NOTEBOOK : Verdugo Hills Seeks Volleyball Title

The Verdugo Hills High boys’ volleyball team will play for the school’s first City Section title when the Dons meet Monroe on Friday in the 3-A championship match at Pepperdine University’s Firestone Fieldhouse.

Verdugo Hills (16-0), under first-year Coach Dino Stirpe, advanced to the championship match by defeating Venice, 14-16, 15-13, 8-15, 15-7, 15-12, Tuesday at Verdugo Hills.

Also on Tuesday, Long Beach Wilson eliminated Glendale in a Southern Section 3-A match, 17-15 15-8, 8-15, 16-14, and Campbell Hall defeated Flintridge Prep, 15-12, 15-12, 9-15, 15-10, in a Southern Section 2-A match.

Playoff time: Four Glendale-area baseball teams and six softball teams opened play in the Southern Section playoffs this week.

Beverly Hills defeated Crescenta Valley, 8-7, Tuesday in a 5-A wild-card game and Bryan Lojeski pitched a no-hitter as Flintridge Prep defeated Oak Hill, 6-0, in a Small Schools wild-card game. Flintridge Prep will play at Villanova Prep on Friday.

On Wednesday, the Flintridge Prep softball team played Bishop in a 1-A wild-card game but results were not available at press time.

Glendale plays host to Rubidoux on Friday in a 5-A baseball playoff game and Valley Christian visits La Canada in a 2-A contest.

Friday’s softball games include: Burroughs at Crescenta Valley, Hoover at Buena and Santa Monica at Glendale in the 4-A Division; La Canada at Alemany (2-A); and Ribet Academy at Oakwood (Small Schools).

Getting his kicks: Former La Canada High and Washington State punter Rob Myers has signed a free-agent contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Myers was a second-team All-Pacific 10 selection last season after averaging 44.7 yards a punt for the Cougars.

Gimme a break: Bob Cooper, who has coached the Hoover High baseball team for 15 years, will take a sabbatical next season, citing a need to escape temporarily the rigors of coaching.

Assistant Randy Tiffany will coach the team during the hiatus.

“I think that I need a little break once in a while and after 26 years, I’m taking that break,” said Cooper, 49, who will retain his teaching position at the school.

The Tornadoes have won three Pacific League and three Foothill League titles, and made the Southern Section playoffs 11 times under Cooper, who will continue to teach at the school. Hoover (9-13, 6-9 in league play) finished fifth in the Pacific League this season.

Tracking their progress: Marty Beck, Dave Swanson, Rick Provenzano and Marji Gilles will compete for Glendale College at the junior college state track and field championships at Santa Barbara on Saturday.

Beck qualified in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles by running 50.97 seconds last week at the Southern California finals.

Swanson won the high jump with a season-best leap of 7 feet, 1 1/4 inches and Provenzano finished fourth in 800 meters in 1:53:60.

Gilles qualified for the women’s heptathlon last month with 4,008 points. She will also compete in the triple jump after qualifying last week with a mark of 37 feet, 3 1/4 inches.

On track: Hoover’s Eliazar Herrera, Creighton Harris and Gunnar Miller and La Canada’s Erin Tardini will compete in the Southern Section 4-A track finals Friday at Cerritos College.

Herrera ran 9:17 at last week’s prelims at Gahr High to qualify in the 3,200. Harris qualified in the 1,600 with a time of 4:22.1. Miller made it to the finals in the pole vault with a mark of 13 feet 6 inches. Tardini qualified in the 300-meter low hurdles in 47.6.

Gym dandy: Wendy Cohen of Crescenta Valley High will compete in the Southern California gymnastics finals Saturday at Westlake High. Cohen finished second with a 36.7 overall mark last week at the Southern California prelims, winning the vault and uneven bar events.

Double trouble: The Glendale College doubles team of Mike Koons and Mike Smith will compete in the Southern California tennis finals Friday at Santa Barbara. Koons and Smith won three matches last week at the Montera Country Club in Palm Desert before losing to Anthony Cortez and John Immel of Long Beach City College, 6-2, 7-5.

Exhibition: Pepe Reilly of Glendale will fight for a U. S. boxing team that will compete against a team from Ireland on May 26th at Loyola Marymount.

Reilly, 119 pounds, a Hoover senior, will be joined by national champions Shane Moseley (132 pounds) and Oscar De La Hoya (125 pounds).