COLLEGES / IRENE GARCIA : Loyola Freshman Volleyball Player Has Already Lettered

Although Mardell Wrensch has not yet posted big numbers on the volleyball court at Loyola Marymount, the 6-foot-1 middle blocker knows about winning big.

In the summer, the 18-year-old freshman from Cupertino won $68,000 in cash and prizes on the television game show “Wheel of Fortune.”

“My brother and I always watched it as kids,” she said. “My brother said, ‘When I’m old enough, I’ll be on Wheel of Fortune and I’m going to win a car.’ ”

Tyson Wrensch, Mardell’s older brother, appeared on the show when he was a high school senior two years ago during a teen week. He won a Ford Probe and nearly $37,000.

“I was a sophomore in high school then and I thought, ‘If he could do it, I could do it,’ ” Wrensch said.

So Wrensch applied and went through the screening process, which includes solving puzzles within a limited time frame and playing a practice version of the televised game against other potential contestants.

“I was pretty excited because I got called back a second time,” Wrensch said. “But they said, ‘We’ll call you if you make it.’ Well, they called--two years later.”

The show in which Wrensch appeared was taped in August and televised in September. Her mother, father and brother were in the audience.

“When I got on TV, I was real comfortable because I had seen my brother go on,” Wrensch said. “You draw a number before the game and I drew the No. 2 spot in the middle, where my brother had been, so that was real neat.”

Wrensch, 18, won a big-screen TV and VCR for solving her first puzzle, then won a $25,000 bond by solving the final puzzle of the bonus round.

She returned for the finals later that week and solved the game’s first four puzzles.

Besides the cash, Wrensch won an all-expense-paid trip for four to Italy. She took her parents and brother to Italy before moving to Westchester.

“It was great,” Wrensch said. “We also went to Germany and Austria while we were there.”

Although Wrensch considers “Wheel of Fortune” her favorite show, she hasn’t had time to watch it since the start of school. But she would like to appear on another game show.

“I’ve really considered ‘The Price is Right,’ ” she said. “But I want to wait till I live in my own apartment ‘cause I’ll go shopping and I’ll know the prices. Right now I’m not too familiar with that kind of stuff.”

Wrensch was an All-De Anza Athletic League middle blocker at Monte Vista High in Cupertino. She also was an all-league center on the Matador basketball team.

Wrensch was a member of the Monte Vista basketball team that lost to Peninsula High, 63-44, in the State Division I final in March in Sacramento.

“I didn’t know Peninsula was so close to Loyola,” Wrensch said. “I would like to see the school someday.”

Wrensch frequently sees Peninsula Coach Wendell Yoshida, who is a linesman at several Loyola home volleyball matches.

“That was kind of strange to see him there,” Wrensch said. “I really didn’t talk to him though because he left right after the match.”

Wrensch, who is on a volleyball scholarship, does not plan to play basketball at Loyola.

“I came here because I was convinced that (the volleyball) program was going to keep growing,” Wrensch said. “Plus, I always wanted to move to Southern California.”

Wrensch is getting limited playing time behind senior Dana Bragado and freshman Julie Greer, a three-time All-Southern Section selection from Esperanza High in Yorba Linda.

Notes

El Camino freshman middle blocker Joanne Robertson ranks second in the South Coast Conference in kills (52) and blocking (21), and setter Nicole Cordova ranks second in assists with 113. . . . El Camino free safety Brian Malinofsky and linebacker Dan Katoa were named Mission Conference defensive players of the week for their performances in the Warriors’ victory against Orange Coast College on Saturday. Malinofsky, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound sophomore from West Torrance High, had 11 tackles, two pass deflections and an interception. Katoa, a 6-foot, 230-pound sophomore from Morningside High, had 10 tackles and a quarterback sack. . . . The Harbor men’s soccer team is in second place in the SCC with a 5-2-1 record. . . . The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team won its first California Collegiate Athletic Assn. match in eight attempts when it defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 5-15, 15-12, 15-5, 15-10, on Tuesday. The Toros are 5-23.