OTHER SPORTS : Seasoned Pierce Tennis Team Ranked No. 1 in First Preseason Poll

Pierce has been ranked No. 1 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn.’s first preseason poll of California community colleges.

The vote didn’t surprise Coach Paul Xanthos.

“It could be our best team ever,” he said. “We’re very deep and I think our doubles will be outstanding.”

Xanthos has won 17 conference titles in 22 years at Pierce, including the Metro Conference championship last year. Pierce lost to Grossmont, the eventual state champion, in the Southern California regional final last year, and finished with a No. 3 ranking in California.

Back from that team are four players ranked in the top 40 in the state and the returning conference doubles champions.

Nelson Gary is ranked No. 2 in singles, and returning conference singles champion Nader Frarji is No. 12. Alex Olaya and David Valastro, who combined to win the conference doubles title last year, are rated 22nd and 38th in singles.

Doug Merrill, who played No. 5 singles last year, has not yet decided whether to return, Xanthos said.

Not included in the state rankings is John Freeman, a freshman from Loyola High, who is second on Pierce’s ladder. Robert Grundy from New Zealand and Mike Rosenthal from Calabasas are other freshmen who will contribute, Xanthos said.

Four Pierce players will get an early start on the season Saturday in a qualifying tournament for the Adidas Invitational. The tournament is normally for players at four-year schools, but Xanthos, who is on the Adidas advisory staff, was able to enter Frarji, Olaya, Freeman and Grundy in the 32-player tournament. The winner qualifies for the Adidas tournament next week in Palm Springs.

Wide receiver John Jake, who caught 28 passes for a 25.8-yard average this season at Valley College, made a verbal commitment this week to attend Idaho. He will sign Sunday, Valley Coach Chuck Ferrero said.

Jake is the fourth in a line of Valley receivers to sign with Idaho. The first was Ron Wittenburg, a two-time All-Big Sky Conference selection who wound up in the Canadian Football League. He was followed by Eric Yarber, conference offensive player of the year as a senior in 1985, who is playing for the Washington Redskins in the NFL. The other was Neosia Morris, who led Idaho with 59 catches this season as a freshmen.

All three Valley alumni were involved in the recruiting of Jake. “Idaho got him on history,” Ferrero said.

Jake (5-8, 160) had also considered Wyoming, Colorado State, Nevada Reno and Weber State, according to Ferrero.

Also making a verbal commitment was nose guard Pete Warda (6-2, 253), who will attend Tennessee Tech. Warda, a starter at Pierce as a freshman, missed five games this season with an injury.

So far, eight Valley players have committed to Division I schools.

Add Yarber: A former All-American at Valley, Yarber has been impressive in four games as a punt returner for the Redskins, but he may wind up on the sidelines Sunday when the Redskins play the New York Giants in the National Football Conference championship game at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

Washington Coach Joe Gibbs said earlier this week that Darrell Green, the fastest man in professional football with 10.08 time over 100 meters, may replace Yarber against the Giants. Green returned punts for the Redskins two seasons ago.

Yarber had a return average of 15.9 yards in nine punts; his longest was 44 yards. In the playoffs, Yarber is averaging only six yards a return; his longest was nine yards.

Back for more: Jack Boyd, who coached league champion track teams at Reseda and Monroe high schools in the 1950s and ‘60s, has replaced Bob Chambers as track coach at Pierce, Athletic Director Marian McWilliams said.

Quarterback Rob Huffman of Glendale has signed a national letter of intent with Cal State Northridge. Huffman, a junior college All-American, was one of three players signed by Northridge on Wednesday. The others were offensive tackle Eric Staggs of Sierra (Calif.) College, and Glendale defensive tackle Sean Williams.

Huffman, 6-3, 205, completed 119 of 218 passes for 1,595 yards and 21 touchdowns during the 1986 season. He was intercepted 11 times and averaged 13.4 yards per completion. Huffman was voted second-team All-State by the California Community College Football Coaches Assn.

Staggs, at 6-7 and 280 pounds, was named to the All-Bay Valley Conference first team last season.

Williams sat out the 1986 season but was named to the all-state first team in 1985. The Fairfax High graduate is 6-5 and 250 pounds.

Valley quarterback Barry Hanks didn’t make the JC All-State football team, but he did lead the state in passing efficiency (159.9). Hanks completed 92 of 160 passes for 1,567 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was intercepted only twice, fewer than any other quarterback in the state with more than 85 completions.