The Colleges : Cal State Fullerton Notebook / Robyn Norwood : No Matter Which Sport, Matyuch Makes Her Point

Jill Matyuch is the designated three-point shooter on the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team, which plays Montana tonight in Missoula, Mont., in a first-round game of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament.

She’s also the starting shortstop on the Titan softball team--not to mention the team’s ace at drawing interference calls.

And if you want to stretch things a bit, she jokes, she’s the leading scorer for the volleyball team: She’s the official scorekeeper on the sidelines.

Matyuch is Fullerton’s woman for all seasons. When she’s not playing a sport or watching one, she is studying--one would guess.

With a 3.7 grade-point average in communications, Matyuch was honored last week as one of Fullerton’s two scholar-athletes of the year, along with football player Jim Sirois, a punter with a 3.5 average in criminal justice.

“It’s amazing what you learn when you start reading the book,” Matyuch jokes.

If the Montana Grizzlies send a zone against Fullerton tonight--and Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah thinks that’s likely--the Titans will turn to Matyuch.

It may be up to her to diminish the effectiveness of any zone aimed at slowing Gena Miller, the Titans’ 6-foot-3 center.

Matyuch, a junior, led the Big West Conference in three-point field-goal percentage much of the season, hitting 45% of her attempts, and she is the Titans’ main threat from outside.

“They probably think that’s a good way to stop Gena,” she said. “I don’t think they’ll stop her, but it does become more critical for us to hit outside. Jill can get us some points. She’s our shooter.”

During the regular season, Matyuch averaged 10 points a game.

KMNY 1600 will broadcast the women’s NCAA tournament game against Montana today live beginning at 6:30 p.m., with John Rebenstorf calling the action.

In a vote that athletic director Ed Carroll called “a serious blow to the program,” students rejected a proposed fee increase last week that would have eased the athletic department’s financial problems.

The $22 annual fee increase failed by 99 votes in an election in which 1,485 students voted.

Had it passed, the increase would have meant a net of about $250,000 for the athletic department--approximately the same amount Fullerton earned as the guarantee in a football game against Florida two seasons ago that was scheduled in part to ease the financial problems.

“I was very disappointed, although I understand why it lost,” Carroll said.

Proponents claimed that Gov. George Deukmejian’s proposed 10% tuition increase for all California State University students created a reaction against the proposed fee increase.

The rejected Fullerton increase would have provided more funds for other campus activities in addition to athletics, and would have given students free admission to home athletic events.

“We felt it was going to do so much for our student support as well as provide additional revenues,” Carroll said.

The failure of the referendum sends the department in search of ways to balance next year’s budget.

Although the 1989 football schedule does not include what has come to be called “a guarantee game,” Carroll said he did not anticipate any change to include one because most opponent schedules are set by now.

Titan Notes

Four Titan wrestlers--Erin Millsap, Cody Bryant, Scott Schumm and David Jones--will compete in the NCAA championships this weekend in Oklahoma City. Millsap, competing in the 118-pound class, is 36-6-2. Bryant (134) is 21-14-4, Schumm (150) is 21-14-1 and Jones, a heavyweight, is 31-4-2. . . . John Bavaro, the defensive lineman who left the team without notice with four games left in the football season last year, said he may seek to return to the team this fall. Bavaro, a cousin of the New York Giants’ Mark Bavaro, said he left the team last year for personal reasons. He is not expected to participate in spring drills. Bavaro must make up some academic work to regain his eligibility, defensive coordinator Kirk Harmon said. “If he can complete that (work), he will play for us,” Harmon said. “That would be excellent for Johnny’s sake and for ours.” The defensive line, one of the strengths of last year’s team, lost several key players. Bavaro had six tackles for loss in seven games last season.