COLLEGES / ALAN OTA : There’s a Catch for Bruins: : With Inouye in the Lineup, a National Title Will Follow

Every season that senior catcher Kelly Inouye has been physically sound, the UCLA softball team has won an NCAA championship. The Bruins have won the title in 1989, 1990 and 1992 and were runners-up in 1991, the year Inouye missed because of an injury to her right shoulder.

If UCLA were to defend its title, Inouye would become the first NCAA softball player to be a member of four championship teams.

Co-coach Sue Enquist believes Inouye’s compatibility with the pitching staff has contributed greatly to the Bruins’ success. UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team, is 8-1.

“It does take a certain amount of resilience,” Enquist said. “And you can count on her to lead from behind the plate.”

Inouye has worked closely with senior Lisa Fernandez, a three-time All-American who has a 34-game win streak. They have played together since they were 12 years old.

“They really complement each other,” Enquist said. “That continuity through the years is something special.”

Fernandez has a career record of 65-4. Three of her losses were in 1991, when the 5-foot-6 Inouye was injured.

Inouye developed problems with her right shoulder in the 10th grade playing volleyball at Gahr High in Cerritos.

As a freshman at UCLA, Inouye drove in two runs with a double in the Bruins’ 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State in the College World Series. After her sophomore season, the shoulder mobility became more limited and would often slip out of the socket.

“I wasn’t even able to make it through practice,” Inouye said. “And the pain was intolerable.”

After shoulder surgery and months of rehabilitation, Inouye returned for the 1992 season. She caught each game at the College World Series and was named to the all-tournament team.

Enquist sees Inouye, who hasn’t committed an error in the past two seasons, as a much more complete player this season.

“She has had all the tools and the ability to execute, but now, as a senior, she has grown in her maturity and her confidence,” Enquist said.

Inouye still has problems with her shoulder.

“There are times when someone on base will run on me, knowing I’ve had shoulder problems,” she said. “But once I’m out there and get adrenalized, I don’t feel anything.”

The third-ranked Pepperdine men’s volleyball team (7-2, 5-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) plays host to top-ranked UCLA (7-0, 4-0) tonight at 7. The Waves were swept by the Bruins earlier this month.

UCLA sophomore outside hitter Kevin Wong, who leads the nation in service aces with a .643 average, attributes much of the Bruins’ success to the play of sophomore Jeff Nygaard, a middle blocker.

“He’s taking on the role of the workhorse,” Wong said. “Every time we go out there, he’s doing everything it takes to win. And he’s hitting a lot of balls from the back row. There’s not a lot of middles who can do that in this league. That’s something you see on the national team.”

Notes

David Swatik, a UCLA junior outside hitter, quit the men’s volleyball team reportedly for not getting enough playing time. The former Southern Section player of the year at Mira Costa High had appeared in four of UCLA’s seven matches.

The UCLA women’s basketball game with USC on Friday at the Sports Arena will be televised by ESPN. Tip-off is set for 9:08 p.m. The Bruins (11-11, 6-7 in the Pacific 10 Conference) defeated No. 23 Cal, 85-68, on Sunday. Natalie Williams, who was named conference player of the week, led UCLA with 22 points and 16 rebounds, her 17th double-double in 16 games. USC (17-5, 10-3) is ranked 16th and has won the previous three games with the Bruins.

The Pepperdine women’s basketball team (13-13, 5-6 in West Coast Conference) plays at Portland tonight and at Gonzaga on Saturday. The Waves will complete their regular season by playing host to Loyola Marymount on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, St. Mary’s and San Francisco are in a four-way tie for third place. The top four teams advance to the WCC tournament, with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Pepperdine junior guard Aimee McDaniel, who scored a career-high 35 points in last week’s 82-70 victory over Loyola, was named conference player of the week.

The Pepperdine baseball team (5-5) will play host to Cal State Los Angeles today at 2 p.m. and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Waves have won 27 of their last 28 home games and are currently ranked 21st by Collegiate Baseball.

The No. 9 UCLA baseball team will play host to 10th-ranked Arizona State for a three-game series at Jackie Robinson Stadium beginning at 7 p.m. Friday. The teams will play single games on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

The fifth-ranked UCLA men’s tennis team will play host to UC Irvine on Saturday at 1 p.m. and fourth-ranked Pepperdine on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

The UCLA men’s gymnastics team will compete at Stanford on Saturday and at Cal on Sunday. Bruin senior Chainey Umphrey, who was sidelined last season because of a stress fracture in his foot, is undefeated in the high bar and leads the nation with a 9.8 average in three meets. The UCLA women will compete at Brigham Young on Friday. In last week’s UCLA invitational, Pauley Pavilion records were established by three Bruins: sophomore Kareema Marrow in the floor exercise (9.9), sophomore Megan Fenton in the uneven bars (9.9) and freshman Corinne Chee in the balance beam (9.9).