CSUN Close to Landing German Star
Cal State Northridge expects formal approval on the enrollment of a volleyball player whose presence will greatly enhance the Matadors’ chances of returning to the NCAA Final Four.
Oliver Heitmann, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker, said Thursday from Hamburg, Germany, that he is awaiting written notification that Northridge has admitted him for the spring semester.
Sources at the school have indicated to Heitmann that university administrators have given their verbal approval. However, they have been unable to officially record his acceptance because they have been locked out of their earthquake-damaged offices.
Heitmann, 24, is a member of the German National Team and was a starter on Germany’s entrant in the World League, an international circuit of Olympic teams.
NCAA rules prohibit Northridge Coach John Price from commenting about Heitmann until the player is officially enrolled. But from Germany, a former Northridge All-American had high praise.
Neil Coffman, who has played with Heitmann on the First Volleyball Club of Hamburg, favorably compared the German star with Trevor Schirman, a former UCLA All-American and U.S. National Team member.
“He’s not as strong as Schirman but he blocks like crazy and he can take over a match that way,” said Coffman, a starter for the Matadors from 1989-91. “He is a very, very good player. He will add a lot to the Northridge program. He has so much experience.”
Heitmann is the second German to be recruited by Northridge, which must spend about the same amount for a foreign student’s tuition as it does for an in-state student’s full scholarship--tuition, books, room and board.
Axel Hager, another Hamburg native, was a starter at left-side hitter for the Matadors the past two seasons. Hager and Heitmann have known each other 10 years and are former club volleyball teammates. “Axel enjoyed it very much at Northridge,” Heitmann said. “He enjoyed volleyball and the whole team.”
Heitmann has two years of eligibility. “I will play one year that I know,” he said. “Maybe longer.”
Northridge last season posted a 23-10 record and advanced to the NCAA championship match before losing to UCLA. The Matadors have finished ranked among the top four teams in the nation the past three seasons, a string that was expected to end at the conclusion of their current campaign.
With only two starters back, Northridge was unranked in one preseason poll and was ninth in another. In their season debut two weeks ago, the Matadors placed ninth in the 16-team UC Santa Barbara tournament.
Developments this week should give Northridge’s stock a considerable boost. On Wednesday, four volleyball players who had been temporarily academically disqualified were declared eligible. Now, with Heitmann’s addition, the Matadors will be considered a strong playoff contender.
“You can’t expect any player, no matter how good he is, to jump right in and take over,” Coffman said. “There will be an adjustment period because the style of play is different. But eventually he should be one of the top blockers and attackers in the country.
“He’s not some glory player who is going to make the outstanding, spectacular play. But he’s very consistent.”
Heitmann’s status has been in limbo for weeks while Northridge coaches and athletic program administrators scrambled to determine if he was eligible according to NCAA rules and their own institutional standards.
The paper chase has been made more arduous because the flow of admission documents stopped with the Jan. 17 earthquake, which resulted in the closure of the Northridge campus.
Heitmann placed transcripts and other documents Northridge requested in the mail two days before the earthquake. This week, school officials finally traced the package to a mail center at Los Angeles International Airport. The information was forwarded to Matador coaches at Occidental College, where the team has been practicing.
When his admission receives written approval, Heitmann will obtain a student visa. He could be in Northridge in time for the team’s Feb. 4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener against USC.
