SportScope : Muir, St. Lucy’s Girl Cagers to Take Shot at Crown in Bell-Jeff Tourney

Muir High of Pasadena and St. Lucy’s of Glendora, which have produced two of the top girls’ basketball programs in the San Gabriel Valley in recent years, will compete against a strong field in the fourth annual Bell-Jeff Summer Hoop Finale starting Saturday at Bell-Jeff High in Burbank.

Muir, which finished with a 17-6 record last season and was co-champion of the Pacific League, is expected to have one of the top teams in the valley again with the return of senior center Lisa Salsman (6-3) and junior guard Rose Jong. Salsman averaged 13.2 rebounds a game last season, and Jong led the Mustangs in assists.

The Mustangs have received a first-round bye in the 24-team tournament. Muir plays the winner of Saturday’s Bishop Montgomery-Burroughs (Burbank) game in the second round at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

St. Lucy’s, which was 20-4 and reached the second round of the CIF Southern Section 4-A Division playoffs last season, will meet Thousand Oaks in a first-round game at 1:40 p.m. Saturday.

The semifinals are Aug. 4 and the championship game is at 8:10 p.m. Aug. 5.

Among the favorites in the tournament are Southern Section powers Morningside of Inglewood, Lynwood, Palos Verdes and Gahr of Cerritos. Gahr was impressive in winning the 64-team L.A. Games tournament in June, but Morningside and Palos Verdes both have tall front lines returning.

Morningside, defending CIF 4-A Division champion, is led by 6-5 center Lisa Leslie and Palos Verdes, defending CIF 3-A Division champion, has twins Heather and Heidi Burge (both 6-4).

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s volleyball team, 14-23 last year and fourth in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., has added an assistant coach and four recruits for next season.

The new assistant is Mike Soyular, a women’s volleyball assistant at Wichita State last season. He was also women’s coach at Arkansas-Little Rock from 1982 through 1986 and men’s coach at the school from 1984 through 1986.

At Arkansas-Little Rock, Soyular’s women’s teams compiled a 124-25 record and he was selected NAIA District 17 coach of the year in 1985 and 1986.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Mike with us,” Pomona Coach Paul Gabriel said. “He has a wealth of intercollegiate coaching experience, which can only enhance the overall development of our players and add strength to the Bronco program.”

Gabriel is hoping that the program will also benefit from the addition of the four new players. They are prep standouts Robin Ikeda from Dobson High of Mesa, Ariz.; Stacy Bekemeyer from Estancia in Costa Mesa; Jennifer Kendrick from Covina, and junior college transfer Linda Tschasar from Hancock of Santa Maria.

Ikeda, a setter who has starred as a club player for the Arizona Juniors, has the ability to help the Broncos as a freshman. “Robin complements experience with one of the top junior clubs in the country along with the attributes of quickness, a strong serve and the ability to get to the ball and finish the job,” Gabriel said.

He said Bekemeyer and Kendrick have good potential as middle hitters. Kendrick was a two-time All-CIF 2-A Division selection at Covina, including last year when she made the first team. Another middle hitter is Tschasar, who was a first team All-Western State Conference selection the last two seasons at Hancock.

Bill Nuanes, who was recently named basketball coach at the all-boys Bosco Tech High of Rosemead, has been selected as the school’s athletic director.

Nuanes replaced Jorge Calienes, the school’s basketball coach and athletic director the last 11 years, who resigned to become men’s coach at East Los Angeles College.

Nuanes had been the school’s assistant athletic director and basketball coach under Calienes, and formerly coached the school’s track and cross-country teams.

Nearly 500 of the top amateur players in the nation will compete in the 62nd annual National Public Parks Tennis Championships from Sunday through Aug. 7 in Pasadena.

Previous winners of the event, sponsored by the National Public Parks Tennis Assn., have included Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Pancho Gonzalez and Stan Smith.

The tournament, which will also include a wheelchair division, will be held at Pasadena City College, Brookside Park and Blair and Pasadena high schools.