COLLEGE DIVISION : Cal Poly Pomona to Challenge Bakersfield for Volleyball Title

Cal Poly Pomona could establish itself as a Division II women’s volleyball power.

Although the Broncos have been competitive in recent years, now they figure to be one of the top two teams, along with Cal State Bakersfield, in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

Pomona has won two early-season tournaments--one last weekend at Cal State Los Angeles--and have the best NCAA Division II player in Mitsue Tomoyasu.

“She would start for any (Pacific 10) team,” Pomona Coach Rosie Wegrich said.

Wegrich should know. She coached successfully at Arizona for 15 years before taking the job at Pomona so she could return to Southern California and her family.

The reason Tomoyasu is not starting at any Pac-10 school is that she is 27, which makes her ineligible for Division I play. Tomoyasu came to the United States three years ago and played at Pasadena City College as a way to make friends and learn to speak English. Before that, she had played in Japan’s business-sponsored leagues, which often have players practicing eight hours a day.

Last season, Tomoyasu led the Broncos to a 25-8 record and led the team with 517 kills from the offensive left-side hitting position.

This season, she has moved to the right side to take greater advantage of her passing and blocking skills. She will have experienced help up front from Tami Chick, Nikki Egilske and Amy Sodek.

Despite Pomona’s surge this season, many still consider Bakersfield the team to beat, even though the Roadrunners lost their top three players and coach. New coach Mark Rosen was an assistant to the departed Dave Rubio, so the transition has been smooth, and he has Rachel Morten leading the team.

Chapman has had trouble early this season in tournaments because it has only eight players, but the combination of Debi Waller and Rena Strange is a good one.

UC Riverside has the distinction of being the only 1-7 team ranked in the top 20. That’s a tribute to the respect Coach Sue Gozansky gets for her program. Riverside has nine players back from last season’s 23-13 team, including Shandi Byrd, who can be dominating. Cal State Los Angeles is the team that most schools are wary of. The Golden Eagles start four freshmen and two community college transfers and upset Pomona at the Cal State Dominguez Hills tournament. Cal State Los Angeles also upset San Diego and Chapman.

In the Golden State Athletic Conference, Westmont and Point Loma-Nazarene are the favored teams. But Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific and Cal Baptist are all capable of winning the title as well.

Westmont is led by Kelly Barnes, who was an All-District 3 player as a freshman last season. Westmont was a team in transition last year, as it adjusted to a new coach, Cathy Rex. This season, Westmont is off to a 12-3 start.

Point Loma-Nazarene will play host to the NAIA tournament and has a chance to win it. Point Loma-Nazarene is led by middle blocker Roberta Smith and outside hitter Robin Rabello. Kacey Oakley, a Division I transfer from Arizona, and sophomore outside hitter Sunday Renzema add to the potent attack.

Gene Krieger returns to coach Cal Baptist after two years at Cal Poly Pomona and has his team off to a 10-2 start. Fresno Pacific, the defending GSAC champion, lost three first-team NAIA All-Americans but, at 13-4, isn’t getting much sympathy. Senior Kim McCann and freshman Stacey Kauffman give Fresno a quick-hitting team.

Stephanie Benitez will keep Azusa Pacific in the race with her hitting skills. She is the No. 2 hitter in the NAIA with a percentage of .355 and Azusa Pacific is 11-4.

After winning at least a share of seven of the last eight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, it is getting to be a habit to fill in La Verne as the favorite.

La Verne goes with a quick-hitting attack led by middle blocker Lynn Gilbert, setter Julie Elliker and outside hitter Jane Winer.

Pomona-Pitzer will again be the top challenger, and both Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Redlands have teams that will be competitive, if not strong enough to overtake La Verne.

Cal Lutheran and Azusa Pacific have had a friendly football rivalry. Cal Lutheran likes to win and, for the most part, Azusa Pacific has been accommodating.

The rivalry started when they were the only two NAIA schools in the Southland, and Cal Lutheran holds a 14-5 advantage. Although both have quality programs, Cal Lutheran moved up to play in the Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season. Azusa Pacific had a stumbling start, losing its first three games.

But the Cougars may be turning the tide.

Azusa Pacific defeated the Kingsmen for the second consecutive season when Michael Wade converted a 45-yard field goal on the final play Saturday for a stunning 34-33 victory.

The Cougars’ David Park, a junior linebacker, blocked a field goal and a punt and recovered the fumble that led to Wade’s winning field goal.

Park was credited with five tackles, one a sack and two others for losses.

Claremont-Mudd cracked the NCAA top 20 in water polo, being voted No. 18 based on a good showing at the UC Irvine tournament, which is made up of Division I schools. Over the weekend, the Stags were went 4-0 in the Pomona-Pitzer tournament.