COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Torero Tennis Adjusts to Loss of Star Player

Life without Noriega.

After four fabulous years together, the University of San Diego’s men’s tennis team must find a new No. 1, not the easiest of tasks when you consider that Peru’s Jose Luis Noriega was a four-time All-American and had the winningest career record--34-10--of any player in collegiate Grand Slam events.

In the wake of Noriega’s departure, USD Coach Ed Collins is optimistic, but realistic, about his team’s chances this season. Three players are close to filling Noriega’s sneakers, but no one has given Collins reason to dub him heir apparent yet.

“It has to be somebody who’s able to withstand the pressure of being No. 1,” Collins said. “We have three who are capable of playing up there, but they need to make a jump in their tennis. They are all very close (in talent). There’s not much that separates them.”

Collins is referring to junior Fredrik Axater, senior Kevin Bradley and sophomore Ignacio Martinez, who, in that order, played behind Noriega last year and had a combined 62-17 record.

“We should be better than last year,” Collins said. “To make up for (Noriega), we have to have better depth and better doubles.”

Besides Axater, Bradley and Martinez, depth comes from of a handful of players. It’s still too early for Collins to award positions on the ladder--or for players to earn them--but Toreros expected to vie for a spot in USD’s top six are: Philippe Hofmann, J.J. Shobar, Emmanuel Udozorh, Mark Huarte, Robbie Seward and Darren Potkey.

One of Collins’ most noticeable newcomers is Udozorh, of Lagos, Nigeria. Udozorh went to high school in New Braunfels, Tex., where he attended John Newcombe’s tennis ranch for 1 1/2 years. He reached No. 27 in the ITF World Junior rankings, the highest ranking achieved by a USD player not named Noriega.

“He’s not as good as Noriega was as a freshman, but he has potential,” Collins said of the serve and volleyer. “. . . Some players peak after they’ve played 10 years, but I see unlimited potential. He needs to improve the effectiveness of his shots.”

Axater, ranked No. 67 last year, has jumped to No. 34 in singles, and Bradley and Huarte are the Toreros’ top-ranked doubles team, at No. 25.

As for Noriega, he is setting out to compete in satellite tournaments after a quiet summer. Noriega had to rehabilitate himself after he aggravated a nerve between his toes.

Grossmont College, the defending state community college women’s tennis champion, opened its preseason with signs of good things to come after sophomore Antje Fritschi won the singles community college division title at the Rolex Intercollegiate Championships over the weekend.

Fritschi, a native of Germany, then teamed with Coronado High graduate Marni Hunt for a straight-set doubles victory at Long Beach City College. Their performances advanced Fritschi and Hunt to the regional tournament at Corpus Christi, Tex., Oct. 22-23.

UC San Diego doesn’t have Division III to kick around anymore. For the first time in its history, UCSD’s women’s soccer team lost a regular-season game to a Division III opponent. Friday it came in the form of a 2-0 loss at the hands of visiting Cal Lutheran. Undaunted, the Tritons (7-2-1) roared back with a 2-0 victory against Cal Baptist Monday.

USD’s final bid for an invitation to the NCAA Division III Western Region football playoffs isn’t getting much help from other teams in the region. The top six teams have a combined record of 28-0-1. Only Iowa’s Simpson, No. 4, has a tie to mar an otherwise perfect season. The Toreros are 4-1-1. Next year they move up to Division I-AA.

As Point Loma Nazarene prepares to host the Golden State Athletic Conference cross-country championships Saturday morning at Morley Field, PLNC fans will keep close watch on one particular match-up in the men’s race.

The heavily favored Crusaders, fourth-ranked nationally in NAIA, are competing for their fifth consecutive GSAC crown--they have won four of the six team titles--after they finished in seven of the top eight spots last year. Back for PLNC are Robert Keter, Kenny Jansson and Scott Lardner, the top three finishers last year.

But besides defending GSAC and District 3 champion Keter, another GSAC champion and former Crusader, Goshu Tadese, is expected to challenge for the title. Tadese, now of Fresno Pacific, tied for the GSAC championship in 1988 and won it outright in 1989, the same season he won the District 3 title.

Tadese took two years off after he left PLNC and is in his first year at Fresno Pacific. In their only common meet--they ran in different divisions--Keter was 30 seconds faster than Tadese at the Stanford Invitational two weeks ago. Keter might have the edge for this weekend, but look for a closer race come District 3 championship time.

On the women’s side, three-time team champion Westmont, ranked eighth nationally, has the edge that could give it a fourth. Westmont is led by senior Shea Abby, who was sixth in last year’s conference meet.

But Abby will get strong competition from PLNC junior Lupe Ambrizo, who was fifth in the GSAC race in 1991 and is having a good year.

It has been a tough fall for Christian Heritage athletics. The El Cajon college fields only two teams. They have a combined record of 4-31.

The women’s volleyball team is 4-23, but could still win more games than last season, when it was 4-18. The highlights for the Hawks this season are Leslie Nasser, who is second in NAIA District 3 with 44 aces and Shelley Stafford, who is eighth with 31 solo blocks.

In men’s soccer (0-8), when first-year Coach Mike Aiken, a Jamaican, was set to leave the program, so did three of Aiken’s five Jamaican players, who he had recruited. They transferred to The Master’s College, where Paul Smith is one of the district’s leading scorers. But Aiken ended up staying, and the Hawks have still struggled. Last year, CHC was a .500 team.