Matadors’ Baseball Team Lands Twin Towers on Hill

Matt and Mike Rainier, 6-foot-5 twin pitchers from Royal High, made commitments Wednesday to Cal State Northridge.

Matt, a right-hander, and Mike, a left-hander, both were 3-0 last season. Matt had a 1.19 earned-run average in 10 games and Mike had a 2.72 ERA in six games.

Royal second baseman Matt Pesso committed to Northridge on Monday and first baseman Adrian Mendoza and outfielder Matt Pitstick, also from Royal, are Northridge freshmen.

“That’s four other guys besides me, that helped make the decision,” Matt Rainier said.

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Tennis player Darian Chappell of Camarillo has committed to UC Irvine.

Chappell, ranked 13th by the Southern California Tennis Assn., chose Irvine over Iowa and Rice.

City probe: City Section Commissioner Barbara Fiege said she has sent a letter of inquiry to Van Nuys High seeking information on alleged illegal practices held by the boys’ soccer team.

Jack Molina, the Van Nuys assistant principal for athletics, said he plans to meet with second-year boys’ soccer Coach Vincent Recalde and would report his findings to the section office by Friday.

Organized team workouts are limited to a one-period physical education class during the off-season, Fiege said.

Coaches also may hold 20 hours of “pre-screening” to determine which players will be on the varsity.

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Power play: A month after petitioning to move up from the 3-A to 4-A for the City Section girls’ volleyball playoffs, Van Nuys was named the top 4-A seed on Wednesday. The Wolves (12-1), Valley Pac-8 Conference champions, will meet No. 16 El Camino Real Tuesday in the first round.

Northwest Valley Conference champion Kennedy (12-0) was named the No. 3 seed and will host No. 14 Garfield. Fifth-seeded Chatsworth (8-4) hosts No. 12 Huntington Park.

Sylmar (12-1), which lost in the 3-A semifinals last year, was named the top 3-A seed for the second straight year. No. 2 Canoga Park (8-5) hosts No. 15 Dorsey and No. 5 Monroe (7-6) hosts No. 12 Wilson.

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Game face: Once she wore blue makeup, complete with painted-on tears.

Another time Katie Jeffries, who has helped Hart High win its first Foothill League volleyball title, went with the glamorous look, bright lipstick and sprayed-up hair.

And then there was the time Jeffries appeared for a match with black makeup and her teeth blackened, with the exception of her front two.

Part entertainer and more than a part-time player for the Indians, Jeffries dons a different look for every match.

“I try to keep [my teammates] having fun as much as possible and keep them relaxed,” Jeffries said.

“Those are times the more patient team wins, the more relaxed team.”

Her teammates have picked up on the theme.

In a match on Halloween, Mary Keen painted on a mustache to look like Charlie Chaplin and Wendy Cook painted on a beard and some eye-black to look like a football player.

“Katie’s a unique individual; it’s a way for her to express herself,” Coach Kevin Sathre said. “And she’s got the ability to pound [the volleyball].”

Jeffries’ personality makeup is more than just makeup.

She has written nearly 450 pages of a romance novel.

“It’s about the joy and struggles I want to have and learn in life,” Jeffries said.

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Junior achievement: Santa Clara High is commemorating the 38-year career of boys’ basketball Coach Lou Cvijanovich Jr. with several events.

Cvijanovich, 70, has led a record 13 teams to Southern Section titles and has a record of 761-239 for his career.

A dinner roast will be held Nov. 30 in the school’s Friedrich Pavilion and the school’s original gymnasium, built in 1952, will be dedicated in his name.

Mass will be celebrated in honor of Cvijanovich on campus Dec. 1 and there will be a golf tournament on Dec. 2 at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.

Tickets must be purchased by Friday.

For information, call Sherri Cvijanovich at (805) 483-9502.

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Football Top 10

Rankings of Valley-area high schools by sportswriters of The Times

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RK LW Team League) REC. 1 1 Taft (Northwest Valley) 8-0 2 3 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 7-0-1 3 4 Hart (Foothill) 6-2 4 5 Notre Dame (Mission) 7-1 5 2 Antelope Valley (Golden) 5-2 6 7 Oxnard (Channel) 6-0-2 7 2 Palmdale (Golden) 7-1 8 NR Camarillo (Marmonte) 6-2 9 10 Sylmar (Valley Pac-8) 6-2 10 NR Burroughs (Foothill) 7-1

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