Small Colleges : A Women’s Division II Basketball Dynasty Blooms at Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly Pomona is still excited over winning its second straight Division II women’s basketball title Saturday, but Coach Darlene May already is looking forward to defending it.

The Broncos will have to replace center Vickie Mitchell, the Division II Player of the Year, and starters Debbie Flett and Violet Palmer. But hold the tears.

Forward Debra Larsen, who emerged as Most Valuable Player in the Division II tournament in Springfield, Mass., will be back, along with flashy point guard Michelle McCoy and a strong group off the bench.

“It’s not old hat,” May said of winning her third NCAA title in five years. “It’s fun every time. It’s what you work for all year.”

What may have surprised some was how Pomona defeated North Dakota State, 70-63, with Mitchell in foul trouble and playing only 17 minutes. Larsen, a junior who had had an outstanding game against Delta State in the semifinals, rose to the occasion, and freshman Marcine Edmonds filled in capably for Mitchell.

The Broncos, who lost a 14-point lead in the first half, also changed to a shifting zone defense that held North Dakota State’s star, Janice Woods, to four points in the second half after she had scored 14 in the first.

“We have played better,” May said. “Without Vickie in the lineup, I was happy we could maintain a lead. If she is in the whole game we win by 20.”

With Mitchell, Pomona’s leading scorer and rebounder, on the bench, Larsen and Flett made most of the big baskets in the second half, each finishing with 19 points. McCoy got 16, and Mitchell managed 14.

May predicts All-American status for Larsen. “She’s such a gutty, determined type of performer, a not-going-to-lose type. She plays better in clutch situations.”

When Mitchell returned, the Broncos put the game--and title--away.

The Broncos (30-3) ended the season with a a 23-game winning streak and were unbeaten against Division II opposition.

May improved her coaching record to 312-78, an average of 26 victories a season. Four players averaged double figures in scoring. The Broncos even made television--a delayed midnight broadcast on ESPN. A dynasty may be under way.

“I expect good things next year,” May said. “It would be nice to get back to Springfield again.”

Cal State Bakersfield went into the Division II swimming and diving championships without a diver, but set six meet records and earned the victory anyway. The title is Bakersfield’s first in swimming, but it is not Coach Ernie Maglischo’s first. He won several titles at Cal State Hayward. The Roadrunners held off last season’s champ, Cal State Northridge, for the title.

Bakersfield swimmers won eight races. Bartt Frey won the 100-, 200- and 500-yard freestyles; Tom Roth won the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes; Frey, Roth, Robert Mertz and Jeffrey Miller won the 800-freestyle relay; Roth, Frey, James Aird and Todd McMurdo won the 400 medley relay; and Roth, Frey, Kennon Heard and Brett Frey won the 400 freestyle relay.

Northridge, however, had the meet’s outstanding swimmer, Jeff Kubiak. He set meet records in the 200 individual medley, 1 minute 51.85 seconds, and 400 individual medley, 3:59.67. He also won the 200 breaststroke. Teammate Blair Nogosek was the meet’s top diver, winning both the one- and three-meter events.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo finished 10th, and Cal State Los Angeles 21st. Cal State L.A.’s Don Wetteland finished 12th in the 50-yard freestyle with a school-record 21.20 and scored five points, the school’s first by a swimmer since 1965. Teammate Jean Quintana earned double All-American recognition by finishing 10th in the 400 individual medley and 15th in the 200 backstroke. The freshman’s 20 points were the first ever earned by a Cal State L.A. woman.

UC Riverside is holding its 19th annual Riverside Invitational baseball tournament through Saturday.

The tournament began Monday with an eight-team field. Riverside, Notre Dame, Cornell and Tulane are in one bracket, and Washington, Oregon State, Wisconsin and Brigham Young in the other. The teams will play 29 games over six days, ending with the title game at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Riverside Sports Center. Games will be played there and at UC Riverside’s Highlander Park.

Oregon State is the defending champion. The Beavers and Brigham Young are the early favorites.

UCR baseball Coach Jack Smitheran said the tournament will be heavily scouted by the major leagues, with representatives expected from all 26 big league teams. “You are going to see some future big leaguers in this tournament,” Smitheran said.

Small College Notes Six of seven teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. were ranked in the nation’s top 30 in the last Division II baseball poll and the lone straggler, Cal State Los Angeles, is off to a fast start in the conference race and may merit ranking. Cal State Dominguez Hills is the highest at No. 3. . . . In the latest softball rankings, Chapman is No. 1, defending national champion CS Northridge is No. 2 and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is No. 8. . . . Shann Kern of UC Bakersfield competed and placed in eight events in a triple dual track meet at Stanford. . . . Janet Nicolls, Cal Poly Pomona track star, won the heptathlon at the Golden Bear Invitational in Berkeley over the weekend, compiling a personal best 5,625 points. She set personal records in the javelin, 155 feet 8 inches, and the shotput, 42-11. . . . Freshman tennis player Edna Olivares of Cal State L.A., the Philippine 18-and-under champion, is 14-1 and hasn’t lost to a Division II opponent. Her only loss was to UCLA’s Alison Cooper. . . . Cal Poly Pomona gymnasts Nancy Signer and Kim Temprendola qualified for Western Regional competition but the team’s top all-arounder, freshman Debbie Hibner, was lost to a knee injury. . . . UC Riverside baseball players Donn Mire and Kenneth Trulock are out for the season with injuries. Mire, the designated hitter, was batting .357 with four home runs but has torn cartilage in both knees. Trulock has a strained rotator cuff. . . . UC Bakersfield wrestlers Marvin Jones and Darryl Pope earned All-American honors in the Division I national championships. Jones placed third at 177 pounds. Pope was sixth at 167. . . . UC Riverside softball pitcher Tracy Weber ran her string of innings without allowing an earned run to 57 before it was broken in a 4-0 loss to Bakersfield. . . . Guard Sam Veal and center Tony Brown of Cal State Los Angeles, and forward William Alexander of Cal State Dominguez Hills were named to the Division II all-district basketball team. . . . The Division III men’s selections included Dave DeCesaris of Pomona-Pitzer and Dave Weida of Whittier. Greg Kamansky of UC San Diego made the second team.