Cal State Fullerton Notebook / Robyn Norwood : Beating Bruins Is a Shot in the Arm for Titan Women

It was the kind of victory that made the phones ring in the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball office.

The Titans are off to their best start in years, a fact that was rather unnoted until Fullerton beat UCLA, 68-51, Saturday.

That got some attention.

Never mind that the Bruins are 3-3 or that Fullerton had more impressive victories last season, including two over San Diego State. A victory over UCLA in any sport gets a Fullerton team noticed.

“It’s worth a lot to us in visibility,” Fullerton Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah said. “The phones are ringing. Recruits’ parents are calling. It’s a good feeling.”

The victory can’t really be considered an upset. UCLA, as evidenced by its record, is struggling. And Fullerton is coming off an 18-11 season and a third-place finish in the Big West Conference that earned Jeremiah conference coach of the year honors.

And now, Fullerton’s 6-1 start is its best since 1983-84.

All of this has Jeremiah excited about Fullerton re-establishing itself as a prominent program.

“We have legitimate wins over legitimate programs,” Jeremiah said. “It wasn’t like (these teams) played poorly and we won.

“We want to win and do it with players who graduate. It may take a little longer, but that’s the way we’re doing it.”

This season, Fullerton has been relying on the inside play of Gena Miller and Kathy Werth.

Miller, a 6-foot 3-inch sophomore center, was a promising freshman last year, averaging 7 points a game and blocking 76 shots.

This year, her offensive ability has come through. She is averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds a game, leading the Titans in both categories.

“She’s tremendously improved from last year, but she still has a lot to learn,” Jeremiah said.

Werth, a forward who transferred from Golden West College, is averaging 13 points and 7 rebounds.

“You always say you need a junior college player to come in and contribute right away,” Jeremiah said. “But how often does that really happen?”

And Fullerton has three other experienced players starting--senior forward Felicia Benson, senior point guard Shery Jones and junior guard Jill Matyuch, who is averaging 14 points a game.

John Sneed and his men’s basketball team took Sunday and Monday off after a 3-game week that left the Titans 3-1.

“If you told me a month ago we would be in this position, I’d have been a little surprised about it,” Sneed said. “But the toughest part of our nonconference schedule--Northeastern, New Orleans, Weber State and especially St. Mary’s--is still ahead.”

Cedric Ceballos, a 6-7 junior, was named Big West Conference player of the week Monday after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds in Fullerton’s 3 games, a 4-point loss to Pepperdine and victories over San Diego and Sonoma State.

The Titans travel to Oregon this weekend to play Portland, a team that is 0-6 but has lost close games to Montana and Oregon at home.

Van Anderson, a starting guard last year as a junior, watched from the stands as the Titans beat Sonoma State Saturday.

Come next semester, he might be back in uniform.

Anderson left the team last spring after former Coach George McQuarn refused to allow him to make up for academic deficiencies by attending summer school, as school regulations allow. McQuarn said Anderson had been advised of the new team rule and had not been attending class regularly.

But Sneed said Monday that he will allow Anderson to return to the team and put him on scholarship if Anderson fulfills academic requirements for eligibility during the school session between semesters.

“I’m not looking for a lot of help from someone who’s been out of basketball a semester, but another body on the floor would help and would add security in case we get an injury,” Sneed said. “He can contribute.”

Anderson averaged 6 points a game last season.

In an unusual move, John Rebenstorf, Fullerton radio broadcaster, has been named acting director of the athletic fund-raising group, the Titan Athletic Foundation.

Rebenstorf, who began announcing Titan basketball in 1981 and has done 7 football seasons, was appointed by Athletic Director Ed Carroll. Rebenstorf will be assisted at the TAF by Heidi Schweizer, who had been working as an intern in the office.