Hoover alum leading Toros

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area athletes in college.

Zareh Zargaryan (Hoover High, 2007) senior, Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball: The former Tornadoes standout scored a game-high 14 points, as the Toros continued a historic start to the season with a 57-49 California Collegiate Athletic Assn. win over host UC San Diego on Saturday.

Zargaryan hit an impressive six of nine shooting and added four rebounds.

The Toros, winners of seven straight, are ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Division II polls and are tied for first in the CCAA standings with a sterling 13-1 overall mark and an 8-1 conference mark. The start to the season has been the best in the program’s history.

Saturday was the second straight contest in which Zargaryan was the leading scorer for the Toros and fourth overall.

On Thursday in a 70-52 win over Cal State East Bay, Zargaryan poured in 20 points and also led the Toros with eight rebounds.

For the season, Zargaryan’s played in all 13 of his team’s games and started in six. He’s shooting 49% from the field and 82% from the free-throw line. His 10.8 points per game are third highest on the team, which hosts Sonoma State on Friday in a CCAA home game.

AJ Bernhardt (Glendale resident) sophomore, Cal State Northridge hockey: The sophomore defender is coming off a stellar weekend in which Northridge picked up a split with a 10-5 loss on Friday to College of the Canyons, but rebounded with a 13-2 thumping of UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

Bernhardt tallied a hat trick and added two assists against UCSB.

Against COC, Bernhardt also had a goal and two assists.

Fellow Glendale resident and teammate Jack Avetissian, a senior forward, had a goal and three assists against Santa Barbara and three assists against COC.

For the season, Bernhardt’s scored eight goals and dished out 16 assists in 17 games.

Avetissian has notched a stellar 34 assists in 16 games and also has nine goals.

Northridge is part of the American Collegiate Hockey Assn. Division 3 Pacific and sports a 10-7 record, good for 20 points and 10th place in the 27-team Pacific.

Northridge returns to its home rink — the Valley Ice Center in Panorama City — on Friday to take on San Jose State University at 8:30 p.m.

Andrea Kropp (Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, 2010) freshman, Princeton swimming: Though Kropp’s left her glory days as a Tologs standout behind, her success in the pool has continued.

In December, Kropp was named to the United States squad for the 2011 World University Games in Shanzen, China, which will take place Aug. 12-22.

Kropp has already made her mark at Princeton as well, breaking the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke, also in December.

At the Big Al Open, Kropp won the event in 2 minutes 11.62 seconds, which was nearly two seconds better than the previous mark and also set the mark for the event at the DeNunzio Pool, where the even took place. Kropp won the event by more than six seconds.

Kropp also has posted a 1:02.14 in the 100 breast, which is second fastest on the all-time Princeton list.

Kropp and Princeton return to the pool on Sunday against Dartmouth.

Yumi So (Crescenta Valley High, 2009) sophomore, USC swimming: The Trojans women’s swimming team, ranked No. 5 in the country, defeated UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 8, 156-92.

So had a hand in to second-place finishes.

As part of USC’s ‘B’ squad in the women’s 200-yard medley relay, So and Co. saw to a second-place mark of 1 minute 44.97 seconds.

So also took second in the women’s 200-yard butterfly, finishing in 1:59.68, behind Lyndsay DePaul of UCSB’s swim of 1:56.34.

The Trojans will travel to face Cal in a Pacific-10 Conference dual meet on Jan. 28.