Players Will Be Measured by New, Higher Standards : Opener: Matadors to meet Cal State Fullerton in tournament action as they embark on Division I voyage.

Their coach has never known anything but Division I women’s basketball. Only the Cal State Northridge players will learn the differences between Division II and Division I this season.

It is up to new Coach Janet Martin, however, to ease the transition beginning at 8 tonight when CSUN makes its Division I debut against Cal State Fullerton in the Fullerton tournament.

The 29-year-old coach was hired at Northridge in mid-August to replace Leslie Milke, who resigned after going 100-94 in seven seasons, including an 11-18 mark in the Matadors’ final season of Division II play.

Eight players return from the 1989-90 squad, including scoring leader Julie Arlotto (12.6 points-a-game average), and starters Sandi Olson, Joan Weinerth and Dawn Broline.

Newcomers include Valley College transfers Christine Rumfola (nine points and five rebounds per game) and Shagarro Lattin (nine points, 6 1/2 rebounds); Teresa McCauley (10 points, six rebounds), a transfer from Glendale College who was redshirted last season; volleyball player Nancy Nicholls; and Jennifer Williams, a freshman from Cleveland High.

Valley College transfer Ruth Aguilar (16 points and 10 rebounds per game), Ventura College transfer Nikki Brooks (eight points, 15 rebounds) and freshman Michelle Macias signed letters of intent earlier this year under Milke but quit the program shortly after drills started last month.

Martin has not announced a starting lineup and is viewing each player with an open mind.

“I’ve been told some of them are highly touted and others can’t do much,” she said. “But I told the players they all have a chance to prove themselves to me. The kids who weren’t playing before have a chance.”

Arlotto sees it as a positive sign for the team.

“A lot of players, once they know who made the starting five, they say ‘OK, I’m not a starter,’ and they step back and stop pushing themselves as hard,” she said.

Martin’s pressing zone defense should keep a host of players happy--it requires frequent substitutions.

“It’ll be crazy, a full-court press falling back into a man to man,” Martin said.

The offense is a high-low post attack, utilizing the 5-foot-11 Arlotto, 6-2 sophomore Olson, 5-11 sophomore Haily Griffith and 5-9 junior Lattin.

Broline, who hit 15 of 57 attempts from three-point range last season, and Rumfola will be relied upon for outside scoring.

Bridgette Ealy, who was redshirted last season, is among the top defensive players.

They will have their hands full with Fullerton’s 6-6 center Gina Miller, an All-American candidate who helped the Titans to a 14-14 record last season. Oregon State (5-26 last season) and Southwest Texas State (16-11) round out the four-team tournament.

“This week I can honestly say they understand what Division I means,” Martin said. “Before, it was a fun thing, but now we open with Fullerton. They know they have to focus. They are here to win games and we have to get to that point.”

Martin, a former assistant at Southwestern Louisiana, San Diego State and Colorado State, has shown the way with a rigorous conditioning program and a back-to-basics approach.

“We break down the fundamentals,” Arlotto said. “Sometimes it is assumed in a college program that everyone has the fundamentals, but that is not always the case.”

Although the Matadors are not stocked with Division I-caliber players, Arlotto believes they can reach that level.

“You can start out Division II and if you really work at it you can take your skill level to Division I,” she said.

Still, Arlotto is nervous for the opener. “I’ll admit it,” she said. “We played four or five Division I teams last year, but that’s different. When it’s Division II playing Division I, you are the underdog. Division I against Division I is different.”