Small Colleges / Alan Drooz : Cal Poly Women Go for Repeat of Division II Title

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team will open defense of its Division II national championship Friday, and Coach Darlene May says this season’s team has more talent than last season’s.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the Broncos are a cinch to repeat. May cautioned: “We’re probably going to be slow-starting. If we can win half our preconference games we’ll be doing good. Last year’s team was not the most talented team I’ve had. But it was a special team. It had great chemistry.

“Based on last year, we’re probably ranked No. 1. I don’t know who No. 1 is. I certainly don’t think we are now. I hope we are by February or March.”

Pomona’s record probably won’t be impressive going into California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play because of the early season schedule, which has the Broncos playing mostly Division I teams, among them Fresno State and USC in consecutive games early in December.

The Broncos will open Friday at the University of San Diego in the first of five straight road games. Also on the schedule is Central Missouri State, Pomona’s victim in last season’s NCAA final.

“I like playing those schools,” May said. “It doesn’t help to play teams you can kill.”

Pomona should be more than a match for most opponents on any level, however. Five veterans and a star redshirt return, led by 6-foot All-American center-forward Vicki Mitchell, voted the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA tournament. She averaged 12.8 points and 10.6 rebounds and nearly doubled her scoring in the last 10 games.

Also back up front are 5-10 Debbie Larsen--an All-American heptathlete in track and field--who has a 34-inch vertical leap, and 6-footer Debbie Flett, the best shooter in the front court. Lisa Potts, a 6-2 junior, will see backup action.

The guards who will open Friday are Violet Palmer at the point and Paula Tezak, but May said that UCLA transfer Michelle McCoy, an outstanding player who redshirted last year, will probably move into the lineup soon in place of Tezak.

May is pleased with her three freshmen, particularly guard Cathy Gooden and 6-1 center Marcine Edmonds. The other freshman is forward Yolanda Rothschild. “I thought Gooden and Edmonds were absolute Division I players,” May said. “Everybody who sees Gooden says that. And Rothschild is a sleeper.”

May expects a challenge in the CCAA, particularly from Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but most league coaches tab Pomona the clear favorite. Nationally, May views Central Missouri, Hampton and St. Cloud as her top competition but pointed out that gauging the national picture in Division II is difficult because there is so little intersectional play.

But it’s pretty clear that Pomona will be in there. May is the winningest coach in Division II history at 285-75, and her teams have averaged 27 victories the last 10 seasons. The Broncos will be trying to become the first women’s Division II team to repeat.

“By early January we should start getting the potential out of everybody,” May said. “Potentially, I think we could be better than last year with the talent we have. I have a feeling we may struggle a bit early. But that’s OK.”

Occidental College will be host to St. John’s of Minnesota in a first-round Division III football playoff Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Oxy (8-1) is ranked eighth nationally and second in the West behind Central of Iowa. St. John’s (8-1) is ranked 14th. Augustana of Illinois, which has won the last two titles and has been in three straight finals, is ranked first.

Oxy is making its third straight postseason appearance. The Tigers were 5-0 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and have won 21 straight SCIAC games.

The four-year backfield combination of Vance Mueller, who has gained 752 yards and scored 13 touchdowns, and Jeff Goldstein, 549 yards and 2 touchdowns, remains Oxy’s most potent weapon. Quarterback Pat Guthrie has also been effective, however, having passed for 1,543 yards and 13 touchdowns. Defensive back Quay Richardson intercepted two passes in the season finale against Claremont-Mudd to run his season total to 10.

St. John’s is coached by 37-year veteran John Gagliardi, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history at 239-79-7. His team is similar to Oxy’s, having rushed for about 1,500 yards and passed for 1,564. Mike Zumwinkle is the top rusher with 850 yards. Quarterback Rick Dougherty has thrown for 1,410 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Occidental’s men’s and women’s cross-country teams won Division III Western Regional titles over the weekend and will run in the national meets Saturday at Atlanta. The men dominated the regional meet with four of the top eight runners. Brian Butterfield was the individual winner. The women edged the College of Notre Dame of Belmont, Calif., by a point, placing five in the top 20. Michelle Trimble was second and Amy Cathcart fourth.

Cal State Northridge’s soccer team defeated Chapman last Saturday, 3-0, to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. The Matadors will play host to Seattle Pacific at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in North Campus Stadium. Northridge is 17-3-1 and ranked sixth. Seattle is 17-3 and rated third. Northridge’s Rodney Batt scored two goals and Frank Cubillos added the third in the victory over Chapman.

College Notes Cal State Northridge, ranked first in the nation, will try to complete a perfect California Collegiate Athletic Assn. volleyball season tonight when it plays host to Bakersfield. The women are 21-9 overall, 11-0 in the CCAA and have won 15 straight. . . . Cal Poly Pomona may be the only school with a grandmother running in this week’s cross-country national meets. Miste Garcia, the team’s No. 3 runner, inherited a stepson and two grandchildren when she married David Garcia, though she’s only 21.