Biola on Top With Holmquist

It was a disappointing finish for Biola’s Dave Holmquist in his return to coaching last season.

After sitting out the previous season to focus on his chores as the school’s athletic director, Holmquist guided the Eagles to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 title game only to see them lose to Westmont and miss earning a berth in the national tournament.

Midway through district play this season, the Eagles are making another bid for the title and a berth in the nationals.

Biola has an 18-3 record, the most victories of a college division team in Southern California, and the Eagles are ranked No. 11 in the NAIA Division I.

They have won 11 games in a row and have not lost since a last-second defeat to NCAA Division II Cal tate Dominguez Hills on Dec. 14.

Holmquist credits his defense, which is ranked No. 1 in the district.

“I think we’ve played good defense, the last couple of weeks in particular,” he said. “We had a stretch where we played well on both ends of the floor. It seems we have a different guy step up and pick us up every game.”

The Eagles also lead the district in shooting with a 54% average.

They are led by senior center Emilio Kovacic, who is averaging 16.1 points. Forward Keishon Darthard is averaging 13.2 and forward Rodney Camper is at 13.1.

“I think we’re taking some pretty good shots from the field, and that’s why we’re shooting at a high percentage,” Holmquist said.

The Eagles’ biggest challenges may be two district games against The Master’s. The first is tonight in La Mirada, and the other is Feb. 25 in Newhall.

“We can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Holmquist said. “There are just too many good teams in this district to think that far ahead.”

Midnight practices have become traditional opening workouts for some college basketball teams, but Cal Lutheran’s baseball team added a twist.

Its field doesn’t have lights.

So when practice began at 11:45 p.m. Saturday, the field was brightened by headlights from cars that rimmed the outfield and by floodlights that were rented by assistant coach Marty Slimak and placed behind the dugouts.

During the one-hour workout, the Kingsmen held infield practice followed by player introductions and a home-run hitting contest. Cal Lutheran also took the opportunity to unveil its new scoreboard.

An estimated 200 fans attended the event, which Coach Rich Hill said he hopes to make an annual affair.

Cal Lutheran figures to be in the spotlight on a regular basis once the regular season starts. The Kingsmen, who open with a doubleheader against Christ College Irvine on Feb. 8 in Thousand Oaks, are ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division III in a preseason poll by Collegiate Baseball magazine after finishing 32-8 last season.

Midway through the conference season, Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team appears on its way toward another California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title.

Pomona, which has won or shared 10 titles in a row since the conference added women’s basketball in 1981, ran its conference record to 6-0 with victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State San Bernardino last week.

The Broncos, ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division II at 15-5 overall, rolled to a 78-50 victory over San Bernardino, although they had to struggle before defeating Dominguez Hills, 60-51.

The victory gave Pomona a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place Dominguez Hills in the conference standings. Dominguez Hills is 3-2.

It is a considerably closer race for the title in the men’s division.

UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield are tied for first at 5-1, Pomona is third at 4-2 and three other schools are tied for fourth at 3-3. Teams complete the first half of conference play this week.

Cal Poly Pomona women’s tennis player Julie Slattery, who reached the NCAA Division II singles final in 1990, opened the 1992 season in strong fashion by winning the Nos. 1 and 2 singles title at the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational last week. Slattery, a senior, also teamed with Rebecca Huereque to win the No. 1 doubles title. Pomona is defending Division II team champion.

The men’s basketball team at The Master’s posted one of its most impressive victories of the season with a 92-88 upset of host Southern California College on Saturday in Costa Mesa. Southern California was ranked No. 19 in the NAIA Division I. It was the ninth victory in a row for The Master’s, which is 15-7 overall and 7-0 in NAIA District 3 play.

The La Verne men’s basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings with two victories last week. The Leopards, 11-4 overall and 4-0 in the SCIAC, defeated Occidental, 115-101, in double overtime and Whittier, 86-65.

Pomona-Pitzer assumed the SCIAC lead in women’s basketball with victories over Cal Lutheran and Redlands last week. The Sagehens are 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference.

John Browning, a former player and assistant coach at UC Santa Cruz, has been named men’s tennis coach at Pomona-Pitzer. Browning replaces Chris Eppright, who was named coach of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo earlier in the month after coaching guiding Pomona to 10th in the nation in the NCAA Division III last season.

Harry Sailor, who has been the golf pro at Sierra La Verne Golf Course in La Verne, has been named men’s golf coach at Pomona-Pitzer. He replaces Ed Malan, who retired after last season.