Ex-Prep Star Makes Santa Clara Challenger in WCAC

It may be stretching it to call Julie Jamile a big success story--after all, at a few inches over 5 feet tall she often disappears amid the 6-footers of college volleyball--but it is accurate to list Jamile as the biggest reason Santa Clara is in second place in the West Coast Athletic Conference race, a mere game behind Pepperdine.

Virtually from the moment Jamile left Torrance High, where she was a two-sport star, Santa Clara has been an up-and-coming program. From the time she startedrecruiting Jamile, that was the intent of Santa Clara Coach Mary Ellen Murchison, who saw in Jamile something of her own feisty nature.

Jamile returned to town last weekend and built up 48 assists in a five-game victory over Loyola Marymount. The teams play a rematch tonight at Santa Clara. Going into the weekend the compact setter is second in the conference in assists (9.5 average) and fifth in digs. Not coincidentally, several teammates rank among the WCAC’s hitting and kill leaders. Jamile earned all-conference honors last year as a freshman. One school spokesman said she may be the best setter in school history, and Murchison considers her tops in the WCAC.

“One of the reasons I recruited her was because I thought she was a natural leader,” Murchison said. “She showed a lot of composure for a young player and the kind of fire we’re looking for in a setter. My system is usually run around a one-setter offense. We’ve had a history of (good) setters, like some schools are known for quarterbacks. We developed a good relationship as coach-setter. She brings the other players on the team up to her level in terms of intensity and emotion. Sometimes it’s like she does my job on the court.”

Jamile, catching her breath after the long Loyola match and accepting the laurels of a large group of friends and family, echoed her coach, saying, “It wasn’t pretty but it was a good win . . . . We came through with out heart and our soul.”

Jamile was an all-CIF soccer player on one of the CIF’s top teams at Torrance and said through her junior year she leaned toward continuing with soccer in college. But during a volleyball festival that summer, she said, “I saw the opportunities, that there was a lot more money available scholarshipwise” in volleyball.

She was recruited by Loyola and Santa Clara and opted for the Broncos. “I miss the beach. I grew up at the beach,” she admitted. “But I wanted to get away from home. I like it up there. I have a separate life. I’ve grown up a lot, and it’s still close to home.”

The other thing that may have decided in favor of Santa Clara was how well she got along with Murchison. “It’s like I’m her on the court,” Jamile said.

Jamile is pleased with the team’s progress and the type of players Murchison is recruiting--players who show intensity and passion on the court. But she said her own game still has flaws. “I’m never really happy with my game. If I was happy I wouldn’t progress,” she said. “I think my block’s improved. I want to do better.”

A strong defensive effort has put Cal State Dominguez Hills in the driver’s seat in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. men’s soccer race. The Toros used Willie Ayala’s first-half goal--his 11th of the season--and three remarkable blocks of shots by Cal State Northridge to win Wednesday, 1-0. An exultant Coach Marine Cano called it “the biggest one since I’ve been here.”

The Toros made a series of saves in the scoreless second half, starting with goalie Chris Wilson stopping Matadors scoring leader Steve Lazarus’ penalty kick. Several minutes later, Wilson came out high and freshman defender Shawn Simmons stopped a Matador shot on goal. On a similar play, junior Martin Mira, recently shifted from forward to defense, made a diving kick save in front of the goal to preserve the shutout.

The victory improved the Toros’ record to 5-1-1 in the CCAA, a half-game ahead of Northridge at 5-2 with three games to play. Another showdown looms Saturday when the Toros visit third-place Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which is a game behind at 4-2-1. Northridge plays at Bakersfield, which is still in the hunt at 4-3.

All-Americans: Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount received high honorable mention and teammate Hank Gathers honorable mention in Street and Smith’s College Basketball magazine’s preseason all-American listings. Others receiving honorable mention include Tom Lewis and Craig Davis of Pepperdine, former Westchester High star Kevin Floyd of UC Irvine, former St. Bernard High star Leonard Taylor at UC Berkeley, Pooh Richardson and Trevor Wilson of UCLA and former Santa Monica High star Carrick Dehart at UC Santa Barbara. The only other WCAC player mentioned is St. Mary’s forward Robert Haugen.

Numbers Game: The Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team is ranked 10th in the nation in Division II despite a 7-7-2 record going into the UC Santa Barbara Tournament. The rating reflects the Lady Toros’ 32-16 scoring edge, the strength of their schedule--two 1-0 losses to Santa Barbara, the top-ranked Division I team in the West--and the fact the defense hasn’t allowed more than one goal in any game since Sept. 15, when U.S. International scored a 2-1 upset.

College Notes

It’s unanimous: Loyola Marymount will repeat as West Coast Athletic Conference basketball champs. The latest to predict are Street and Smith’s Basketball Yearbook and the Sporting News. So far the Lions are 5-for-5 in preseason polls . . . Loyola first-year basketball player Per Stumer, a 21-year-old transfer student from Sweden, has been denied a fourth year of eligibility by the NCAA. He’ll be able to play for three seasons . . . In the past two weeks, Loyola volleyball player Leslie Wohlford has averaged 7.3 kills per game. In the latest NCAA statistics, Wohlford ranks 10th in the country in kill average. However, the inconsistent Lions took a seven-match losing streak into this weekend’s trip to St. Mary’s, San Francisco and Santa Clara . . . Loyola’s water polo team defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 22-9, Wednesday to win its fourth straight match and improve to 8-11. The Lions play at Occidental today, then compete this weekend in the Fresno State Invitational . . . Athletic scholarships are available to high school and junior college students through the National Sports Foundation. For details, athletes may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the National Sports Foundation, Box 408, Matawan, N.J., 07747.