L.A. UNIVERSITY BEAT / WENDY WITHERSPOON : He Fell for This Sport a Long Time Ago

If Brian Earley were not a diver for USC, he might be a race car driver, or a mountain climber. A lion tamer, maybe.

Anything that involves some element of danger.

“It’s the fear,” Earley said, that has him addicted to diving.

Not surprisingly, then, Earley’s specialty is the platform.

The possibility of spinning out of control in a dive from the tower is very real and, if it happens, can cause severe injuries. This is precisely what keeps Earley interested.

“I’ve seen some good accidents,” said Earley, noting that he ranks one of his own wipeouts--he landed flat on his stomach in a practice dive before a junior national meet--one of the best.

If it was evident from the time he was a child that Earley would be a thrill-seeker, it was almost as evident that he would chose diving as his sport.

Earley’s father, Rick, was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic diving team, finishing sixth on the platform. Rick began coaching that same year and is in his 14th season as USC’s diving coach.

The rest of Earley’s family also has been involved in diving. Brian’s mother, Conni Pomeroy, coaches diving at UC Irvine; his older sister, Wendy, is a former USC diver, and his younger sister, Arika, dives with the Mission Viejo Nadadores swim club.

“I’ve lived diving,” said Earley, who competed in his first meet at age 5.

But after winning the 1992 NCAA championship on the platform, Earley began to feel pain in his back while training for the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials. It turned out that he had two broken vertebrae and had to sit out the next year.

That turned out to be a blessing in some ways. When he returned, he had to limit his practices to the one-meter board. Although he found that boring, he was third in the event at the U.S. outdoor national championships at USC in August, his first big meet since his return.

Earley won all three events at the Pacific 10 Conference diving championships last month at USC. Overall, he has won eight Pac-10 titles.

He has a chance to win all three diving events at the NCAA men’s swimming and diving meet March 24-26 at University of Minnesota. If he does, he will become the first diver to sweep.

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Life goes on for the UCLA softball team despite the departure of Lisa Fernandez, possibly the best all-around player ever. Fernandez finished her eligibility last season.

UCLA (17-3) is ranked second in the nation. The Bruins lost to third-ranked Oklahoma State, 8-2, in the championship game of the South Florida tournament Sunday.

One reason UCLA remains a contender for the national title is the return of senior pitcher DeeDee Weiman. She redshirted last season.

Weiman had 11 no-hitters in her first three seasons at UCLA, leaving her tied with Fernandez for the school record. She is 10-1 this season. She lost her first outing, 2-1, giving up two unearned runs against Arizona State on Feb. 12. She has an earned-run average of 0.00 in 73 2/3 innings and averages 12.27 strikeouts a game.

The Bruins also have been bolstered by the pitching of B’Ann Burns, a freshman from Phoenix who is 7-2.

UCLA plays fifth-ranked Long Beach State (11-5) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Mayfair Park in Long Beach.

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The Long Beach State softball team is led by senior shortstop Linda Lunceford.

Lunceford has 217 hits in her career, a school record, and is batting .447 this season.

Long Beach also has Stacy Van Essen, who was 20-9 last year. Van Essen, a senior, is 2-2 this season after a back injury prevented her from playing for the first month of the season.

Aside from Lunceford and Van Essen, however, the 49ers are an inexperienced team. All three of last season’s outfield starters completed their eligibility.

Senior Brigit Tapp, a reserve last season, is starting in center field; freshman Nicole Ochoa, who has hit four home runs, is starting in right, and junior Kristyn Frady and freshman Shari Shultz are alternating between catcher and left field.

“I think with a lot of time and work and continuity, (this team) will be good,” said Pete Manarino, 11-year veteran Long Beach coach who is approaching his 400th victory. He is 391-234-1.

Notes

Max Annavedder and Gordon Bartlett of Long Beach State will compete in the epee at the NCAA fencing championships beginning Friday at Brandeis University in Waltham, Ma.

The top-ranked UCLA men’s volleyball team will play host to third-ranked USC at 5 p.m. Friday in Pauley Pavilion. The match will be televised live on Prime Ticket. The Trojans (12-1) were the last undefeated team in the nation before losing to Pepperdine on March 1. The Bruins (15-1) have swept six consecutive matches. Surprisingly, the Bruins’ 6-foot-10 middle blocker, Tim Kelly, who is in his fourth year as a starter and has hit .490 in his career, has been benched the last four matches in favor of 6-4 junior John Speraw, who played in only six matches last year.

The NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships will be held Thursday through Saturday at Indianapolis. USC’s best hope for an individual title is freshman Kristine Quance, who set an NCAA record in the 200-meter breaststroke at the Pac-10 championships. USC has not had an NCAA woman champion since 1985, when Sue Habernigg won the 200 freestyle. UCLA’s best hope for a title is senior Kristen Walls, a diver who won the one- and three-meter competitions in the Pac-10 meet. . . . The NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships will be the final meet for the Bruin men’s program, which is scheduled to be eliminated after this season, along with men’s gymnastics.