Sports : EARLY EXIT

Friday was an unlucky day for Westside baseball teams in the City Section playoffs.

All five area schools lost in the first round, and the games weren’t close. In the 4-A Division, Granada Hills’ Kennedy defeated Western League champion University, 13-2; Westchester lost to Granada Hills, 15-6, and Carson beat Venice, 7-3.

In the 3-A playoffs, South Gate edged Hollywood, 5-3, and Bell beat Fairfax, 3-1.

“We’re still not at the level of the (San Fernando) Valley schools,” University Coach Jon Beckerman said. “Our pitchers had control problems really early in the game. We couldn’t throw strikes at first and when we did, they hit the ball fairly hard.”

The Warriors (19-9-1) got home runs from James Fabbro and Joey Gabriel, but it was not enough.

Westchester, which ended the season with four consecutive losses, had trouble fielding.

“When you make seven errors in a ballgame, you deserve to be out of the playoffs,” Westchester Coach Ron Kasparian said.

The Comets (17-13) lost starting shortstop Henry Jones because of a dislocated middle finger in the first inning. Jones’ two replacements made four errors.

Kennedy scored six unearned runs in the second and seven in the third.

“We gave them seven outs in the second inning,” Kasparian said. “We had three chances to get the same guy out and he scored.”

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Hamilton High runner Genevieve DeBose is peaking at the right time, winning two distance races at the City Section finals Thursday at Birmingham High.

DeBose won the 1,600 meters in 5 minutes 14.63 seconds and the 3,200 in a school-record 11:39.29.

She will try to duplicate that feat beginning with qualifying races Friday at the state meet at Cerritos College. The finals are scheduled for Saturday.

Peter Gilmore of Palisades won the 1,600 meters in 4:27.25 and Rori Kelly of Westchester was clocked in 14.70 seconds to win her second consecutive City title in the 110 high hurdles.

Jason Brownlee of Hamilton is the best bet to do well at the state meet. Brownlee won the 300 intermediate hurdles in 37.82.

Fairfax, which finished second to Dorsey in the 400 and 1,600 relays at the City finals, will hold runoffs this week before entering the state finals. Lion Coach Terrel Ray said junior Tanqueray Clark, the City B champion in the 200 and 400, may win a spot on the relay teams.

At the Southern Section Masters Meet Friday, freshman Malika Edmonson of St. Bernard won the 400 in 55.66 and helped the Vikings’ two relay teams qualify for state.

The St. Bernard girls finished second in the 1,600 relay (3:49.77) and third in the 400 relay (47.04).

Tyson Murphy of Santa Monica failed to qualify for state after running 14.61 to finish sixth in the 110 hurdles.

NET GAIN

The Beverly Hills boys’ tennis team had a successful season despite losing to Santa Barbara in the Division I semifinals.

The Normans (17-6) won the Ocean League championship and had impressive wins over Peninsula, Brentwood and Calabasas, teams that reached at least the semifinals in their respective divisions.

Senior Mark Miller and sophomore Jordan Duboff were the Normans’ top singles players. The No. 1 doubles team of P.J. Gopaoco and Bobby Croll reached the individual quarterfinals.

The Normans surprised many by reaching the semifinals, but their dream season came to an end against Santa Barbara, losing to the Dons for the fifth time in six seasons.

“We’re getting to play the best there is,” Norman Coach Jason Newman said. “A loss (to Santa Barbara) is no disgrace. I’m happy with the team’s competitiveness.”

BALANCING THE BOOKS

Santa Monica College will drop its men’s volleyball and men’s tennis teams and will add women’s soccer next season in an attempt to meet Title IX requirements, Athletic Director Avie Bridges said Tuesday.

Title IX is a federal law adopted in 1972 that requires male and female students to be treated equally in all areas of education, including athletics.

Bridges said the moves were made to comply with Title IX requirements considering the current student body ratio. Last season, three times as many men as women participated in intercollegiate sports at Santa Monica.

“Basically, Santa Monica College President Richard Moore felt that we needed to move toward a better representation of a student body, which is 50-50 male to female ratio,” Bridges said. “By dropping the two men’s sports and adding women’s soccer, this move will bring the athletic department at Santa Monica College toward a more equitable participation ratio. It also means that Santa Monica College will be offering every sport that is available to women at the California community college level.”

Part of the decision to drop the men’s tennis program stemmed from the loss of the school’s tennis courts. The courts are currently being used for temporary classrooms. Several classrooms were damaged during the Jan. 17 earthquake.

“There were other factors in deciding to make this move that had to do with recent budget cuts and also facilities,” she added.

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Bridges also announced that she will return to coach women’s basketball after a one-season sabbatical. She will replace Traci Waites, who recently became an assistant at Arizona. Bridges coached the Corsair program from 1986 to 1993.

DADDY TRACK

Ken Sprague Jr. has announced his resignation as Santa Monica High basketball coach after five seasons.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” he said. “I have one kid who just turned 3 and I have another due in August. It was time to make a move.”

Sprague, who will turn 30 Aug. 11, had a 54-66 record during five seasons at Santa Monica. The former Santa Monica High and Oregon basketball player replaced Cliff Hunter as coach in 1989.

No successor has been named, but junior varsity coach James Hecht and Lincoln Middle School teacher Chris Corliss are the leading candidates.

SIGNINGS

* Fairfax basketball player Shaphan Roberts has signed with UC Riverside. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 10.5 points a game as a senior.

* St. Monica pitcher Oscar Casillas received a baseball scholarship to USC. Casillas, a two-time Camino Real League most valuable player, had an 8-1 record as a pitcher and batted .335.

HONORS

Basketball player Bryan Sterling became the first athlete to have his jersey retired at Pacific Hills High during the school’s athletic awards banquet May 25 at the Bel-Air Radisson.

Sterling, a 6-3 guard, was also selected the Southern Section Division V Player of the Year and was named to The Times’ Westside first team.

He recently signed to play at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Former Laker Michael Cooper was the guest speaker at the banquet.

CORRECTION

A Hamilton High runner was incorrectly identified in a photo that appeared in The Times’ Westside section May 26.

Brenea Watkins of Hamilton, who won her heat in the 400 meters at the City Section preliminaries, appeared in the photo. Watkins placed fourth in the 400 during the City finals Thursday at Birmingham High.

HAWAIIAN VACATION

The Beverly Hills football team will travel to Honolulu Sept. 1 to play in the Sean Akina Classic. Their opponent will be Chugiak High of Alaska.

The team will hold fund-raisers to pay for the cost of the trip, which amounts to $570 a player.

The Normans return 18 starters from last season’s team, including junior quarterback Chris Wallace.