THE COLLEGES / FERNANDO DOMINGUEZ : There Were Moments to Remember in the School Year That Was

Now that the 1994-95 sports season is over for area schools, let’s review some of the more notable events:

Ventura Wins State Title

The Pirates hit the jackpot with a basketball team that wasn’t supposed to go very far. At least not according to the experts. Ventura had 10 freshmen on its 13-man roster and only one returning player.

The Pirates had tons of individual talent but precious little time together before the season. They had potential, but everyone knows what a two-edged sword that tag can be.

They ended up having a marvelous time.

Under the masterful direction of veteran Coach Philip Mathews, the Pirates got off the blocks with 29 consecutive victories and finished 37-1.

Ventura trounced West Valley of Saratoga, 80-61, in the State championship game on March 11 at UC Irvine to cap the school’s winningest season.

Arellanes Sets State Record

Valley quarterback Jim Arellanes had onlookers shaking their heads in awe when he established a state junior college single-game passing record with 639 yards in a 51-37 loss to Bakersfield on Nov. 5 at Monarch Stadium.

Arellanes, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, started the game with two incomplete passes in his first three attempts but finished 30 of 52 and threw one touchdown pass. He completed eight passes of 25 or more yards, including plays that covered 68 and 51 yards.

The former standout at El Rancho High in Pico Rivera will showcase his rifle arm the next two seasons for pass-loving Coach Jim Sweeney at Fresno State.

Cal Lutheran Has Regal Season

In perhaps the biggest surprise of the sports year, the Cal Lutheran women’s basketball team put together the school’s best season.

The Regals strung 21 consecutive victories to start the season and won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

They advanced to the NCAA Division III West Regional but lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 63-54, in the first round.

Not too shabby for a team that was 8-15 the previous season and 1-23 as recently as 1991-92.

But second-year Coach Tim La Kose showed that underachieving programs can be turned around with the right person in charge.

CSUN Students Ante Up

After twice nixing a referendum to rescue the school’s financially moribund athletic program, Northridge students voted in March to raise their semester fees $27, an increase that will help generate about $1.4 million annually for Matador sports teams based on current enrollment figures.

Two similar referendums had been defeated in 1994 and several Northridge teams, including football, were headed for extinction had the last measure not been approved.

Sherman’s March to Playoffs

Although she was a rookie head coach, Janet Sherman preserved the winning tradition in softball at Northridge.

Sherman, who was a Matador assistant for five seasons, led the team to the Western Athletic Conference championship and to an NCAA regional. Northridge failed to advance to the Women’s College World Series, losing twice to Cal State Fullerton by one run, but the Matadors finished 43-17 in what was supposed to be a transitional season.

Mission Women Win It All

In 1984, Coach Terry Bommer guided the Mission men’s golf team to the state title. Last fall, 10 years after that championship, Bommer got another winner. But this time it was with the newly formed women’s squad.

The Free Spirit, sparked by Kumiko Iijima, won the four-team tournament. It was the first junior college State tournament for women.

Iijima won the individual title by shooting a four-over-par 76 on the 5,421-yard course at Menefee Lakes Country Club in Temecula.

Bozeman Swings Through Town

The California men’s basketball team visited Northridge in January and Coach Todd Bozeman left quite an impression.

Bozeman was accused of striking Howard Garcia, security supervisor at CSUN home games, after the two exchanged harsh words during the second half of Cal’s 76-65 nonconference victory over the Matadors.

The coach complained to Garcia about Northridge hecklers being too close to the Cal bench. They pointed fingers at each other and Bozeman allegedly threw a punch that grazed Garcia, who had turned to walk away.

Attorneys from both sides were still negotiating a settlement in late April. Garcia has said he wants Bozeman to apologize publicly and retract statements that Garcia directed racial remarks at Bozeman during the incident.

Matadors Fumble Off Field Too

Northridge administrators did nothing to help the school’s reputation when they refused to suspend offensive guard Jonathan Beauregard from the football team after he was charged with attempted murder in the shooting of two people in San Bernardino last August.

Beauregard, who is awaiting trial, never mentioned to Northridge coaches that he had been arrested. The coaches heard about it second-hand.

The episode, unfortunately, gave Northridge the kind of exposure it hardly needed.

But the 1995-96 college sport year is not that far away. So let’s hope for better tidings for the athletes at Northridge and those at other area schools who will be making the headlines then.