Kennedy Names Keller Coach of Girls’ Basketball Team

Kurt Keller has been named girls’ basketball coach at Kennedy High, Athletic Director Linda Consolo said.

Keller replaces eight-year Coach Donis Bailey, who resigned after a tumultuous 1996-97 season in which she led the Golden Cougars to a league title but was accused of holding an illegal practice.

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Waves on rise: Pepperdine is ranked No. 12 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches’ Assn. women’s poll.

Off to their best start in school history, the Waves (11-0) moved up seven spots from last week in part because they defeated then-No. 7 UC Santa Barbara.

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Sky-high: Cal State Northridge goalkeeper Tawni Takagi has been named co-player of the week in Big Sky Conference women’s soccer.

Takagi, a sophomore from Chatsworth, backstopped the Matadors to a 2-0 victory over Hawaii and was in net during a 1-0 loss to Denver.

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Big loss: Pam Karbowski, most valuable player for the Northridge women’s soccer team last season, is out for the season after tearing a knee ligament in a match Friday against Hawaii.

Karbowski, a senior sweeper who has been an anchor for the Matador defense, was injured on a noncontact play and is expected to undergo surgery in the next three weeks. She has one year of eligibility.

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Streaker: Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce set a NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour series record last weekend at Tucson Raceway Park when he appeared in his 107th consecutive race.

Lyon’s string began Aug. 3, 1991. Until Saturday, he was tied with former Palmdale resident Ron Hornaday Jr. at 106 straight appearances. Hornaday’s streak ran from April 30, 1988 to April 16, 1994.

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Well-placed: The Pepperdine women’s tennis team is ranked 11th and the men’s team is No. 12 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn.’s preseason rankings.

Florida is top ranked among Division I women’s teams.

Stanford, which includes former Rio Mesa High standouts Bob and Mike Bryan, is the top-ranked men’s team.

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Jackpot: Jack Kocur of Pepperdine, a senior driver from Royal High, has been named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation water polo player of the week.

Kocur scored 11 goals in five games to help the Waves win the Southern California tournament at USC, the Waves’ first tournament title since 1992.