COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : CCI’s First Opponent Is Two Teams in One

When Christ College Irvine men’s basketball Coach Greg Marshall agreed to a game with Hawaii Pacific to open the 1992-93 season, he wasn’t expecting a two-for-one deal.

But after Marshall scheduled the game last spring, Hawaii Pacific took over Hawaii Loa and the basketball teams from the two schools were merged.

The bad news for the Eagles? Hawaii Pacific is ranked ninth in the NAIA preseason poll and Marshall says they might be even better than that.

“I thought they’d be ranked higher than ninth,” Marshall said. “They have two second-team All-Americans and two honorable mention All-Americans. I don’t know of any other teams that can say that.”

Three of the four Hawaii Pacific All-Americans make up the Sea Warriors’ front line that stands 6 feet 7, 6-7 and 6-9. The fourth is David Smith, a guard who averaged 25 points for Hawaii Pacific last season.

Marshall will find out exactly how formidable Hawaii Pacific is at 7:30 tonight when the Eagles open the season against the Sea Warriors at Christ College.

Christ College will be playing without returning starters D’Andre Brown and Brian Hazelwood, who won’t be eligible to play until the Eagles’ second game of the season--Nov. 27.

The absence of Brown, a 6-5 post player who was a first-team all-District 3 selection last season, will especially hurt. Brown led the Eagles in scoring (17.5 points) and rebounding (8.5) last season. Reserve Carl Bronson, a 6-4 forward, is also ineligible to play Friday.

Without their usual inside bulk, the Eagles will count on Brian Tollefson, a 6-7 transfer from Phoenix College, and Jason Vaughan, a 6-5 small forward, who will move to power forward.

The situation at guard is more settled. Darren Lax, who took a medical redshirt year last season after breaking his foot in a preseason practice, returns at point guard. He will be joined in the backcourt by Agustin Heredia, a transfer from Orange Coast College who played at Estancia.

The Christ College Irvine women’s team will open the season at 5:30 p.m. today at home against Western New Mexico.

The Eagles, who won the District 3 title and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for the first time in school history last season, should be strong again with the return of all-district players Gitte Mejer, Stacy Kirch and Genevieve Graff.

NAIA poll: The men’s basketball teams from Christ College Irvine and Southern California College have been picked to finish sixth and seventh, respectively, in the District 3 coaches’ preseason poll. The coaches expect Azusa Pacific, which returns four starters, to win the district title. Westmont is second and Biola third in the poll.

SCC will begin the season at The Master’s College tournament Nov. 20-21.

In her final soccer match for Chapman, Stasi Dimassis added to her scoring legacy and helped the Panthers make some history of their own.

Dimassis had three goals and an assist in Chapman’s 4-1 victory over Biola Nov. 2, which gave the Panthers (10-8-1) their first winning season in women’s soccer in school history.

Dimassis increased her career-scoring record to 59. She set the single-season record of 22 as a freshman.

Notes

The Chapman men’s basketball team will hold an intrasquad scrimmage at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Hutton Center. Admission is free. . . . Southern California College women’s volleyball player Genevie Wright was named the Golden State Athletic Conference player of the week after helping the Vanguards to a five-game victory over Christ College Irvine in the season finale. Wright, a sophomore middle blocker from Diamond Bar, had 19 kills and an attacking percentage of .730. The Vanguards finished 10-17, 4-9 in conference. Christ College Irvine finished 8-20, 1-11. . . . The Chapman women’s volleyball team lost three of its five matches at the Air Force Premier tournament last week. The Panthers, who were beaten by Cal State Los Angeles, 15-6, 10-15, 15-7, 15-9, Wednesday to drop to 17-16 and 2-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., are ranked No. 24 in the NCAA Division II coaches’ poll and have been eliminated from playoff contention. . . . Kirk Feiereisen, a forward on the Chapman men’s soccer team, had two goals and two assists Nov. 2 in the Panthers’ season-ending 5-0 victory over La Verne. Feiereisen, a junior from Brea-Olinda High and Fullerton College, was Chapman’s leading scorer with eight goals and five assists for 21 points.