COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK : Chapman Knocks Off USC to Open Baseball Season

Chapman College began its final season as an NCAA Division II baseball team by defeating Division I power USC, 1-0, Wednesday at Dedeaux Field.

Despite the upset, Chapman Coach Mike Weathers said it might be mid-season before the Panthers gel.

“I think we’re going to be a very slow-starting club,” Weathers said before Wednesday’s game. “The chemistry of the club was really my major concern in the fall, and it still is. They just haven’t come together and worked as one unit yet.”

That could be a problem, because the Panthers, who will become a Division I independent next season, have eight of their first nine games this season against Division I teams. Last year, the Panthers were 8-4 against Division I opponents.

Eleven players--including four who received at least a mention on the all-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. team--are gone from last year’s team, which finished third in the conference and was Weathers’ most successful team since 1984--his first season as head coach.

Shortstop Tom Allison (first-team all-CCAA) and pitchers Dave Paveloff (second-team) and Ken Hokuf signed professional contracts. Center fielder Jason Rolish (honorable mention) and pitcher Steve Halweg (second-team) have played out their eligibility.

Chapman still has a strong nucleus of players:

--Pete Coleman, a first-team pitcher who was 10-5 with a 3.82 earned-run average.

--Mike Giuseffi, a first-team designated hitter who batted .432.

--Mike Kelly, a second-team catcher who batted .308.

--Doug Yates, an honorable mention first baseman who batted .278 with 13 home runs.

The Panthers have only three senior position players and started a freshman (Chris Sauritch, El Toro High School) and two sophomores (Torrie Sweet and Eric Garcia) Wednesday against USC.

“There’s no question we’re not a real old club, which is good down the road,” Weathers said. “But I don’t know what it’s going to mean this year.”

Add baseball: Southern California College and Christ College Irvine each open their seasons on Saturday. Christ College plays host to La Verne in a doubleheader at noon. SCC will play Chapman at 1 p.m. at Hart Park in Orange.

Hard to figure: The Southern California College basketball team continued its bounce around the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics men’s poll this week. After losing to Westmont and The Master’s last week, the Vanguards moved into the top 25 for the first time this season at No. 24. At one point this year, SCC had a 10-game winning streak but couldn’t crack the rankings.

“It just shows you how either political or inaccurate the perceptions are,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “We lose two games and move up. And we really played poorly in losing. And the week before, when we thought we might be garnering some attention, we (weren’t ranked).

“It’s rather bizarre to figure out. I know I wouldn’t have voted for us anywhere in the top 100 the way we played last week.

“We were pretty awful.”

But Reynolds was impressed with his team’s play in a 92-72 victory over Point Loma Nazarene Tuesday night, which kept the Vanguards (17-5, 4-2) in a second-place tie with Fresno Pacific in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Westmont (14-6, 5-1) leads the conference.

Because of financial considerations, Christ College Irvine has disbanded its men’s and women’s tennis teams and reduced funding for the track and field program.

The Christ College athletic administration dropped tennis after deciding the school didn’t have the funds to retain coaches or to properly support the teams, sports information director Amanda Houlton said.

Neither tennis team was successful last season. The men were 1-18; the women 4-11.

Though the college will no longer fully fund the track and field team, its 17 members will try to salvage the program through fund raisers. The team, which includes middle-distance runner Genevieve Graff, a CCI basketball player who was a cross-country All-American in 1989, will compete in the conference and NAIA District 3 events. The CCI athletes will be eligible for national competition.

The college has agreed to chip in with travel expenses and a stipend for cross-country Coach Dave Saltin to accompany the team to meets.

Houlton, who ran track and cross-country at Point Loma Nazarene, will also help coach the team.

College Division Notes

Christ College Irvine women’s basketball player Stacy Kirch, who scored 24 points in the Eagles’ 64-55 victory over Fresno Pacific and had 10 points and 10 assists in an 83-68 victory over Azusa Pacific, has been named the Golden State Athletic Conference player of the week. The Eagles (14-4, 3-2) are in second place in the conference.