SPORTS BRIEFS / PAUL McLEOD : Slick Moves on Cal State Long Beach Gym Will Become Less Treacherous

It’s long overdue, but the worn floor of the Cal State Long Beach gymnasium is expected to be resurfaced in time for the women’s basketball game with Stanford on Wednesday. Construction crews were scheduled to begin sanding the surface immediately after Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game with Howard.

Men’s basketball Coach Seth Greenberg has complained for months that the floor, last resurfaced in August, 1991, has become slick and might cause a serious injury if something isn’t done.

During last Friday’s game with Point Loma Nazarene, several players slipped or fell while trying to cut to the basket. After one

Point Loma player fell in front of the 49er bench, Greenberg cast a menacing look over his shoulder in the direction of fiscal officer Dan Radakovich.

“This is the most-used building on campus,” Greenberg said after the game. “How many other buildings do you know that have a thousand students go through every day? Sooner or later someone is going to get hurt.” The school has been unable to find a block of time in which the gym would be dormant long enough for construction workers to do the job, Radakovich said. The financially strapped athletic department will play $5,500 for the resurfacing, Radakovich said, and it will last a year at best.

Danielle Scott, a junior middle blocker on the women’s volleyball team that played in the NCAA Final Four last week, has decided not to play basketball this season at Cal State Long Beach. A 6-foot-2 center, Scott had been expected to join the 49er team Wednesday for a home game against Stanford. But after Long Beach lost to Stanford in the volleyball semifinal at the Final Four, Scott changed her mind. She said she wants to concentrate on volleyball during her senior season. Scott will be considered a redshirt in basketball, according to NCAA rules, and will retain two seasons of eligibility in that sport. The 49er basketball team (1-5) is off to its worst start in school history and Scott, a tenacious rebounder, was expected to prop up the team’s fortunes.

Becca Wohlt has resigned as sports information director at Cal State Long Beach to become an assistant at UCLA. Wohlt was named to the Long Beach post in July after spending two years as the assistant sports information director for the 49ers.

Acting Athletic Director Dave O’Brien said he wants to move quickly on a replacement, and hopes to choose from local applicants for the job, which pays between $30,000 and $38,000 a year. “We just can’t afford to do a national search and then pay to fly people in here for an interview,” O’Brien said. He said he hopes to fill the position by mid-January.

Since June, more than 20 people in the 49er athletic department have been reassigned, fired or have quit.

About 300 people turned out on a blustery day Friday for the groundbreaking of the Pyramid athletic complex at Cal State Long Beach. A variety of speakers, including departing college President Curtis L. McCray, addressed the crowd. Shovels of dirt were turned over on a tarp draped across the asphalt parking lot on Atherton Avenue where the structure is to be built.

Actual groundbreaking by construction crews is supposed to begin in January, according to university officials. The school has received about $10 million in state bond money to build the 17-story building, but the university needs to raise an additional $6 million to complete the inside. Officials hope to build a 6,400-seat arena that will be used for basketball and volleyball, but as yet only small donations have been pledged.

McCray, who is leaving to become president of a small, private college in Illinois, had been actively involved in seeking a donor to part with $2.3 million in exchange for having the Pyramid named after him. As yet, no such donor has stepped forward. Athletic department officials, however, continue to insist that the building will be finished in time for the 1994-95 school year.

Reserve guard Carlos Dew has quit the basketball team at Cal State Long Beach. Dew, who appeared in one game this season for the 4-0 49ers, said he wants to concentrate on earning a degree. A junior, Dew redshirted in 1990-91 and played in five games last year.

Players from the world champion Long Beach Little League baseball team were honored in ceremonies last week at the White House. The boys met with President Bush and members of the Toronto Blue Jays, who were honored for winning the World Series. Long Beach was defeated by a team from the Philippines, 15-4, in the Little League World Series final in August. Little League officials later declared the Long Beach team the champion after it was determined that most of the Philippine players were overage and that several of the players, as well as the team’s coach, came from outside the district on the island of Mindanao.

The Cerritos College wrestling team, which played host to the state community college wrestling championships recently, placed second in the event. Jesse Espinosa, wrestling in the 118-pound category, was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. He finished the year with a 19-1 record. At 158 pounds, Rod Ludington also won the state title. Six other Falcons finished among the top eight in individual competition. Assistant Coach Steve Glassey was voted the top assistant of the year. Palomar College of San Marcos won the state team title, outpointing Cerritos, 118-86 3/4.

Football coaches John Brennan of Wilson and Steve Nishimoto of Gahr have resigned but will remain at the schools. Brennan led Wilson to the Moore League title in 1991, the school’s first in 25 years. This fall, the Bruins (6-3-1) tied with Lakewood for second place and advanced to the second round of the Division I playoffs. He will be replaced by former assistant, J. C. Clarke. Gahr, which last advanced to the playoffs in 1989, finished 1-9 and in last place in the seven-team San Gabriel Valley League this fall. Tim Ellis, an assistant, has been chosen to replace Nishimoto.

Several area water polo and girls’ volleyball players have been

chosen All-Southern Section. In Division I water polo, senior Ben Blaber and senior goalie Nick Fullerton of Wilson were chosen to the first team. Second-team honors went to teammate Pat Cochran, a sophomore. Junior Ryan Bailey of Millikan and senior Dave Ward of Poly were third-team choices. In Division II, seniors Mike Pyle and Tim Postiff of La Serna received first-team honors, while teammate Andy Walburger, a junior, and senior David Keys (Montebello) made the second team. Third-team honors went to senior Juan Reyes of Montebello and senior Ryan Loeff of La Serna. Andrew Law, a senior from Gahr, was chosen second team in Division III.

Earning first-team honors in Division II volleyball was Tanisha Larkin, a senior from Poly. Seniors Sara Gunsaulus of Millikan and Paula Makridis of Poly made the second team. La Mirada teammates Jennifer Macias, a senior, and Lanae Baker, a sophomore, were awarded second-team honors in Division IV.

Montebello-based Los Angeles Salsa of the American Professional Soccer League has invited 25 players to return to training camp Jan. 4 at Cal State Fullerton. Among them are Arthur Perez and Santo Rivas of Whittier and Rudolfo Echiueste of Lynwood. The Salsa begins league play in the spring and has been conducting open tryouts since early in the fall. Coach Rildo Menezes is also expected to sign several more players who have previously played in the APSL, the only professional soccer league in the United States.