Cal State Fullerton Will Retain Gymnastics, Fencing Programs

Cal State Fullerton’s men’s gymnastics and men’s and women’s fencing programs will be retained for the 1990-91 school year, President Jewel Plummer Cobb announced Monday. The school’s Athletics Council had recommended in March that the three sports be discontinued in order to balance the athletic budget.

“This has been a very difficult decision with reference to our athletics program,” Cobb said in a statement. “All three teams have had an outstanding tradition of success, and I am pleased that they will have continued opportunities to develop greater community support.”

The men’s gymnastics team, ranked among the nation’s top 10 for much of the 1990 season, finished sixth in the NCAA Western Regional in Oklahoma in April. Dick Wolfe, who completed his 22nd year as coach, guided the Titans to college-division national championships in 1971, ’72 and ’74.

Wolfe, who has signed 22 one-year contracts in the past, said Monday that he is still negotiating with the school for a contract for next year.

The fencing program, under Coach Heizaburo Okawa, also has a national title to its credit--the women’s team won in 1973. Okawa, who recently completed his 10th season as coach, led the women’s team to a 16-0 record in the Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California; the men’s team went 10-6.