Chapman Volleyball Team Faces More Tough Tests

The Chapman women’s volleyball team, struggling through its final season in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., will face even tougher competition this week at the Air Force Premier Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Of the 25 teams ranked in the NCAA Division II coaches’ poll, 16 will be at the tournament. Other than No. 1 Portland State, the entire Top 10 is represented.

Chapman, which was ranked as high as 16th early in the season, is 21st and opens against unranked Ferris (Minn.) State this afternoon, but then faces No. 5 Northern Colorado tonight.

The two-match-a-day schedule against top competition is especially grueling for the Panthers, a team with only two reserves.

“It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure,” Chapman Coach Mary Cahill said.

Chapman (15-12, 2-7 in the CCAA) has little chance of qualifying for the NCAA playoffs. The Panthers could improve their stock with a strong showing in Colorado and finish the season with CCAA matches against 14th-ranked Cal State Los Angeles, last-place Cal State Dominguez Hills and third-ranked Cal State Bakersfield.

Chapman men’s basketball Coach Mike Bokosky, in his first season as a head coach, doesn’t have much time to prepare for the Panthers’ first game, which is Nov. 21 against Pacific Christian. New NCAA regulations delayed the start of practice two weeks until last Sunday.

Bokosky, a former UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton assistant, is taking over a program in transition. In the same week last March, Chapman decided not to renew the coaching contract of Bob Boyd and decided to eliminate athletic scholarships and drop from NCAA Division II to Division III.

Bokosky will be counting on the leadership of Brian Kenney, Jeff Gardner, Mike Vaughn and Vern Broadnax, four guards who received significant playing time last season.

Bokosky has added four community college transfers--Rod Summers, a 6-foot-4 forward from Fullerton College; Paul Robinson, a 6-6 center from Barstow; Glen Greene, a guard from Rancho Santiago, and Aaron Cornell, a guard from Rio Hondo.

The Panthers should also be helped by Richie Bethune, a 6-7 post player who last year transferred from Southwestern College but was ineligible. Because Bethune has only one semester of eligibility remaining, he cannot practice until this semester ends and will miss the first five games.

Chapman--which has had three consecutive losing seasons, including 7-19 last year--will open with three home games. After the opener against Pacific Christian, the Panthers play host to Occidental Nov. 24 and Biola Dec. 5.

Notes

Three Southern California College men’s soccer players were named to the all-district and all-Golden State Athletic Conference first team: Carlos Miramontes, a senior from Sunny Hills who finished the regular season tied for second in district scoring; Greg Olson, a senior midfielder from Santa Cruz, and Miguel LaMotte, a senior goalkeeper from San Clemente High. . . . Chapman defenders Dean Laird and Gabe LaRusso were named to all-CCAA teams in men’s soccer. Laird was a first-team selection; LaRusso a second-team. Three Panthers received honorable mention: Ryan Hill, a defender from Garden Grove High, and defender Josh Parret and midfielder Erick Hurtarte. . . . Stasi Dimassis, Chapman’s all-time leading scorer, was the Panthers’ only first-team selection in women’s soccer. Defenders Leslie Gordan and Mary Folino, a freshman from Valencia, were second-team selections.