reach new benchmarks each season. The Jaguars earned the No. 3 seed for Friday’s semifinal round at Miramar College and will play No. 2 seed Palomar.
SWC coach Jorge Ortega said it mark the first time the Jags have earned a bye beyond the championship tournament’s play-in game.
“It’s a new accomplishment, it’s a first for our school,” said Ortega, whose team carries an overall 12-10 record into the semifinal match-up against the Comets (11-13). “Every year, it seems like we are doing something new for our school – something that hasn’t been done before.
“It shows that our team is an up-and-coming team. It shows improvement.”
The Jaguars enter the tournament after winning three of four games at last weekend’s Saddleback tournament. Southwestern defeated El Camino, L.A. Trade Tech and Santa Monica and lost to Mt. SAC.
Ortega said he feels it’s better to try to build some momentum heading into the conference championships rather than taking a week off, as some teams do, to rest before the PCAC finals.
“That tournament was key for us,” the SWC coach explained. “It gave us some solid games and the end of the season. It gives us some confidence, it’s a good benchmark.”
Southwestern dropped a 17-16 home match to Palomar in the second game of the season, then lost 21-11 in a second-round road match a month later. The Comets also competed in the Saddleback tournament, going 3-1 with wins over Santa Monica, Rio Hondo and Saddleback and a loss to Mt. SAC.
“Palomar looked like a team that could be beat,” Ortega said.
Grossmont, the fourth seed, will play fifth-seeded Miramar in Friday’s play-in game. The winner gets top-seeded San Diego Mesa (18-5 overall) in Friday’s second semifinal contest.
The semifinal winners advance to the conference championship game on Saturday while the semifinal losers will play in the third-place game.
SWC has placed third the last three seasons.
“I think Palomar is more worried about us than we’re worried about Palomar,” Ortega said. “We’ve developed a reputation as a team that finishes the season strong.”
Mesa and Palomar tied for the lead with 7-1 conference records, followed by the Jaguars and Grossmont, both which tied with 3-5 conference marks. Miramar finished 0-8 in PCAC double-round play.
Mesa won the tiebreaker for the top seed while Southwestern won the tiebreaker for the No. 3 seed.
The women’s field features top-seeded Mesa (8-0, 22-2), second-seeded Palomar (5-3, 14-10), third-seeded Grossmont (5-3, 12-11), fourth-seeded Miramar (2-6, 8-12) and fifth-seeded Southwestern (0-8, 1-21).
The Lady Jaguars’ lone win of the season was 8-4 over East Los Angeles in a game played Oct. 3 at the 18th annual San Diego Women’s Water Polo Classic at San Diego Mesa.
PCAC Water Polo Standings
Men’s Standings
Final Regular season
San Diego Mesa 7-1, 18-5
Palomar 7-1, 11-13
Southwestern 3-5, 12-10
Grossmont 3-5, 6-13
Miramar 0-8, 6-12
Women’s Standings
Final Regular Season
San Diego Mesa 8-0, 22-2
Palomar 5-3, 14-10
Grossmont 5-3, 12-11
Miramar 2-6, 8-12
Southwestern 0-8, 1-21
PCAC Cross Country Finals
Friday, Oct. 30
Men’s Results
Cuyamaca captured the team title behind race winner Oscar Soto, who timed 20:51 on the four-mile course. The Coyotes placed 11 runners among the top 15 finishers to sprint away with the team title.
Southwestern placed third. Top Jaguars in the race included David Flores (second, 20:57), Sergio Castro (21st, 23:12), Cristian Baez (24th, 23:20), Bruce Alvarez (31st, 24:40) and Jesus Aguilar (36th, 26:13).
Women’s Results
The Southwestern women’s team finished third in the team standings. The Lady Jaguars received a boost once against from Nigerian transplant Aminat Olowara, who set a new state community college record at 16:11 in the 5K race.
San Diego Mesa’s Kristine Tovilovic finished second among individuals in 19:10 – nearly three minutes arrears of Olowara.
Jasmine Vasquez was eighth for SWC in 19:56, followed by teammates Karina Cantera (11th, 20:02), Nayeli Balderas (26th, 24:33) and Jasmine Garibay (34th, 26:37).
Olowara bested her time at last year’s PCAC finals and is looking to compete at the upcoming regional and state championship meets. She has a goal of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Women’s Volleyball
Southwestern entered its final thwo conference games with a 7-13 overall record, 5-9 in conference play. The Lady Juguars close out the season with matches Tuesday, Nov. 10, against visiting Mira Costa and Wednesday, Nov. 18 at Grossmont.
Southwestern defeated visiting Cuyamaca, 3-1, on Friday, Nov. 6. Games scores were 25-15, 16-25, 25-17, 25-20.
Men’s Soccer
Southwestern dropped a 3-1 decision at San Diego Mesa on Friday, Nov. 6, to drop to 8-1-2 in conference play, 14-2-4 overall. The host Olympians scored goals in the 10th and 15th minutes of play to take a 20 lead. SWC’s Alejandro Camacho halved the deficit in the 40th minute but Mesa added another goal in the 45th minute to secure the key PCAC victory. There was no scoring in the second half.
Camacho leads the Jaguars in scoring with 13 goals on the season; Rigoberto Maciel ranks second in team scoring with seven goals and seven assists. SWC goalkeeper Samuel Quinones has recorded a 1.05 goals-against average and three shutouts.
Women’s Soccer
Southwestern plays its final regular season match Tuesday, Nov. 10, at San Diego Mesa. The Lady Jaguars carry a 6-2 conference record into the game. Southwestern is 6-10-2 overall.
The Lady Jags are on a three-game winning streak after blanking visiting San Diego City, 4-0, on Friday, Nov. 6. The Lady Jaguars received goals from four players in the win: Abril Valencia, Karen Galvez, Giselle Roldan and Aletse Camacho. Karina Quiroz picked up an assist on the final SWC goal while Nancy Romano made one save to post the shutout win. Southwestern out-shot San Diego City 19-1 in the match.
Quiroz leads the team in scoring on the season with nine goals and one assist while Galvez has scored eight goals to rank second. Camacho ranks third on the team with five goals. Romano has posted a 1.67 GAA and six shutouts.
