Sports

PREPS

Four of the 26 San Gabriel Valley-area high school football teams that began playoff competition two weeks ago will compete in division semifinals on Friday or Saturday night.

Bishop Amat (12-0), ranked No. 1 in the nation, will meet Trabuco Hills (10-2) in a Southern Section Division I semifinal Friday at Orange Coast College.

Diamond Bar (9-3), coming off a huge upset over top-ranked Westlake, will meet Ayala (11-1) Saturday at Citrus in a Division III game.

Charter Oak (12-0) will attempt to take another step to an unbeaten season and the Division VI title when the Chargers play Alta Loma (8-4) Friday at Chaffey College.

Surprising Ganesha (6-5) plays at Arroyo Grande (10-1) on Friday in a Division VII semifinal. “It’s great to see the kids playing so well at this time of the year,” Ganesha Coach Garry Norvell said. “We’ve got a very difficult game on Friday and a long ride to get there, but hopefully we can keep it up.”

* The South Pasadena and Rowland water polo teams won Southern Section championships last weekend with victories at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

South Pasadena avenged two losses to La Serna with a 10-7 victory in the Division II final. It is the second consecutive championship for the Tigers, who won the Division IV title in 1993.

Shawn Estep scored four goals for South Pasadena, which finished 23-5. Craig Bessenger scored three goals, Brian Butcher two and Stanley Chung one. Goalie Dirk Vanderwall had 10 saves.

Rowland won the Division VI championship with an 11-8 victory over Brea-Olinda.

Michael Mineo scored four goals for Rowland (24-7). Rick Harvey, Brian Kirby and Kenny Clements each scored two goals and Tony Grosso added one. Goalkeeper Hector Lopez had four saves.

* The Pasadena Poly girls’ tennis team won its third consecutive Southern Section championship by defeating El Dorado for the Division III title.

Pasadena Poly, which had won two straight Division IV titles, ended its match against El Dorado tied, 9-9. The Panthers, however, earned the title, 79-73, based on total games won.

Anuba Sarohia, a junior, won the decisive set, 6-4, over Yetee Osunsanmi. Miki Kanemitsu of Pasadena Poly swept three sets for the Panthers.

* The Flintridge Sacred Heart and Bishop Amat girls’ teams and several individuals from San Gabriel Valley area high schools had outstanding performances at last weekend’s state cross-country meet at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Malianelli Martinez of Bishop Amat finished 10th and the Lancers placed seventh in Division III. Melissa MacPherson placed fourth in the Division IV race to lead the Tologs to a sixth-place finish.

James Liu of Temple City finished fifth in Division II, Richard Chisholm of San Marino finished seventh and Kevin Koeper of St. Francis placed ninth in the boys’ Division III race.

Allison Twist of San Marino was 10th in Division III and Annie Ebiner of St. Lucy’s was 17th.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Eight wrestlers from Mt. San Antonio College will participate in the state championship meet this weekend at Rio Hondo College.

The Mt. SAC athletes who will compete include Tam Nihei (118 pounds), Miguel Iniguez (126), Omar Diaz (142), Raul Tapia (150), Doug Blake (158), Oscar Balderrama (167), Darren Hill (177) and Mike Duran (190).

* The Citrus College water polo team finished third in the state.

Citrus (32-7-1) defeated Merced, 16-11, in the first round of the state tournament but lost to Long Beach, 12-11, in the semifinals.

Citrus defeated Diablo Valley, 16-14, in the third-place match.

Alex Rodrigues scored 11 goals and Brennan Shum had nine in the tournament.

* Sophomore end Jimmy Irby and freshman punter George Guzman of Mt. San Antonio College were named first-team All-Mission Conference by league coaches.

The Mt. San Antonio College women’s volleyball team was defeated by Golden West Tuesday night in the second round of the community college state tournament.

COLLEGES

The Azusa Pacific women’s volleyball team will play St. Francis (Ill.) and Hastings (Neb.) today in the second day of pool play at the 20-team National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics championships at Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Cougars, who entered the tournament with a 22-10 record, opened play Wednesday night against St. Vincent (Penn.). Results were not available at press time.

Azusa Pacific is scheduled to complete pool play Friday morning against Moorhead State (Minn.). The top two teams from each pool advance to the quarterfinals Friday night. The semifinals and finals will be played Saturday.

Azusa Pacific won the national title in 1980 and is making its second appearance in the national tournament in four years.

* The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team entered the week 4-0 after victories over The Master’s College and Sonoma State.

The Broncos, under first-year Coach Tom Marshall, played host to Pt. Loma Nazarene on Tuesday and will meet Division I San Diego State tonight in San Diego.

Junior forward Tyrone Merriweather is averaging 19.3 points and 10.3 rebounds a game for the Broncos. Freshman guard Adam Towle is averaging 13.8 points.

* The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team will compete in the NCAC/CCAA Challenge tournament Friday and Saturday at Cal State Hayward.

Pomona (3-1) plays Cal State Stanislaus on Friday and Hayward on Saturday. Freshman forward Jessica Eggleston is averaging 14 points a game. Freshman guard Cathy Bass is averaging 10.8.

* Don Morel will replace Rex Hulgens as football coach at La Verne. Morel has been the team’s offensive coordinator.

PREP OF THE WEEK

James Liu, Temple City--Liu placed fifth overall in the Division II boys’ race at the state cross-county championships last weekend at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Liu clocked in at 15 minutes, 40 seconds over the 5,000-meter course, 15 seconds behind winner Antonio Arce of Palmdale. Liu will compete in the Kinney West Regional meet this weekend in Fresno.

COLLEGE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Adam Towle, Cal Poly Pomona--Towle, a freshman guard from Burlingame High, scored 26 points in the Broncos’ 78-77 victory over The Master’s College.

Towle made 10 of 12 shots for the Broncos, who entered the week with a 4-0 record.

MISCELLANY

The Foothill-Citrus Baseball Umpires Assn. will have its first meeting Jan. 22 at Walnut High. The organization is seeking members, who earn $46 for working one-man, non-varsity games. The association will provide training in rules. Information: (818) 964-9445.