Payoff at Hand for Chapman’s Park

More than once, senior setter Christi Park has been close to quitting on Chapman women’s volleyball, but now she’s glad she didn’t.

In March, 1992, about seven months after she joined the team as a walk-on from Olympia, Wash., Park learned she could not earn an athletic scholarship. The school was switching from NCAA Division II to Division III, meaning all athletic-based aid would be discontinued.

The decision caused a two-season decline in the Chapman volleyball program, which had consistently been ranked among the best in Division II. One player left school, two others kept their scholarships, making them ineligible to play.

Park mulled transferring and giving up the sport, but decided to stay, and therefore was on hand for the forgettable 1993 season. Chapman was 4-20 in its final season in Division II.

“I was frustrated. I was depressed,” Park said. “I was just ready to give up on the whole thing.”

But amid all the losing, the Panthers managed to build some self-respect and have fun, Park said.

Of course, it doesn’t compare with this season. Bolstered by strong new players, the Panthers finished the regular season 23-8 and will play in the postseason for the first time since 1990.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, their first-round opponent in the West Regional Friday is host UC San Diego, the third-ranked team in the nation.

San Diego (25-6) has lost to only one Division III team this season and has beaten Chapman twice, including a 15-9, 15-12, 15-4 victory last Friday in San Diego.

But Park isn’t worried.

“I know without a doubt in my mind that they can be beaten,” she said. “If we play up to our abilities, we shouldn’t have any problem.”

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Chapman Coach Mary Cahill is also confident Chapman has a chance to knock off the top-seeded team in the region, despite recent struggles against the Tritons.

Cahill hopes San Diego has been lulled into a sense of security by its two three-game victories over Chapman.

“We hope to catch them on their heels and surprise them,” Cahill said. “They are a strong team, but we are right there, and if we get one game off them or make it 16-14 we’ll get more confidence and put a question in their minds.”

Chapman is trying to buck a lot of history. UC San Diego has advanced to the final four in 11 of the 13 years a Division III championship has been held. The Tritons have won reached the title match 10 times, winning a record six championships.

The Chapman-San Diego winner will play the Occidental-Cal Lutheran winner Saturday in the regional final.

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As expected, the Southern California College men’s cross-country team finished third at the Golden State Athletic Conference meet Saturday and received an at-large bid to the NAIA national championships.

Leading the Vanguards were Jason Schaefer and Jon Bischop, who finished 11th and 12th, running the eight-kilometer course at Balboa Park in San Diego in 26 minutes 38 seconds and 26:39.

SCC, which finished the season ranked 18th in the nation, received the last of five at-large bids and will be seeded 18th in the 38-team field.

The championships are Nov. 19 in Kenosha, Wis.

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The Southern California College women’s volleyball team received a break when it was seeded fifth in the eight-team NAIA Far West Region volleyball tournament.

The Vanguards (17-10) received the Golden State Athletic Conference’s sixth and final spot in the tournament, but because of a better power rating, they were seeded higher than Westmont and Cal Baptist, which finished in a fourth-place tie.

So instead of playing at Fresno Pacific, Azusa Pacific or Biola, one of the top three seeded teams, SCC plays at No. 4 The Master’s in the first round Saturday. The Vanguards twice beat The Master’s in four games this season.

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The Pacific Christian men’s soccer team finished second at the National Christian College Athletic Assn. Division II championship, losing, 3-2, in overtime to Moody Bible of Chicago Saturday in Lakeland, Fla.

Andrew Mehr scored with two minutes left in regulation to tie the score, 1-1, for the Royals (14-3-2), but PCC Coach Rich Davis said his team, playing its second consecutive overtime game, ran out of gas.

Even so, after Moody (18-4) scored the first two goals in overtime, James Oats scored in the 111th minute and PCC had several late chances to tie.

Ryan Bean, who scored 50 goals for the season--including six in the three-game tournament--and Mehr were first-team All-American selections. Jeff Lunz, Joey Bahash and goalkeeper Greg Gunderson were honorable mention selections.

However, Jason Hall’s contribution in the semifinal against Clearwater (Fla.) shouldn’t be overlooked. Hall, usually a field player, stepped in the goal for the penalty-kick shootout and blocked Clearwater’s sudden-death attempt. He then took PCC’s next shot and scored, giving the Royals the victory.

Notes

Chapman’s football team finishes its season Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks. . . . Southern California College and Concordia each had two players named to the second-team All-Golden State Athletic Conference men’s soccer team. Selected were sophomores Peter Schumerth and Kevin Villar of SCC and seniors Dean Agnoletto and Brian Beaman of Concordia. Sophomore Jamie Gardiner and freshman Joy Pelletier of SCC were all-conference women’s soccer selections. . . . SCC’s basketball teams are holding their Blue & Gold scrimmages Tuesday. The women’s game is at 6 p.m.; the men’s is at 7:45. Proceeds will be donated to the Tomas Relief Fund, established to help the family of Tomas Mejia, the El Toro High cross-country runner who is recovering from a coma after an August auto accident.