COLLEGE NOTES : Benefits of the Big Time: Loyola to Play in Maui

Loyola Marymount basketball hit the big time in the recent NCAA Tournament and is starting to reap some of the benefits, as evidenced by the Lions’ invitation to a prestigious season-opening tournament next fall.

The Lions will play in the eight-team Chaminade Maui Classic in Hawaii. And in a field that includes national powers Syracuse and Indiana, Loyola is being played up as one of the marquee names.

“Loyola Marymount has been the Cinderella team this year, and I consider it a feather in our cap to have such an exciting team opening their season with us,” said Chaminade Athletic Director Mike Vasconcellos.

The Maui Classic, held in the Lahaina Civic Center, annually brings together a national field for the season-opening weekend. Missouri beat Oklahoma in last year’s championship game, and eventual NCAA champ Michigan beat defending champ Kansas the year before. This year’s games will be played Nov. 23-24-25, starting the day after Thanksgiving.

The field also includes Iowa State, Northeastern, host Chaminade and Loyola conference foe Santa Clara. Arkansas-Little Rock pulled out after Coach Mike Newell left and has been replaced by the University of Toledo.

A television package is being worked out, and Vasconcellos said opening matchups should be set within a month--with television having some input. (He said Loyola and Santa Clara won’t be put in the same bracket.) TV has found the fast-breaking Lions to its liking the last two years, when Loyola set national scoring records in both seasons.

Vasconcellos said another factor favored Loyola’s selection. “We always have to have a Catholic school in the field,” he said. “Us Catholic schools have to stick together.”

In fact, Chaminade, a Catholic institution with an enrollment similar to Loyola’s, is planning to upgrade its program to Division I and has made inquiries to the West Coast Conference about joining sometime in the 1990s.

In playing host to the tournament, Chaminade has even pulled off some major upsets. “It’s more of a spectacle than a tournament,” Vasconcellos said. “There’s golf, a luau. We provide the sun, the surf, and try to sneak up on somebody.

“Winning and losing is almost incidental. It’s really a cultural event. The players love it. It’s a great way to start the season. It’s like spring training--the kids are fresh; they get to interact with the other teams. When (Coach) Rollie Massimino came out with Villanova, he set an all-time golf record for a basketball coach. And let’s face it, if you’re gonna lose, you might was well lose in Hawaii. It beats losing in North Dakota.”

Close Shave: It’s been a banner year for Loyola Marymount women’s tennis. In fact, one might say the Lions have been razor sharp.

For 16 years, tennis Coach Jamie Sanchez has been telling his teams that if they could finish as high as third in the West Coast Conference, he would shave his beard and mustache. (He doesn’t worry about finishing first because perennial winners Pepperdine and San Diego grant tennis scholarships. The other teams in the conference don’t.)

Well, the Lions finally placed third in the conference tournament two weeks ago, and Sanchez began getting calls from former players and alumni. “So I went ahead and (shaved),” Sanchez said, laughing. “Now everybody tells me I look younger, so it might be a benefit.”

The Lions’ top gun was junior Lynn Stogner, who recently won the No. 1 singles title in the independent division at the Ojai Tournament. She lived up to her top seeding, winning all four matches and defeating UC San Diego’s Kristine Bahrens in the final, 6-3, 7-6. Stogner was the Lions’ top player despite a season-long wrist injury that was scheduled for surgery today.

Sanchez’s Lions also won the doubles title at Ojai behind freshman Kim Florez and senior Jori Stinar, giving Loyola the team title in the Intercollegiate Independent category.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills baseball team continues to struggle in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference, but third baseman Fred Camarena still has a chance to break the team batting record.

The Toros, 17-21-2 overall, lost to UC Riverside, 5-0, earlier this week and take a 8-16 CCAA record into today’s 3 p.m. home game against Cal Poly Pomona.

Camarena, however, hit in his 11th straight game against Riverside to raise his season average to .404. With eight games to play, Camarena is hoping to become the second Toro to hit .400, and is shooting for Ruben Jauregui’s 1988 record of .406.

Since dropping to his season low of .365 on April 7, the senior from Brea has steadily raised his average to its current mark. In his 11-game streak Camarena has hit .500 (19 for 38).

Stat of the Week: When the Loyola Marymount baseball team was beaten by Long Beach State, 5-0, on Tuesday, it was the first time the Lions had been blanked this season and the first time in 107 games. The last team to shut out the Lions was Long Beach State in February, 1989.