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USD Dominated Completely to End Pepperdine’s Streak

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Sixteen years of watching Pepperdine dominate men’s tennis in the West Coast Athletic Conference was a long time--too long, decided the University of San Diego, which ended Pepperdine’s streak of 16 consecutive WCAC titles last weekend.

It may not have been a surprise that Pepperdine’s streak finally came to an end. What was surprising was how it ended. USD dominated three days of play the way Pepperdine dominated those 16 years.

The Toreros did not lose a match--singles or doubles--to anyone but teammates. The scored the maximum points possible, 111, to Pepperdine’s 63.

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“I don’t know if that’s ever been done,” said Coach Ed Collins, who had seen Pepperdine win 10 previous times.

The Toreros now must wait after finishing the season 24-6 and ranked No. 16 in the nation. The NCAA will announce the 20-team championship tournament field on May 14.

“Everyone is telling me we are assured, so I’ll believe everybody,” Collins said.

The Toreros started the season looking promising but not overpowering. Even Collins wasn’t expecting this type of year.

“I thought if I could go from last year’s results when we were 15-11, I felt they’d be improved,” Collins said. But he got his first hint that the Toreros would be better than that in the third match of the season, when USD defeated No. 5 USC, 5-1, in Los Angles.

“The win against USC was a real inspiration,” Collins said. “That match was a real key.”

Soon after the big victory, USD suffered a big loss when No. 1 singles player Jose Luis Noriega, a freshman from Peru, was ruled academically ineligible. Noriega missed most of the season but was later reinstated.

“When we lost Noriega, that, for the moment, was devastating,” Collins said.

But USD banded together and continued to have success. Having a big impact was Chris Toomey, who transfered from Oklahoma and went 23-4 this year at No. 3 and 4 singles. Toomey and Mark Farren also played No. 2 doubles, compiled a 13-3 record and were ranked No. 39 in the country.

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Farren was a surprise. A walk-on who was ranked just No. 11 among Northern California juniors, he compiled a 13-12 record at No. 5 singles and formed the successful doubles team with Toomey.

“He really blossomed and helped us,” Collins said.

Collins is not only waiting to see if his team makes the NCAA tournament, but if any of his players will advance to the 68-singles or 32-doubles draws. The big question is whether the selection committee will decide Noriega has played enough matches.

Because he missed most of the season, Noriega finished 15-1, his only loss to the No. 1 player for top-ranked UCLA. He and Dave Stewart were 10-1 at No. 1 doubles. Noriega won the WCAC singles championship, and he and Stewart won the doubles.

As the Toreros prepare for the NCAAs, Collins is busily preparing for next season as well.

The Toreros lose four players, including Stewart and Farren. Collins has already signed Kevin Bradley, the Nevada high school champion.

“I’m very curious to see what will happen to the team,” Collins said. “I’d like to think we can build a solid No. 15-16 team.”

U.S. International golfer Paul McGinley is playing as if he feels right at home.

McGinley, who came to USIU from Ireland, is in his first season for the Gulls and has helped lead USIU to three consecutive tournament titles. Most recently, USIU won the Northwest Collegiate Classic at Corvallis, Ore. USIU tied Cal at 879 but won the tiebreaker based on the scores of the teams’ fifth men. Craig Ballard’s 75 was two shots better than Cal’s Ben Furth.

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The Gulls also won the Portland State tournament and the Grand Canyon College tournament.

Ken Preston, the UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball coach, said he hadn’t seen anything like it in his 20 years of coaching. The referee said “it was just like a baseball game.”

But there it was in the fourth game of a match between San Diego State and UCSB in Goleta--a bench-clearing brawl.

After it was over, three players were ejected: the Aztecs’ Eric Etebari and Sean Clark and the Gauchos’ David Leath, who needed several stitches in his head.

The fight broke out when Leath charged and ran under the net to the Aztecs’ side after the players exchanged taunts for most of the match.

UCSB won, 3-1.

Community College Notes

The Pacific Coast Conference baseball race is coming to the wire with Palomar (15-4) holding a half-game lead over Grossmont (15-5). San Diego Mesa is third at 14-6 . . . The Pacific Coast Conference track and field championships are Saturday at 1 p.m. at Balboa Stadium. San Diego Mesa won the men’s and women’s dual meet titles during the regular season.

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