COLLEGE DIVISION / MITCH POLIN : San Luis Obispo Looms as Threat in CCAA Race

Before the season started, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. basketball race appeared to be a two-team battle between perennial powers Cal State Bakersfield and UC Riverside.

But with the conference season beginning today, a new challenger has emerged.

With its 12-1 record, which includes a 76-72 upset of Division I Pepperdine on Dec. 28 at Malibu, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo may be the team to beat for the title.

That’s something that even Cal Poly SLO Coach Steve Beason says he never would have predicted at the start of the season.

“We were expecting a good year, but I don’t think we were expecting this,” he said. “I didn’t expect that we would have quite that kind of record.”

It was not that Beason didn’t have high hopes after an inexperienced squad finished 14-14 last season. “I thought we could be pretty good, because at times we started three freshmen last season,” he said. “I thought we had some pretty good (players), but we’ve just progressed a lot faster than I thought we could.”

The success of the Mustangs has been fueled by the return of starting guards Matt Clawson, who is 6 feet 3, Bill Archer (6-4) and Jeff Oliver (5-10) and the development of center Shawn Kirkeby (6-8), a top reserve last season.

Cal Poly SLO also starts guard David Delaney in a lineup that does not have an abundance of size.

“We start four guards and a center, so we’re a little unorthodox in that regard,” Beason said. “But I feel those are our best players, so that’s who we have to go with.”

With Archer as the only senior of the starting five, the Mustangs are one of the youngest teams in the conference. Still, “we have three starters back,” Beason said. “So even though it’s a young team, it is an experienced group.”

The offensive leader has been Kirkeby, who leads the conference with an average of 18.6 points and has made 68% of his shots, but the Mustangs have five others scoring in double figures.

Beason, who guided Cal Poly SLO to one conference title and three third-place finishes in his first five seasons, said this year’s team has not had many easy games.

“Our record is 12-1, but we’re not running away and hiding from anyone,” he said. “We’re winning, but I still think we can play better. It’s not the most talented team I’ve ever had, but it has played the best of any team I’ve coached at this point of the season.”

He also doesn’t expect an easy drive to the CCAA title with teams such as Cal State Bakersfield (11-2) and UC Riverside (10-1) standing in the way.

“It’s going to be a tough haul regardless of how well we’ve done to this point, but I feel like we’ve made the progress we had to make and hopefully we’re ready for conference play,” Beason said.

Since the CCAA started competing in women’s basketball in 1981, Cal Poly Pomona has won or shared 10 consecutive conference titles.

So, it is no wonder the Broncos are expected to make it 11 in a row this season.

However, the path to another title has not been without its obstacles.

The Broncos, who are 9-5 after being ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II preseason poll, have had to survive several injuries and a difficult schedule, including five games against Division I teams.

Cal Poly Pomona has lost two players for the season, junior center Danielle Malone and junior guard/forward LeeAnna Hiestand, because of knee injuries. Both have been redshirted.

In addition, sophomore guard Rose Jong missed several early season games while recuperating from knee surgery, and junior guard Sylvia Castaneda has been sidelined because of a broken hand, although she is expected to return this weekend.

Even longtime Coach Darlene May couldn’t manage to avoid the injury bug. May missed the team’s game against Alaska Anchorage after undergoing surgery on her elbow last week.

“We’ve survived,” May said. “I think survived is a good word for it. We’ve had only six or seven players for some of our games.”

May said this created a lot of problems in losses to Division I UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, Fresno State and Loyola Marymount, although the Broncos defeated Division I Southern Utah.

“You don’t play teams like UC Santa Barbara and Fresno State with only six or seven players and expect to win,” May said.

All things considered, May has not been disappointed with her team’s play.

“We’ve played a tough schedule, and if you take away the four losses to Division I teams, we have as good a record as anyone in our division,” she said.

Cal Poly Pomona, which has a four-game winning streak, and Cal Poly SLO have the best nonconference record in the CCAA.

Junior forward Carrie Stritenberg, who is averaging 15.1 points, and senior forward Leslie Ellis, who is averaging 13.7 points, are Pomona’s offensive leaders.

“I think we’re playing a little better, and our practices are a little better than they (had) been,” May said.

Because of the injuries to Malone and Hiestand, the Broncos have only eight players on their roster. But May said that shouldn’t stop her team from making a run at another title.

Everyone would be disappointed with anything less.

“We’re expected to win the conference,” May said. “That’s just the way it is. But I don’t have any problems with that because I expect to win, too.”

College Division Notes

A meeting to discuss the formation of a Division I-AA football conference mainly for California schools was held this week in Anaheim. Among the schools that might join are Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Sacramento, Santa Clara, St. Mary’s, University of San Diego and Southern Utah.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team does not figure to receive a severe test in its first two conference games, against Cal State Los Angeles (3-7) and UC Riverside (2-10) this weekend. The Broncos have records of 24-0 against UC Riverside and 36-1 against Cal State L.A.

Defender Chris Stempson of Azusa Pacific has been named to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American soccer first team. Stempson, who was selected to the second team last season, led the Cougars to a 9-8-1 record. . . . Three athletes from Azusa Pacific were named NAIA All-American Scholar-Athletes for the 1991 fall season. They are Sonya Weir in women’s cross-country and Stephanie Clement and Jennifer Cowper in women’s soccer. Weir has a 3.85 grade-point average.