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Saia, Dollar, Orellana Possibilities at Fullerton

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Times Staff Writer

Brian Quinn, Cal State Fullerton’s athletic director, has a busy schedule. He has hired a women’s basketball coach, though he didn’t have to go farther than Maryalyce Jeremiah’s office (she was already one of the Titans’ associate athletic directors), and he’s also directing the renovation of decrepit Titan Gym.

Then there’s the important matter of hiring a men’s basketball coach.

Quinn wants a coach -- preferably with a strong Division I track record -- in place by June 1.

“Whoever becomes our coach will find this program way better than it was three years ago,” Quinn said.

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Former UCLA assistant Jim Saia and Washington assistant Cameron Dollar are among possible replacements for Donny Daniels, who left to become the top assistant at UCLA. There is also strong sentiment toward former assistant Rob Orellana, who recruited many of Fullerton’s top players.

Dollar, contacted Thursday in his office, would not say whether he is interested.

“Those things end up messing with my job here so I’ve kind of adopted a policy of not commenting at all,” the former UCLA point guard said.

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UCLA will play host to first- and second-round matches in the NCAA men’s tennis championships next weekend. The sixth-seeded Bruins (20-3) will play Wichita State on May 10 while defending national champion USC (13-11) faces UC Santa Barbara (15-8). The winners meet the following day for a spot in the 16-team NCAA finals.

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USC (19-5) was seeded fifth in the women’s tournament and will open at home May 9 against Sacramento State. UCLA (13-10) will also be at home against Indiana Purdue Indianapolis as part of a doubleheader, with Pepperdine (12-13) playing Minnesota.

The Pepperdine men will play Mississippi State next Saturday at Nashville. The Waves are 16-10.

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UCLA senior Tiffany Burgess, thought to be an NCAA title contender in the 800 meters, had surgery on her broken right big toe on Sunday, ending her college career.

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Fullerton is among eight host sites for the NCAA softball playoffs, May 15-18.

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Fullerton outfielder Danny Dorn, one of the nation’s top freshmen, will miss this weekend’s series against UC Riverside because of a fractured finger on his left hand. He was hit by a pitch Sunday against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Dorn is hitting .371 with a team-leading six homers and 52 runs batted in.... The Titans (38-8) will play USC (25-19) at Edison Field on Monday at 7. Both teams are planning to use wood bats.

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