PREP NOTES / ROB FERNAS : Palos Verdes to Add Second Top Transfer to Girls’ Basketball Team

It was reported here last week that 6-foot-5 center Jeffra Gausepohl of Kennett High School in Pennsylvania plans to transfer to Palos Verdes High after the school year.

As it turns out, she isn’t the only sophomore basketball standout headed for Palos Verdes.

Kristen Mulligan, an All-CIF guard for Santa Margarita High in southeast Orange County, also plans to transfer, Sea King Coach Wendell Yoshida said. The family reportedly has its Mission Viejo home for sale and plans to move into the Palos Verdes district in June.

The addition of Mulligan and Gausepohl will help Palos Verdes compensate for the loss of four senior starters and sophomore center Monique Morehouse, who transferred to another school last month. However, Yoshida said chances are good that Morehouse will return to Palos Verdes before next fall.

“The rumor is that she will be back in early June,” he said. “But her leaving was such a shock. I’m not going to believe (she is coming back) until I see her.”

A lineup featuring the 6-3 Morehouse, Gausepohl and Mulligan would give Palos Verdes, 1990 runner-up for the Southern Section 3-AA and Division III regional titles, three of the top underclass prospects on the West Coast.

Mulligan led Santa Margarita, a Catholic school, to a 19-7 record and the semifinals of the 2-AA playoffs. She averaged 22.1 points a game, the third-highest mark in Orange County, and was the only sophomore selected to the All-Southern Section Division IV first team.

“We might play her at off guard because of her scoring ability,” Yoshida said. “She knows how to fill it up.”

At one point this season, the 5-5 Mulligan had made an astounding 32 of 45 three-point shots (71%).

Yoshida realizes that the transfer of two high-profile players could result in accusations of illegal recruiting. The veteran coach maintains that nothing could be further from the truth.

He says more and more parents of girl basketball players are trying to get their daughters into Palos Verdes because of the school’s reputation for athletic success and academic excellence.

“What amazes me is how many folks are willing to pack up and move,” said Yoshida, who has received calls from several parents of players interested in relocating to Palos Verdes. “In a way, it’s kind of flattering. But it’s also kind of a shock. It amazes me because I know how much these houses cost and how much rents are.”

A medium-priced house on the peninsula sells for $760,000, according to Rita DeBolt, co-manager of Moore & Associates’ Palos Verdes office. In Palos Verdes Estates, on the west side of the peninsula where Palos Verdes High is located, a medium-priced house sells for $880,000.

DeBolt said the average rent of a house, townhouse or condominium in Palos Verdes Estates is $2,100 a month.

“Most of the people just move in,” Yoshida said. “They don’t all call and say, ‘We want our daughter here.’ They just come.”

The last Palos Verdes player to transfer into the district was senior guard Lisa Humphreys, who attended Temple City High as a freshman and sophomore. She averaged a team-high 15 points this season, earning All-South Bay and All-CIF honors, and has signed a letter of intent with Loyola Marymount.

Yoshida said Humphreys’ parents, who rented an apartment in the district, plan to move after their daughter’s graduation.

El Segundo’s baseball team grabbed headlines early in the season for its offensive exploits, including eye-catching victories of 42-0 over Serra and 31-1 over Verbum Dei.

Lately, though, the Eagles are drawing attention for low numbers.

The pitching staff boasts a collective 1.92 earned-run average, lowest in the South Bay. Right-hander Rob Croxall (6-1) leads in the area with a 1.02 ERA and has not allowed a run in 10 innings, right-hander Tate Seefried (5-1) has a 1.32 ERA and left-hander Jason Wayt (5-1) has a 2.42 ERA.

The three seniors combined on a two-hitter Saturday night in El Segundo’s 9-0 victory over Culver City in the semifinals of the Palos Verdes/Redondo Tournament.

The Eagles face Millikan in the finals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Redondo.

Volleyball fans will have the opportunity to see many of the Southland’s top high school teams Saturday in the Redondo-Mira Costa Varsity Classic.

The 30-team field includes 13 schools ranked in the Southern Section 4-A and 3-A division top-10 polls, along with L.A. City Section power Palisades and defending City champion Chatsworth.

Mira Costa, the top-ranked team in the nation, is the favorite.

Pool play begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Redondo and Mira Costa. The top two finishers in each of the six pools advance to the playoffs, which begin at 5 p.m. at Redondo. The finals are scheduled to start at 7:30.

College signings: Mira Costa volleyball standouts Canyon Ceman and Mike Ashenfelter have signed letters of intent with Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. schools.

Ceman, a 6-5 setter, signed with Stanford, while Ashenfelter, a 6-7 middle blocker, committed to USC.

Mira Costa Coach Mike Cook said outside hitter David Swatik and 6-5 middle blocker Pat Ivie also will sign with major colleges.

Tuesday marked an afternoon of upsets in South Bay baseball.

The biggest surprises occurred in the Bay League, where the top four teams were upset by the bottom half of the league.

Last-place Hawthorne defeated first-place Beverly Hills, 5-4, for its first league victory in nine games. Torrance and Rolling Hills, tied for second, lost to Leuzinger, 4-3, and Santa Monica, 8-4, respectively, and fourth-place Palos Verdes fell to Inglewood, 10-9, for its third straight loss.

As a result, two games separate the top five teams--Beverly Hills (7-2), Torrance, Rolling Hills (both 6-3), Palos Verdes and Santa Monica (both 5-4)--heading into today’s rematches.

Another surprising result occurred in the Santa Fe League, where Mary Star beat Miraleste, 4-1, to move into a first-place tie with the Marauders. When the teams met last month, Miraleste won, 26-2.

Together again: Former Redondo standouts Scott Davison and Tom Doyle, who helped the Sea Hawks to a 30-3 record in 1988, are both playing minor league baseball in the Class-A Midwest League. Davison, a second baseman, plays for the Expos’ farm team in Rockford, Ill., while first baseman Doyle is playing for the Padres’ club in Waterloo, Iowa.

PREP NOTES--Carson’s baseball team extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games Tuesday with a 3-0, eight-inning victory over host Gardena. Left-hander Marco Martinez (4-0) and right-hander Ed Lovato combined on a five-hitter, and Lovato’s two-run double keyed a three-run eighth. The Colts improved to 12-3-2 overall and 9-1-2 in the Southern-Pacific Conference. . . . Banning remained 1 1/2 games behind Carson in the standings with a 14-1 win over host San Pedro. Julian Pardo was four-for-five, including three doubles, with three RBIs, as Banning improved to 13-7 overall and 9-3 in conference play. . . . Torrance third baseman Antone Williamson collected five hits in nine at-bats last week, including two home runs and eight RBIs. The junior leads the South Bay with a .566 average.