Banachowski: 1992 Bruins Might Be Best

Some coaches have a way of commanding respect, of leading and encouraging.

Consider Andy Banachowski, 26-year veteran UCLA women’s volleyball coach. Banachowski had his 700th victory as UCLA coach when the Bruins defeated Oregon, 15-3, 15-5, 15-8, on Nov. 7.

“(Banachowski) just has got a lot of class about him,” said Dave Shoji, 17-year veteran Hawaii coach. “I just think he’s a gentleman, and his demeanor is just what I think all of us should try to achieve. He’s humble, but he’s hard working.”

Top-ranked UCLA is 25-0. It has won its last 14 consecutive matches in three games, including victories over second-ranked Stanford and fifth-ranked Nebraska, and is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA title.

But such success is not new to Banachowski.

His teams have placed in the top four nationally in 18 of the last 21 years. He is 107-18 in postseason play and has won six national championships as UCLA coach.

This from a man who learned how to play the sport in the back yard of his fraternity house at UCLA. Banachowski walked on to Al Scates’ UCLA men’s volleyball team in 1964. A two-time All-American setter, Banachowski helped the Bruins to two national championships.

Scates has compiled a record of 786-129, including 15 national championships, in his 30-year career. Scates is the American Volleyball Coaches Assn.’s all-time winningest coach.

Banachowski is 702-145 and in third place in career victories, trailing Linda Dollar, Southwest Missouri State coach, by three.

He is one of the pioneer coaches in college women’s volleyball. When he started, he says, he never thought of his first victory. Working part time as a student in UCLA’s intramural department in 1968, Banachowski was asked to start the women’s volleyball program as an “extramural” sport.

After he graduated, he worked as manager of UCLA’s Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, a job with flexible hours that enabled him to coach. At that time, UCLA had no scholarships and little recruiting.

But with Congress’ passage of Title IX in 1972, Banachowski went from part-time to full-time coach, began recruiting and started winning national championships.

This season, UCLA could become the second team in NCAA history to go undefeated. Banachowski, usually conservative in giving praise, can’t hide his excitement.

“I think this team is the biggest, strongest, most physical team I’ve ever had, and I also think it’s the most solid, the most deep team I’ve ever had here at UCLA,” he said. “If we can go on to win the national championship, there will be no question that this is the best team that UCLA has ever had.”

Banachowski says retirement is still a long way off, but when the final story of his career is written, this season might be the highlight.

These are the times that try athletic directors’ budgets.

While the economy has forced many athletic departments to scale down, they also are coming under closer scrutiny with respect to gender equity.

It is in this climate that USC announced last week that it will add women’s soccer to its list of fall sports.

“There is no doubt that we’ve got to look at how we’re going to redistribute budget,” said Lisa Love, USC associate athletic director, but “the timing . . . seems to be appropriate to figure it out, put your nose to the grindstone and really make it work.”

Women’s soccer has received increased attention since the U.S. national women’s soccer team won the first World Cup last year.

USC will initiate a job search in January for a women’s coach. The Trojans will not offer scholarships in 1993, but Love said they will be added after that.

The debate continues over the strength of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Atlantic Coast Conference in men’s soccer.

Three teams from the ACC were selected to compete in the NCAA tournament: top-ranked Virginia (17-2-1), third-ranked North Carolina State (12-2-4) and 11th-ranked Duke (13-3-2). Three teams also were selected from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation: fifth-ranked UCLA (13-2-3), fourth-ranked Washington (14-2-3) and unranked Stanford (11-8-2).

The ACC teams were sent to different regions. The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation teams went to the same region and will knock each other out in the early rounds.

“So that’s why at the end of the day, the ACC comes out smelling better,” said Sigi Schmid, UCLA coach.

In the past eight years, three teams from the ACC--Virginia, Duke and Clemson--have won or shared five of the last eight national titles and UCLA has won two.

UCLA plays host to 13th-ranked University of San Diego (16-4) in a second-round game at UCLA’s North Soccer Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Brian Gimmillaro had the 200th victory of his eight-year career as Cal State Long Beach women’s volleyball coach, winning at Utah State on Nov. 7, 15-6, 15-1, 15-0. Third-ranked Long Beach is 25-1, and Gimmillaro is seeking his second national championship as 49er coach.

In eight years as volleyball coach at Cerritos’ Gahr High, from 1978-1985, Gimmillaro compiled a 142-15 record. He led the Gladiators to four Southern Section championships and one state championship.

Long Beach plays host to UCLA on Nov. 28.