THE COLLEGES : Former Chapman Player Is Off Kenya’s Davis Cup Team

Paul Wakesa, a former Chapman College tennis star, has been dropped from Kenya’s Davis Cup team, a national sports official said Friday.

Wakesa, a native of Kenya, was dropped from the team because he played against a South African in a tournament. Wakesa, ranked 374th in the world by the Assn. of Tennis Professionals, was one of four players scheduled to compete against the Egyptian team Friday in Cairo in an African Zone Davis Cup qualifying match.

On Sunday, Wakesa lost to South African Pieter Aldrich in the final of the Point-a-Pitre Open tennis tournament in Guadeloupe.

Kenya has no diplomatic relations with South Africa, which practices the racial discrimination policy of apartheid, and on several occasions has threatened to boycott events in which South African athletes participate.

“Paul Wakesa was pulled out of the Davis Cup team because he played against the South African,” said Charles Mukora, chairman of of the Kenya National Sports Council.

As a walk-on in 1986, Wakesa was Chapman’s No. 5 singles player and had a record of 14-8.

Wakesa received a scholarship for the next season but missed part of the year while rehabilitating from summer shoulder surgery.

When he returned, Wakesa helped Chapman win its second Division II national championship in three years. He finished 14-5 and teamed with Barry Hancock to win the Division II doubles championship.