More Valleys Than Peaks for CS Dominguez Hills : Colleges: Athletic director promises school will be a Division II power despite poor showing in all-sports standings.

Despite lackluster team performances in the winter and spring seasons, the athletic program at Cal State Dominguez Hills is on a pace to become a Division II national power, according to Athletic Director Dan Guerrero.

Guerrero, who predicted a year ago that the Toros would no longer “be content to play just for third place,” said he was not discouraged by the school’s low finishes in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. all-sports standings.

“We didn’t win any national titles this year, but we were nationally ranked in some sports and we were competitive,” Guerrero said.

Dominguez Hills, which has only eight sports, the minimum allowed by the NCAA and fewest in the CCAA, ranked sixth among eight men’s teams, a drop of three spots from 1989. The Lady Toros, who did not win a conference title in either division, finished eighth.

“We can always do better, but I’m not disappointed,” Guerrero said. “Very clearly, to me, we are still on the track of reaching status as a national power.”

Guerrero cited the success of the women’s soccer team, which advanced to the final four, the selection of second-year women’s basketball Coach Van Girard as CCAA coach of the year and successful fund-raising efforts as his reasons for optimism.

The athletic program expects to net $50,000 from a student-passed surcharge on enrollment fees that will go directly to athletes. A record $100,000 in donations was also raised. Guerrero wants to increase fund raising by “a minimum of 10%” in succeeding years.

The additional funds should provide “between 20 and 30 full-fee athletic scholarships” next year, Guerrero said.

In 1989, its first full year of fund raising, Dominguez Hills raised $45,000.

Money has always been difficult to come by for Toro athletic programs. In 1989, when the men’s basketball team advanced to the Division II Western Regionals, Coach Dave Yanai had a recruiting budget of less than $12,000. Guerrero said Yanai’s recruiting budget has now been “virtually doubled” by the new income.

Extra funds will also “help shore up sports that have been at a (financial) disadvantage in the past,” Guerrero said.

The men’s and women’s soccer programs are expected to benefit immediately from fund raising. In previous years, Marine Cano, who coaches both teams, has relied heavily on attracting players from the talent-rich South Bay. Two years ago he began to recruit, with some success, players from Orange, Riverside and Ventura counties, where the talent pool is expanding as youth programs in the South Bay have been retrenching.

“At Dominguez Hills we have had to work harder than any other schools to get where we are, because we have always had the lowest budget of any team we have played,” Cano said. “With a good budget I can compete with any of the top schools in the CCAA and win.”

The appointment of Dr. Robert Detweiler as university president last year has helped provide a stable atmosphere. At the time of his appointment, Detweiler was the school’s fourth president in six years. He is generally considered to be supportive of athletic programs, having presided over Cal State San Bernardino’s rise from Division III to acceptance into the CCAA, which begins in 1991.

Despite the low CCAA rankings, Toro athletic teams set 62 school records, the most in any season in the school’s history.

The women’s basketball team, which has never finished better than 6-6 in the conference, was only 3-9, but the team’s overall record (11-15) was its best since 1985.

The baseball team went 22-24-2, its best record since 1987. Softball Coach Janis Ruetz, who led the Lady Toros to their first back-to-back winning seasons, has a 64-48 record, best in school history. Volleyball Coach Nancy Fortner relied heavily on walk-on players to help the Toros to more victories (seven) than the previous year.

“In the sports with (relatively) new coaches, we were looking for progress, the building of foundations, and we found it,” Guerrero said. “We haven’t seen the benefits yet on the field from the new money we have, but we will.”

The school has a relatively young coaching staff. Girard, Ruetz and baseball Coach George Wing will begin their third seasons and Fortner enters her second season.

Yanai, who is four victories short of 200, is expected to have the school’s premier athletic team next season. Two transfers from Division I schools, the signing of a top high school recruit and the return of four starters are expected to elevate the Toros into the role of CCAA front-runner.

Decimated by graduation, the women’s soccer program is not expected to repeat its final four appearance. However, Cano said: “We are, maybe, two years away from winning it all.”

With perennial power Cal State Northridge moving up to Division I, the men’s soccer team is expected to challenge Cal State Bakersfield for the CCAA title.

The golf team, which failed to qualify for the Division II championships after an injury-plagued season, returns three top players and should be improved under Coach Johnny Johnson.

Yanai, who is entering his 14th season as coach, shares Guerrero’s optimism about the future.

“I’m not a fortune teller, but I feel that both athletics and the school have made strides and have grown,” he said. “At times those strides have been made slowly, but that is good for their development.”

While competitive growth is important, Dominguez Hills athletic officials have always asserted that academics remain a top priority. When former basketball player Kathy Goggin recently won the Woody Hayes Scholar-Athlete Award, it was the second time a Toro athlete had won the award. The only other school with two Woody Hayes recipients is USC.

“Dominguez Hills is the best kept secret around, academically first, athletically, second,” Cano said. “The environment here is very healthy.”