SCC Coach Not Crying Over Lost Opportunity

The Southern California College women’s basketball team missed its chance to move into a first-place tie in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tuesday, losing to Fresno Pacific, 64-49.

With one regular-season game remaining, Fresno Pacific has clinched the conference title. SCC, Concordia and Azusa Pacific are tied for second, but you won’t find SCC Coach Dean Cooper agonizing about the game that got away.

“I can’t be too disappointed being this close and not winning,” Cooper said. “We have so many young kids. That’s part of the reason we couldn’t finish it off--we are young and we make a lot of young mistakes.”

The Vanguards have three freshman starters: point guard Alisha Blomker and post players Heather Woodruff and Elaine Whittemore. Cooper also is excited by his recruiting class for next season. Jody Caruso, a guard from Cypress College, should help improve one of the Vanguards’ weaknesses, getting the ball to their post players.

But Cooper hasn’t written off this season.

“I still think we can play with any team in this league,” he said. “I’m not counting us out in the playoffs.”

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Showdown: SCC (17-11, 7-4) and Concordia (17-11, 7-4), which conclude the regular season Friday with a 5:30 p.m. game at Concordia, can finish no lower than fourth place in the conference, and therefore both will play host to a first-round playoff game Tuesday.

However, the loser of Friday’s game probably will have to play at Fresno Pacific in the conference tournament semifinals.

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Standout: Tina Southard, a senior guard, was named the GSAC player of the week after leading SCC to victories over Biola and Cal Baptist last week. Southard scored 19 points in a 69-55 victory over Biola and had eight points and 10 assists in a 65-46 victory over Cal Baptist.

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Climbing back: During the 1980s, the Chapman men’s tennis team was among the strongest in the NCAA Division II. The Panthers advanced to six consecutive national championship tournaments, winning three titles and finishing second once.

But when the school stopped offering tennis scholarships in 1990, the program suffered. The Panthers are only now showing signs of recovering.

Sergiu Boerica took over the team in 1992, and in his first two seasons, the Panthers didn’t win a match. But this month the Panthers broke through, beating La Verne, 8-1, to end a 33-match losing streak.

Since then, Chapman has beaten Biola, 9-0, and Caltech, 8-1. Until recently, the Panthers have been seeing the wrong side of such scores.

“It’s quite a thrill to be on that side of it,” Boerica said. “It makes the job a lot easier.”

Boerica has helped himself by bringing in some experienced players. The starting lineup is made up of players new to the team this season.

Jose Alvarez and Jeremy Famularcano, the Nos. 1 and 2 singles players, transferred from Long Beach College. No. 3 James Baker is a freshman from La Mirada High and No. 4 Kevin Hill is a transfer from Irvine Valley. Junior Juan Melchor and freshman Erik Koral round out the singles lineup.

This group has the competitive experience the Panthers have lacked the last two years. “I think maybe I was expecting things to turn around too fast,” Boerica said. “With time it has happened and things are going really well right now.”

Boerica, a part-time coach, also heads the women’s team. The Panther women (1-2) are led by Kamela Rajkumar, a transfer from Orange Coast who graduated from Newport Harbor High, and Sheryl Kalbach, who played No. 1 for Chapman last season.

Notes

The Chapman men’s basketball team finishes its season Saturday against Menlo in the Hutton Center. . . . The Chapman women’s basketball team beat Occidental, 84-75, Tuesday to finish its most successful season in 10 years. The Panthers finished 16-8--its best finish since the 1984-85 team went 25-4. . . . After starting the baseball season with five consecutive losses, Chapman beat Cal Baptist, 12-11, in 10 innings, scoring nine runs in the ninth to tie the score. After beating Whittier, 7-1, Tuesday, Chapman is 2-7. The Panthers play host to a two-game series with UC San Diego Friday and Saturday at Hart Park and play host to Whittier Sunday. . . . The Chapman women’s swimming team broke 16 school records at the season-ending Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference championships. Robyn Garinger set records in the 200-yard freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 50 free, 100 free, 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley. She also was a part of five school record-setting relay teams. Chapman finished fourth among Division III schools at the meet. . . . The Pacific Christian men’s basketball team travels to the California Coastal Conference tournament Friday and Saturday at Holy Names in Oakland. The Royals (24-13) will play Simpson Friday in the first round.