CSUN, Pepperdine Snubbed by NCAA

Neither Cal State Northridge nor Pepperdine received at-large berths in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Pairings were announced Monday.

The Matadors (37-19) and Waves (32-22) held slim hopes that they would be selected.

Northridge does not have a conference affiliation but finished the season with 25 victories in 27 games. Coach Mike Batesole was named Division I Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball magazine.

Pepperdine finished second in the West Coast Conference, one-half game behind Loyola Marymount, which will face No. 1-seeded Stanford in the first round of the West Regional.

[Story, pairings on C9.]

ACADEMICS

Case closed: The NCAA has decided not to take action against Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball player Nancy Ma or the women’s volleyball program, the school announced.

“I am pleased that the situation is finally over,” Athletic Director Paul Bubb said in a statement. “I only hope that Ms. Ma can put this incident behind her and continue to receive a great education while playing volleyball.”

An internal school investigation last March found no evidence that Ma committed academic fraud or that Northridge coaches instructed players to help Ma with her homework. Both allegations were made by former players.

Northridge forwarded its report to Charles Smrt, director of NCAA Enforcement, on April 7. The NCAA responded on April 28 that no further action was warranted after reviewing the report.