Small Colleges / Alan Drooz : Cal Poly Pomona Women Start 3-1

With two straight NCAA Division II titles tucked away and three starters returning, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team should have entered the season in seventh heaven.

Instead, because of the ineligibility of two players on their nine-player roster, the Broncos began the season with only seven players, and Coach Darlene May says that fatigue probably caused the team its only loss in four games when it couldn’t hold a four-point lead against Pepperdine in the final minute.

The two ineligible players are expected to regain their eligibility Friday, in time for the Fresno State tournament, where Pomona will open against Weber State.

The 3-1 start leaves May cautiously optimistic. Her starting lineup and some talented newcomers should make the Broncos a playoff contender. But an injury to a key player such as Larsen or Michele McCoy would be disastrous. “If we lose a few people, we can phone in the season,” May said.

Larsen, a 5-foot 10-inch forward who was California Collegiate Athletic Assn. female athlete of the year last season, has led Pomona’s “magnificent seven” so far, averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds. “Debbie just keeps going on and on forever,” May said. “She’s a definite All-American, in my mind.”

The other key senior is flashy point guard Michele McCoy, averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 assists. McCoy and May haven’t always seen eye to eye on style, but May admits that McCoy “is an integral part of the team” and nearly indispensable.

The other returning starter is 5-8 junior forward Paula Tezak. Letter winners Cathy Gooden, a sophomore guard, and Lisa Potts, a 6-2 senior, are also back. On Friday, 6-foot sophomore center Marcine Edmonds and 5-9 forward Jodi Keidel, a transfer from Marquette, will become eligible.

The newcomers who have filled in well are 6-2 freshman Niki Bracken and 5-10 senior Terri Dantuma, who was a volleyball All-American and decided to try her hand at a new sport. She had 19 rebounds in her debut.

“I’m pleased where we are, playing with seven,” May said. “I figured we’d struggle more. The rebounding’s been very strong. It’s just a matter of going out there and trying to put it together.”

May said thoughts of a third straight title aren’t paramount at the moment. As in past years, the Broncos are playing a strong nonconference schedule, mostly against Division I teams, and building for the start of CCAA play. Last season, the Broncos won the regular-season title and the postseason tournament for their 10th consecutive league championship. May’s 312-78 record makes her the winningest coach in Division II history.

But May, who won’t make predictions, says simply: “We want to get into the tournament bracket somewhere. That’s our goal.”

Cal State Northridge, ranked No. 1 nationally in Division II women’s volleyball, will begin its quest for a second national title in four years a long way from home--in Lakeland, Fla. The top-seeded Lady Matadors were sent across the country so they wouldn’t be in the same regional with No. 2 UC Riverside.

Northridge (34-5) clinched its fourth straight CCAA title last week by defeating Riverside. In Florida, Northridge will host team Florida Southern. Navy will play the Mississippi University for Women in the other bracket. Florida Southern, the champion of the Sunshine State Conference with a 32-8 record, has one All-American-level player in 5-11 middle hitter Michelle Kurtgis. She enters the tournament with 549 kills.

Northridge, with a deeper attack, features hitters Sue Darcey and Karen Lontka and setter Angela Brinton. Darcey, a sophomore, has more than 350 kills and a .320 percentage, and Lontka, a senior, has more than 250 kills and a .328 success rate. Brinton, who has more than a thousand assists, is actually the most successful hitter on the team, with 74 kills.

Northridge Coach Walt Ker said he figured one team might travel out of the top-heavy West regional, but he was surprised to be the one. “Traveling at this time of the school year, and the economics and hassle are the down side,” he said. “On the positive side, I’ve felt Riverside and us were the top two teams all along and we don’t have to face each other in the regional.”

Ker says this may be his deepest team ever. “We have a more balanced attack than in the past,” he said. “Any one of our girls could contribute on a given day in several aspects. Our work ethic and mental part of the game are better than they’ve ever been.

“It reminds me a lot of the John Wooden era in basketball. Our second team is one of the top teams in the country, I think. Our practices have been real quality this year.”

The winners of this weekend’s regionals will advance to the national tournament the next weekend at Sacramento State. Ker predicted the other finalists would be Riverside, Nebraska Omaha and either Sacramento or Portland State.

Small College Notes Azusa Pacific will be host to its first men’s basketball tournament Friday and Saturday. . . . Claremont-Mudd junior running back Chris Dabrow was named most valuable player in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Dabrow led the SCIAC and set a school record with 1,265 yards rushing in nine games. . . . Pomona-Pitzer senior David Rodi was named SCIAC soccer player of the year. . . . Claremont-Mudd won the water polo National Invitation Tournament--the equivalent of the small college title--for the second time in three years and the Stags’ Bob Moore was named tournament MVP. . . . Biola finished seventh in the NAIA volleyball tournament in its second straight year in the final eight. . . . Gladees Prieur led Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to its fifth straight women’s Division II cross-country title, winning the race in 16 minutes 43 seconds.