Swimmers make biggest splash

The Orange Coast College men’s swimming team earned its first state title since 1994, while football and basketball enjoyed a similar resurgence in 2005-06.

Ten of the Pirates’ 11 men’s programs finished with winning records, while all but one participated in team or individual postseason competition.

No team advanced past the second round of the playoffs and the track and field team’s 10th-place finish at the state meet was the second-best showing, behind swimming.

Swimming: This sport has accounted for 18 of the school’s 83 state championships, but the men’s team had not captured a title since 1994.

The Pirates, with 508 points, soundly surpassed defending champion Ventura by 43 points at the three-day state meet.

Orange Coast was so far out in front, it won despite going winless on the final day. The Pirates won the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle relay.

Andrew Simo had the best finish on the meet’s final day — third in the 200 backstroke in 1:45.90.

The Pirates also won the conference championship a week earlier and Coach Anthony Iacopetti was named conference Coach of the Year.

Orange Coast set two conference records at the meet — Michael Fessenden in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.63 seconds, and in the 200 free relay (1:24.08).

Justin Taylor was named conference Diver of the Year after winning both of his events.

Basketball: The Pirates finished 22-10, 8-3 in the Orange Empire Conference to earn a No. 7 seed and home-court advantage for the first round of the Southern California Regional playoffs. But the season ended there with an 85-76 loss to San Bernardino.

The Pirates won nine of their first 10 conference games, before losing the final two. Fifth-year coach Steve Spencer earned a share of Coach of the Year honors after leading the team to its highest win total in 19 seasons.

Sophomore guard Lance Ortiz was named first-team all-conference for the second straight year after averaging 13.2 points, 5.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game.

Sophomore Reggie Brown was also named to the first team after averaging 12 points and 4.2 rebounds a game.

Football: It may have been the Pirates’ most successful season in five years, but it ended on a down note.

Orange Coast lost to Diablo Valley, 37-34, in the East County Bowl. The Pirates, who fell to 6-5, had seven turnovers in the program’s first bowl appearance since 2000.

Diablo Valley returned three turnovers for touchdowns and added two points by returning a blocked conversion kick.

Orange Coast sophomore defensive end Justin Williams, who led the Mission Conference with 13 sacks and 22 tackles for loss, was named third-team All-American by J.C. Grid-Wire. Williams averaged more than nine tackles a game.

Ten Orange Coast players were named All-Mission Conference. Williams along with linebackers Aaron Miller and Dave Ronning, cornerback Cory Nicol and defensive tackle Winter Welz were first-team honorees.

Receiver and kick returner Shane Hoffman was a first-team choice, while tailback Robert Aoki, receiver Damola Adeniji and center Luke Sapolu, a former Costa Mesa High standout, were second-team selections.

Safety Mordy Ornguze, out of Corona del Mar High, was a second-team pick.

Baseball: Coach John Altobelli’s club was 12-3 before conference play began.

But a 10-14 conference record contributed to a 23-20 finish.

With playoff experience from the previous year, Orange Coast won its regional play-in game, 4-3, over Cerritos. It then extended Cypress to three games in the first round of the regional playoffs.

Freshman Josh Bradbury, a Corona del Mar High graduate, was named first-team all-conference as an outfielder after hitting .364 and belting 12 home runs.

Freshman first baseman Eric Oliver was a second-team pick after hitting .332 with nine home runs.

Freshman shortstop Nick Rotkowitz was also a second-team honoree. He hit .318.

Bradbury was drafted in the eighth round by the Texas Rangers, 238th overall. He signed.

Pitcher Kyle Harper was chosen by the Cleveland Indians in the 17th round.

Freshman Keith Demorgandie was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 24th round. Demorgandie was 7-3 with a 4.20 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 86 innings.

Track and field: The team finished 10th at the state championships, led by freshman Scott Burbach, who was second in the javelin with a throw of 187 feet, 11 inches.

Sophomore Cameron Clavin was third in the discus (159-6) and 10th in javelin (159-9).

Sophomore Chris Burbach was third in the javelin (184-9).

Freshman Lance Gonzalez was fifth in the decathlon (6,211 points), fifth in the high jump (6-6) and seventh in the javelin (171-0).

The Pirates finished fifth at the Southern California Championships, four points behind Cerritos College.

Volleyball: Orange Coast won three of its final four conference matches to advance to the Southern California Regionals.

But Santa Monica ended the Pirates’ season in the first round.

The loss, which reflected a season-long battle with injuries, was followed by the resignation of 15-year coach Chuck Cutenese, who elected to focus on coaching the women’s team.

The Pirates were without setter Trevor Holmes, and outside hitter Napua Canda did not enter until late in the second game, when he ignited a third-game run to prevent a sweep.

Cross country: Injuries proved too much for the Pirates in the regional and state meets, as the team finished 14th and 18th, respectively.

The team’s last stand came at the conference finals.

The Pirates, missing three top runners, finished second, 14 points behind Riverside.

Patrick Fitzgerald finished sixth (21:53) to lead the Pirates, who had eight runners in the top 20.

Soccer: The Pirates went 2-0-2 in the final four conference games to earn the No. 6 seed in the Southern California Regional playoffs.

But they were upset, 3-2, in overtime by No. 11-seeded East Los Angeles and finished 13-7-5.

Water polo: The Pirates finished 24-13, but did not qualify for the Southern California Regional championships.

In its final game, Orange Coast lost, 7-6, to conference champion and eventual state runner-up Golden West.

Golf: Kurt Mascio advanced to the state tournament, where he finished 51st.

Tennis: Daniel Hamden and Brian Nguyen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Orange Empire Conference tournament.

Hamden reached the round of 16 in singles at the conference tournament.

The Pirates were 7-9, 4-8 in conference.