L.A. UNIVERSITY BEAT / WENDY WITHERSPOON : Loss of Golf Coach Leaves Questions at USC

It was with mixed emotions that Randy Lein announced last week he will leave the USC men’s golf program next month to coach at Arizona State.

Lein, who coached USC for more than a decade, wanted to help the Trojans recover from a dismal 1991-92 season. On the other hand, Arizona State is perennially one of the nation’s top programs and has excellent golf facilities.

“After 12 1/2 years of representing USC and enjoying USC . . . it was a tough decision to leave,” Lein said.

Lein replaces Steve Loy, who resigned in August to serve as manager for Phil Mickelson, a former Arizona State star who won the NCAA championship three times in four seasons before turning professional this year.

Lein’s USC teams won 23 tournaments and two Pacific 10 Conference championships. Six of his former players are on the PGA Tour. Lein had his best finish at the 1991 NCAA championships when USC placed seventh. But last season, the Trojans did not win any tournaments and finished seventh at the Pac-10 championships.

“(Last season is) the thing that would have been a factor in my staying,” Lein said.

But some offers are too good to pass up.

“Arizona State is the only position in the country that I would leave for,” Lein said. “Having their own course and a great practice facility, it’s a coach’s dream to have all those positives.”

The men’s and women’s teams at Arizona State won national championships in 1990.

Charles Harris, Arizona State director of athletics, said: “I felt that the combination of his experience in the conference and his background in the PGA was such that he was exactly the kind of person we were looking for.”

Arizona State is No. 3 in Golf Week magazine’s preseason men’s collegiate rankings. USC is unranked. After the announcement, Lein took the Trojans to Dallas for the Red River Classic Oct. 12-13. Arizona State assistant Todd Rolfes coached the Sun Devils in the same tournament. Arizona State finished second with a 54-hole total of 856. USC tied for ninth at 873.

USC Athletic Director Mike McGee appointed a committee to search for a replacement for Lein. The committee will meet early this week to decide whether to appoint an interim coach for the season or hire a permanent replacement. It is possible that USC will not have a permanent coach until next season.

“Until the permanent position has been rectified, there is a level of uncertainty that we would wish were not the case,” McGee said.

The uncertainty could affect recruiting. USC loses two seniors. Two recruits visited USC this weekend, but did not meet the coach they would play under if they decide to attend the school.

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There were times during John Williams’ 20-year career as USC water polo coach when he wondered if he ever would have 300 victories.

Williams reached that milestone with a 15-5 victory over Air Force on Oct. 2 in the Northern California tournament. His record is 303-215-7.

But the road to 300 victories has been difficult because he is a part-time coach. Williams has donated many hours to the program over the past two decades.

He is an accountant, and during tax season he leaves the program with an assistant. During the rest of the year, he is an accountant by morning, coach by afternoon.

“I don’t understand how he does both,” says Jovan Vavic, who joined the USC program as an assistant this season. “Actually, I do understand because he puts in a 20-hour working day.”

Asked if it’s worth it, Williams says: “It has its moments. It’s like they say, ‘the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.’ ”

USC has not reached the NCAA championships since 1988, but the team’s prospects are brighter this season. USC (10-5) is ranked third behind top-ranked Cal (18-0) and No. 2 Stanford (13-2).

Part of the reason for USC’s success this season is Vavic, a former UCLA assistant.

“(Vavic) just taught us new plays,” said Dan Leyson, a senior two-meter man. “Whereas the other years we had the same play and tried to force it into whatever they threw at us.”

Notes

The top-ranked UCLA women’s volleyball team’s 15-10, 15-3, 15-3 victory over sixth-ranked USC on Friday night will be shown on ESPN on Oct. 21 at 9 p.m. . . . UCLA (15-0 overall, 9-0 in the Pac-10) plays host to second-ranked Stanford (14-1, 8-1) on Oct. 30. . . . Danielle Scott, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker for the Cal State Long Beach women’s volleyball team (15-1, 8-0 in the Big West Conference) was selected the Big West’s player of the week on Oct. 12 for the third time in five weeks, tying a conference record for most selections in a season.

Loyola Marymount (13-7, 5-0 in the West Coast Conference) beat San Diego, 15-0, in one game of a three-game sweep on Oct. 10. It was the first time Loyola shut out ann opponent in almost five years. . . . The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team (7-11, 3-2 in the WCC) had its first consecutive victories of the season when it defeated St. Mary’s, 15-9, 15-13, 15-11, on Friday night and San Francisco, 15-4, 15-4, 15-5, on Saturday night.

The Long Beach water polo invitational will be held Oct. 24-25 at Belmont Plaza pool and Long Beach pool. The highest-placing Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team will be named MPSF champion and will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA championships.

When Allen Fox returned to the Pepperdine men’s tennis team this season after a one-year hiatus, 1991-92 Waves’ coach Eliot Teltscher was disappointed that he had to relinquish the position. Teltscher said: “I had hoped, anyway, that I was going to be there for a long time. It’s a little unclear whether I knew or didn’t know (that Fox would return). . . . I think Allen has been there 15 or 16 years before this, and he’s a bit of an institution at that school. When he said, ‘I want to come back,’ it’s tough to compete with that.” Teltscher currently coaches at the Manhattan Country Club.