Titan Teams Are All Ready for New School Year

A new sports year has started at Cal State Fullerton, and all the usual suspects are lined up to have good seasons.

The teams in baseball, men’s soccer, softball and women’s gymnastics, which have consistently reached the NCAA playoffs, should be strong again. Continued improvement also appears likely in men’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball.

To get the school year rolling, here’s a sport-by-sport look at the 1997-98 Titans:

Men’s soccer--The Titans finished 11-4-6 last season, were ranked 18th nationally and reached the NCAA playoffs for the third time in four years. They upset No. 1-ranked UCLA in the playoffs before losing a shootout against Creighton. But the Titans lost three players unexpectedly from that team. Sophomores Joe DiGiamarino and Brian Dunseth signed pro contracts with Major League Soccer, and regular goalkeeper Mike Forensich transferred to Virginia. Despite those defections, the men’s team has its top two scorers, Sheldon Thomas and Charlie Lynch, back and might be a contender for national honors again with the help of a good recruiting class.

Women’s soccer--The team won the Big West Conference regular-season championship, finishing with a 13-6-2 overall record. The Titans could make a bid for the postseason tournament with Big West player of the year Dolores Browning returning for her junior season. The key will be the supporting cast, especially at goalkeeper. Suzy Strazzulla graduated and junior Jennifer Halladay is injured and out for the season.

Women’s volleyball--Two-year star Heather Bassett completed her eligibility, but the Titans should continue to show progress. Rochelle Esparza, who was a Proposition 48 redshirt last season, also failed to qualify to play this season and has left school. Carolyn Kittell, who led Laguna Beach to the 1996 Southern Section title, is the top recruit and has been impressive. Fullerton had its best season last year with a 16-13 record in Mary Ellen Murchison’s fifth year as head coach, and the Titans won the Holiday Classic last weekend at Southern Mississippi to open the season.

Cross-country--The women’s team was sixth among 12 teams and the men eighth among 10 teams in the Big West meet last fall. Coach John Elders expects improvement among the men. Francisco Vasquez, the team’s top runner in 1995, will be back after a redshirt season. Stewart Gonzalez, the top runner last season, also returns. Sarah MacDougall, the top women’s runner, also will be back.

Men’s basketball--The Titans lost top scorer and rebounder John Williams, but Ike Harmon is eligible and expected to fill that void at power forward. Harmon, who was Coach Bob Hawking’s prize recruit in 1996, had to sit out last season as a Prop. 48 redshirt. Nearly everyone else is back from last year. Kenroy Jarrett, an injury redshirt last season, is set to replace Ali Nayab at point guard. Chris Dade, already a three-year starter, returns for his senior season. The Titans were 13-14 last year, but would have done better if Williams had been available all season. He missed most of the last half of the season because of a hand injury.

Women’s basketball--Denise Curry, a three-time All-American player at UCLA, replaces Deborah Ayres as head coach, and will face a big challenge taking over a team that was 10-16, 5-10 in the conference. Still, the Titans have the potential to be better despite the decision of All-Big West center Dee Braxton to transfer to Pepperdine. The team’s top two scorers, guards Andrea Thieme and Kristen Sigg, are back.

Wrestling--It won’t take much to improve on last season when the Titans were winless in 10 meets and eighth among among nine teams in the Pac-10 Conference meet. Fullerton had two wrestlers qualify for the NCAA meet, but both were eliminated early. Orlando deCastroverde was second in the conference at 118 pounds, and Steve Duran fourth at 158. The Titans’ big problem was a lack of strength in the heavyweight and 190-pound divisions.

Fencing--Coach Heizaburo Okawa always seems to come up with talented fencers. Brian Clawson was 14th in men’s epee and Renato Gates was 24th in men’s foil in the NCAA meet last season. The Titan men’s team won the conference title and the women’s team was second. Both are expected to be contenders again.

Women’s gymnastics--Coach Lynn Rogers’ team qualified for the NCAA West Regional despite finishing third among four teams in the Big West last year. The Titans have nearly everyone back, including Katy Maty, who won the Big West all-around championship last season as a sophomore. Junior Cortney Bogart was second in the conference on balance beam. One of the keys will be whether Alexis Lott, a senior, can approach the level of performance she reached as a sophomore before knee surgery. She missed all of the 1996 season and didn’t return to top form last season.

Women’s tennis--The Titans were 10th among 12 teams in the conference meet and 7-15 in dual meets last season, but Coach Bill Reynolds expects to have more depth this year. Two recruits should help. Eleanor Luzano played last year at Rosary and Katy Jennings is a transfer from Palomar College. Jennings won’t join the team until January.

Softball--The Titans sat out NCAA regional play for the first time in the 18-year history of the program under Coach Judi Garman. The Titans were 29-26, but there were no seniors on that team, and 1998 should be better. All-Big West selection Nikki Hart is among those returning, but junior shortstop Julie Williams signed with the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s baseball team, and sophomore first baseman Bevan Trueblood decided to quit the sport.

Baseball--The Titans got a big boost in the off-season when talented pitchers Erasmo Ramirez and Benny Flores transferred from Cal State Northridge. They should make the Titans a contender for national honors again after missing the College World Series the last two years. The Titans won the Big West tournament title last season in George Horton’s first year as head coach but were eliminated from the West Regional at Stanford in three games. Outfielders Aaron Rowand and Steve Chatham will be back to refuel the offense. The key will be what kind of season shortstop Ryan Owens has, and how successful the Titans will be in replacing C.J. Ankrum at first base, Jerome Alviso at third, and finding a quality third starting pitcher.

Track--The men’s team should be strong in the hurdles with two conference finalists, Omar Anderson and Shaheed Qaasim both returning. Triple jumper Quincy Sims was impressive as a freshman and should continue to improve. The distance runners are expected to be the strength of the women’s team.

Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Women’s soccer, against UCLA at 7 p.m. Friday and against California at 2 p.m. Sunday, Titan Stadium.

* Men’s soccer, against San Diego State, 7 p.m. Thursday, Titan Stadium.

* Cross-country, Jammin’ Invitational, at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, Carbon Canyon Park.

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The Cal State Fullerton Notebook runs weekly during the school year. Suggestions are welcome. Call (714) 966-5780 or e-mail Lon.Eubanks@latimes.com