SAN DIEGO COUNTY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : San Diego is Title Town for Women’s Soccer

For only the sixth time in National Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoff history, a national championship will be determined in San Diego.

This weekend at UC San Diego, four women’s soccer teams--including UCSD--will play for the Division III title.

Ithaca plays Methodist at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by UCSD-Plymouth State at 1 p.m. The winners play Sunday at noon for the championship. All games will be at UCSD’s new North Campus Stadium.

San Diego State was the host school when it won the 1973 men’s volleyball championship, and the 1974 women’s golf tournament was played at Singing Hills. In 1975, the San Diego Sports Arena was the site of John Wooden’s 10th and final championship as UCLA’s basketball coach.

UCSD, which twice has held championship tournaments in women’s volleyball (1982 and ‘88), will be the soccer site for the first time.

That was determined Sunday after the Tritons (17-1-1 with 17 shutouts) defeated St. Thomas, 2-1, in sudden death. UCSD has little time to ready itself for the two-day event.

“It’s a major special event that normally you would hope to have a year to plan for,” said Judith Sweet, UCSD’s athletic director since 1975.

Bill Gannon, UCSD’s sports information director, said the NCAA issues a three-page checklist of special arrangements to be made. Since it has experience in these events, he said, UCSD has added its own two-page list.

Among the requirements on the NCAA’s list are securing the site, accommodating the visiting participants and arranging for a significant number of, to quote, “competent ball chasers and dressing them distinctively.”

“They are the types of things that are easy not to think of if somebody is hosting one for the first time,” Gannon said.

Also, UCSD’s pools, Canyonview and Natatorium, are the sites for the Western Water Polo Assn. eight-team championship tournament Friday-Sunday. The winner of that tournament, for which UCSD is the top-seeded team, receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament next weekend.

Four other UCSD teams--men’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross-country--will be competing this weekend at away sites in regional competition.

“This is truly a championship weekend,” Sweet said. “UCSD is so well known for its excellent academics, this just complements that so well.”

UCSD is not the only school with a busy weekend.

It is homecoming at the University of San Diego, and the Toreros football team will meet Menlo College at Torero Stadium Saturday at 1:30 p.m. On Friday at 5:30 p.m., Hank Egan’s men’s basketball team will play its Blue-White intrasquad scrimmage in the USD Sports Center. Admission to the scrimmage is free.

Christian Heritage is having a triple-header of sorts Saturday at Granite Hills High. The women’s volleyball team concludes its first season against Cal Tech at 1:30. The men’s basketball team will then hold its media day at 3:30, followed by its Blue-White game at 4. All three events are free.

Jim Dietz, SDSU baseball coach, says attendance is needed for a Saturday meeting at 3 p.m. at Charlie Smith Field. An anonymous donor wants to know what kind of support the baseball team has within the community, and Dietz and Athletic Director Fred Miller are eagerly waiting to find out, too. The size of the donation may be contingent on the meeting’s attendance. Those attending will also get a free ticket to Saturday night’s football game against Wyoming.

USD men’s soccer had its second-best showing (14-6-1) since the program began 10 years ago, but the Toreros were left out when the NCAA playoff selections were announced.

Leo Ronces and Tom Crane tied for the West Coast Conference lead with 13 goals. USD’s 1986 team finished 19-4-1.

Palomar College (4-4, 2-0 in the South Division of the Mission Conference) defeated Mt. San Antonio, 31-24, to become the only local community college football team without a losing record. Grossmont (3-5, 2-0), a 35-12 winner over Southwestern (1-6-1, 0-1-1), plays Palomar at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Grossmont.

San Diego City quarterback Dion Osborne, who threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to give SDCC a 6-0 lead before falling, 41-20, to Mesa (3-4-1, 1-1-1), also plays free safety for the Knights. In a game against Grossmont two weeks ago, Osborne had six tackles, an interception and broke up three passes.