NCAA Committee Picks Pond as Site for 2003 West Regional

The Arrowhead Pond has been recommended as the site for the NCAA West Regional basketball tournament in 2003, Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell said Thursday.

The selection by the NCAA Division I basketball committee is subject to approval by the NCAA Division I Championship/Competition Cabinet, which will meet in early February. The Big West would host the event.

The Pond and the Big West hosted the West Regional last spring and also have been awarded the regional for 2001.

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UC Irvine forward Adam Stetson, out all season with a torn tendon in his left foot, began practicing Wednesday and probably will play Sunday against James Madison.

Stetson, a 6-foot-7 junior, averaged 12 points to lead Irvine last season. He practiced Wednesday and Thursday, the first time he has participated in drills this season.

Center Stan Divranos, who missed Monday’s game against Arizona with a lower back strain, is out indefinitely and guard Jason Flowers is doubtful for Sunday’s game because of a strained hamstring.

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The Big West Conference will use the new NCAA standards for non-wood bats approved for the 1999 playoffs when baseball teams begin play in the regular season in February, pending final approval by conference presidents.

Commissioner Dennis Farrell said athletic directors voted in favor of the move Thursday. The Pacific 10 Conference announced a similar decision Tuesday.

“Like the Pac-10, we’ll require that our nonconference opponents follow the same standards, and we’ll require indemnification from the bat companies who supply our teams,” Farrell said.