Hart’s Smyth Agrees to Play at UC Davis

Cameron Smyth of Hart High, a second-team Times All-Valley wide receiver, has made an oral commitment to attend UC Davis in the fall.

Smyth (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) had 46 catches last season to finish sixth among Valley receivers. Smyth scored six touchdowns and totaled 818 yards in receptions, despite being overshadowed by teammate Brian Allen, the leading receiver in the Valley with 62 catches. Allen has committed to UCLA.

Smyth also will play volleyball at Davis.

When you’re one of 902 participants in anything, it’s easy to get lost.

Unless you’re Tom Leonard. Or Gordon Davis.

Leonard, of Glendale, and Davis, of Encino, figure to be the top Valley-area performers when the 55th Southern California Sectional Championships--the largest senior tennis event in the country--begins today at the Racquet Centre in Universal City.

Leonard, who has played on the Grand Prix tour, is considered the man to beat in the division for men aged 35 to 40. Davis, ranked No. 1 nationally by the United States Tennis Assn. among men 50-55, is the favorite in that division.

Other top players include Shannon Gordon of Van Nuys (women’s 30); Gabriel Harmat of Woodland Hills (men’s 35); Rae Murbach of Glendale (women’s 35); Art Santilli of Ventura (men’s 40); Niesi Sie of Van Nuys, Allan Drazen of Woodland Hills and Ed Rosa of Calabasas (men’s 45); Tom Springer of Canoga Park (men’s 55); Sam Plancia of Canoga Park (men’s 65); and Eleanor Harbula of Sylmar (women’s 65).

Trophies will be awarded in 40 singles and doubles divisions by the competition’s end April 16.

The Cal State Northridge baseball team, ranked 14th in the NCAA Division II rankings, will begin a three-game California Collegiate Athletic Assn. series with eighth-ranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo today at Matador Field.

Northridge (16-10-1, 6-6-1 in conference play) will try to rebound from nonconference losses to United States International University and the University of San Diego earlier this week.

Northridge’s 24-5 loss to USIU on Monday included a record-setting performance by Matador pitchers, who allowed 25 hits to eclipse the mark for most hits by an opponent, set by Arizona State in 1972. The team also tied the record for most runs allowed, set in 1984 against Chapman.

San Luis Obispo (18-16, 8-5) is coming off two nonconference losses to Fresno State.

The Northridge Invitational track and field meet, originally scheduled to start today with the decathlon and heptathlon, will not begin until Saturday.

The change was made because of a lack of entrants in the decathlon.

“We didn’t receive enough entries to justify having a decathlon,” Cal State Northridge Coach Don Strametz said. “So we decided to move the heptathlon back a day.”

All of the women’s events--except the second day of the heptathlon--will be contested Saturday. The men’s events and the second day of the heptathlon are scheduled for Sunday.

Saturday’s meet starts with the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. The men’s long jump kicks off proceedings Sunday at 11:30 a.m.