College Division / Mitch Polin : Cal Poly Pomona Men Take a Cue From Women

At Cal Poly Pomona, men’s basketball has taken a back seat to the women’s program in recent years.

Things have become so one-sided that during the last two seasons, the school has scheduled the women’s game as the featured attraction in several doubleheaders with the men.

That’s not altogether surprising when you consider that the women’s team has reached the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.’s Division II finals five of the last six years, whereas the men’s team has not posted a winning record in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season during that span.

Perhaps a little embarrassing for the men’s team, though.

Entering the 1987-88 season, the forecast was pretty much the same for both programs and that’s how it started.

But three games into the conference season, there is a surprise in the making.

The men’s team is 3-0 and tied with Cal State Bakersfield for first place in the CCAA. It’s a start that is especially unexpected because the Broncos struggled through a 5-8 nonconference season.

Even first-year coach Dave Bollwinkel is a little surprised. “I’m not shocked that we’re 3-0 at this point but I’m pleasantly pleased,” he said.

Bollwinkel said the sudden success was not a complete surprise because the team lost seven of the games on the road during a stretch from late November to early January. Included in those games were losses to Division I teams Cal State Long Beach and San Diego State and National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics powers Hawaii Hilo--twice--and Biola.

“I felt we were capable of this kind of play,” he said. “All along I felt that we would be a better team come January and February because I was new to the program.”

That’s a lot more than people expected for this season when Bollwinkel was hired to replace George Fisher last May.

“People said, ‘It’s a wasted year. You got here too late to do any recruiting,’ ” Bollwinkel said. “But we didn’t wave any white flags. We just went full speed ahead.”

Because most of the top players were already signed to national letters of intent by the time Bollwinkel arrived, the coach has had to rely mostly on the players he inherited from Fisher.

Bollwinkel was encouraged to find that there was talent among the seven players returning from last year’s 11-16 team.

The biggest surprise, by far, has been 6-foot 7-inch senior center Tony Theisen, who averaged fewer than 10 points a game in each of the last two seasons but leads the Broncos in scoring and rebounding this season. Theisen is averaging 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds and is among the CCAA leaders with his 61% shooting mark.

“He’s really blossomed,” Bollwinkel said. “He’s a very smart player. He’s not blessed with great athletic ability but he’s making the most of it.”

Pomona has also gotten strong play from guards Bill Dobbs, Galen Dedmon and Chris Jefferson and forwards Nate Macon and Forrest Barnes.

“In order for us to be successful, our people have to believe and be willing to work hard,” Bollwinkel said. “I think what surprised me the most was the willingness of the players to accept our work demands. . . . You also have to have some talent. You’ve never seen a mule win the Kentucky Derby and I was fortunate to have some talent here.”

It may not be enough to win the CCAA title this season, but Bollwinkel believes that finishing in the top four and making the conference’s postseason tournament for the first time is a realistic goal.

“We still have a long way to go but I think it’s something we can accomplish,” he said.

The biggest task for the Broncos would appear to be winning on the road. Pomona is 7-1 at home and 1-7 on the road. Still, the Broncos showed a positive sign with a comeback win at Cal State Los Angeles last Saturday, 88-85.

That made Pomona the first visiting men’s team to win a CCAA game this season.

If Marine Cano, Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer coach, seems a little happy these days, there’s a good reason.

The NCAA has approved a Division II playoff format for the sport for next season.

Until now, there has been only one NCAA playoff division for women’s soccer. That has meant the Toros, one of the top Division II teams on the West Coast the last two years, have had to compete with Division I teams for a playoff berth.

As a result, Dominguez Hills has turned in outstanding records the last two seasons but has not made the playoffs. The Toros were 15-1-2 and ranked No. 2 on the West Coast two seasons ago and 12-5-1 and ranked No. 3 last season.

With the creation of a Division II tournament, the Toros will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to win the national title next season.

“I feel our players can still make the Division I playoffs but at least now we have a realistic chance to win a national championship,” he said.

The new playoff format, which will probably include six teams the first year, should also improve the postseason prospects of Cal Poly Pomona. The Broncos were 10-7-4 and ranked No. 8 on the West Coast last season.