UCLA’s Soccer Hiring Irks Sampson

UCLA hired Tom Fitzgerald as men’s soccer coach Tuesday over a field of candidates that included former national team coach Steve Sampson.

Fitzgerald spent parts of six seasons as coach of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew. He was 70-67-7 with the Crew and led it to three Eastern Conference finals before being fired six games into the 2001 season. He coached 10 seasons at Division II Tampa and guided the Spartans to the 1994 NCAA title.

Sampson, the national team coach from 1995-98, interviewed last week and was thought to be a favorite.

The Agoura Hills resident played at UCLA and San Jose State and coached for five years at Santa Clara. Loyola Marymount Coach Paul Krumpe, a former UCLA player and assistant, was the other finalist.

“I don’t want to mince words here; I’m very disappointed with their decision,” Sampson said.

Fitzgerald, 51, said he was “pleasantly surprised” when he got the call from UCLA. He replaces Todd Saldana, who resigned Jan. 31 because his diploma was from an unaccredited university.

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UC Irvine senior Jerry Green was selected Big West Conference men’s basketball player of the year for the second consecutive season, while Long Beach State’s Travis Reed and Cal State Northridge’s Markus Carr were chosen to the first team. Green is the first repeat player of the year since Larry Johnson of Nevada Las Vegas in 1990 and 1991.

UC Santa Barbara junior forward Mark Hull and Desmond Penigar and Tony Brown of Utah State rounded out the team. Utah State’s Stew Morrill was selected coach of the year for the second time in three years. Northridge guard Ian Boylan was chosen freshman of the year.

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Cal State San Bernardino (26-1), the top-ranked men’s basketball team in Division II, will play host to the NCAA West Regional at 5,000-seat Coussoulis Arena. The Coyotes earned a first-round bye and will play Friday against the winner of Montana State Billings and Cal State Bakersfield, which meet Thursday in a first-round game.

Defending Division II women’s champion Cal Poly Pomona (23-4) also got the nod to play host to a regional. The Broncos open play Friday and will face either Bakersfield (22-5) or Seattle Pacific (22-5).

Chapman College advanced to the Division III women’s basketball round of 16 for the first time after defeating Carleton (Minn.), 87-74, Saturday night in the second round. It will play Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) either Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined.

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The UCLA and USC men’s and women’s track teams travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor meet beginning Friday.

Eric Stephens

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This week’s national college baseball rankings were influenced heavily by the outcome of the four-team, round-robin Kia Baseball Bash at Cal State Fullerton. Houston (9-4), ranked No. 25 by Baseball America before the tournament, vaulted 15 spots to No. 10 after sweeping Cal State Fullerton, USC and defending national champion Miami, all of which finished 1-2.

Miami (9-6), ranked No. 6 going into the weekend, dropped to 11. Fullerton (10-6) fell from 11th to 13th and USC (6-7) dropped from 17th all the way out of the top 25.

In Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State prevented Long Beach State from cracking the top 25. The 49ers had won three-game series against USC, California and Arkansas before journeying to LSU’s fabled Alex Box Stadium. LSU took two of three games and jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 in the poll.

Gary Klein

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The UCLA men’s tennis team plays Thursday at USC in the third meeting between the teams. USC, ranked No. 4 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn., is 10-2. UCLA, ranked No. 5, is 12-1. The Bruins’ only loss came against the Trojans in the quarterfinals of the ITA Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 8.

Lauren Peterson