Although He May Be a Long Shot, Long Jumper Likes NFL Chances

Nate Kirtman became the first Pomona-Pitzer player ever selected in the NFL draft when the Dallas Cowboys chose him in the ninth round on Monday.

Kirtman, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound wide receiver/kick returner, was the 248th selection.

Kirtman, 20, the two-time defending NCAA Division III long jump champion, averaged 122.1 all-purpose yards a game last season.

“From what I hear, they are in need of receivers and defensive backs,” said Kirtman, who leaves today for Dallas for a three-day orientation. “I think I have a shot. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I definitely think I can do it.”

The San Diego Chargers selected former Pasadena City College wide receiver Ray Ethridge in the third round with the 63rd selection.

Ethridge averaged 11.1 yards a catch and 25.2 yards per kickoff return for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League last year.

Net gains: The Cal Poly Pomona women’s tennis team will attempt to defend its NCAA Division II title when it competes in the National Team Championships beginning Friday at Canyon, Tex.

Top-ranked Pomona (27-1), which has won three national titles, will meet Cal State Los Angeles (11-8) in the first round.

Pomona is led by Julie Slattery and Rebecca Huereque, who won the 32-team Independent College Doubles division at last week’s Ojai tournament. Slattery, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. player of the year, finished second in the singles competition at Ojai.

Championship form: The Citrus College baseball team clinched its second consecutive Foothill Conference championship with a 10-7 victory Saturday over Victory Valley.

The victory was the 500th of Citrus Coach Skip Claprood’s 20-year career with the Owls, who improved to 27-8 and 18-3 in conference.

Claprood, who entered the week with a record of 500-261, has guided the Owls to nine conference titles.

Three-peat: Azusa Pacific won its third consecutive Golden State Athletic Conference championship Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader against Christ College Irvine.

Azusa Pacific will begin play in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District III playoffs May 7.

Quality performances: The Cal State Los Angeles track teams continued stockpiling qualifiers for the NCAA Division II championships.

Robert Clark, a junior from Walnut High and Mt. San Antonio College, qualified in the hammer with a lifetime-best throw of 190 feet 5 1/2 inches at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. Clark has already qualified in the discus.

Junior Bryan Bridgewater qualified in the 200 meters in 21.03 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays and anchored the Golden Eagles’ 4x100-meter relay team that qualified in 3 minutes 10.98 seconds.

Senior Margo Grant qualified for nationals in the 200 (23.98) and the 400 (54.30). Junior Christy Opara, who competed previously for Citrus College, also qualified in the 400 (54.50).

Kimya Phillips, a sophomore from Walnut, qualified in the discus with a throw of 151 feet 4 inches.