Kamansky Making Most of Opportunity

Greg Kamansky did not have much preparation time when he landed his first head-coaching job.

He did not have weeks to settle into a new office or hit the road and recruit. Instead, Kamansky had days to tell the players he already had that everything would be OK.

“It’s always tough for change on a player,� he said. “I think being here the last couple of years and having a lot of success last year really helped.�

Kamansky’s job isn’t quite his. He was quickly named interim men’s basketball coach at Division II Cal Poly Pomona when Tim Rapp resigned in August to pursue business interests in Australia.

Kamansky might get to keep the job if the Broncos keep surpassing expectations. Picked to finish ninth in the 12-team California Collegiate Athletic Assn., Pomona is 12-5 overall and 8-4 in conference play, good for a third-place tie with Cal State L.A.

Kamansky didn’t inherit the ideal situation. Though the Broncos went 18-9 last season--their best in 20 years--they also lost four starters and have only one senior on this year’s roster.

This year, only two players, junior guard Lucas Lecour and sophomore forward Steve Lambert, average double figures in points. But the Broncos got off to a hot start and have played well until a current three-game losing streak knocked them from the top of the CCAA.

“It’s such a cliche, but we have good chemistry,� Kamansky said. “The guys really like each other. They compete hard for each other.

“We had some talent last year. We had some legitimate talent, but I don’t think we had as much chemistry as we do now.�

What Kamansky has done with the team has been noticed.

“Greg has done a wonderful job for us,� said Dan Bridges, in his first year as the Pomona athletic director. “The team is playing exceptionally well. The [players] are accepting his leadership without questions. I’m absolutely delighted with the job he’s doing.�

Bridges said he was stunned by Rapp’s departure but added that the former coach did reveal his possible intentions three weeks earlier. Bridges said the only alternative was to appoint Kamansky on an interim basis.

But he didn’t want Kamansky to look at the job that way.

“I wanted him to pursue this year as if it was Year One of a longtime opportunity,� Bridges said. “Let the wins and losses take care of themselves. I didn’t want him to be looking over his shoulder.�

Kamansky knew an interim situation could turn into something more permanent. When he came to Pomona three years ago, Rapp was an interim coach and the team went 14-13.

“We’re always on an interim basis, with the one-year contracts we have,� Kamansky joked.

But he is helping his case with the team’s run for an NCAA Division II playoff berth. The Broncos would have to finish in third place to have a shot. The NCAA typically has taken three teams from the CCAA each season.

Bridges said he must conduct an open search for a new coach after the season. But he also wants a quick search and may not have to look far.

“What I can say with confidence is that Greg will be an important part of the mix,� he said. “It would be premature to say that he has the job wrapped up . . . but certainly Greg has helped his cause.�

In recent years, the CCAA has been a springboard to a Division I coaching job. UC Irvine’s Pat Douglass won three national titles at Cal State Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams had tremendous success at UC Davis.

Kamansky isn’t looking to be on that track. He only wants to give Pomona what it hasn’t had in a few years.

Stability.

“My family is from this area,� he said. “My grandfather lived in the Upland and Ontario area for 53 years. My parents are from here. I want to be here.�

With its two victories over Cal Poly Pomona last week, Cal State San Bernardino is 15-1 overall and has moved up to fifth in the Division II national rankings. The Coyotes should run their record to 17-1 with home games against last-place San Francisco State and seventh-place Sonoma State.

Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. will meet in a men’s and women’s doubleheader Saturday that is critical to both teams in the CCAA race.

In the women’s standings, both teams are tied for second with 8-4 records entering this week. On the men’s side, Bakersfield is in second place and Cal State L.A. is in a tie for third with Pomona.

UNIVERSITY DIVISION

The UCLA gymnastics team defended its No. 1 ranking Sunday by winning a quadrangular meet with second-ranked Alabama, Cal State Fullerton and Southern Utah. The Bruins recorded a national season-high 197.5 points to beat out the Crimson Tide, which had 196.975 points.

Senior Mohini Bhardwaj set a UCLA all-around scoring record of 39.8, including becoming the second Bruin to record two 10s in a meet with perfect scores on the uneven bars and floor exercise. Sophomore Kristin Parker took first in the balance beam and tied for first in the vault with Bhardwaj.

Long Beach State hired Peter Reynaud as its new women’s soccer coach Monday, succeeding Julie Cochran. Reynaud had a 62-52-8 record in six years at Fresno State and also won a Division II national title in 1990 at Sonoma State.

Coming off a 14-6-2 season, USC rewarded women’s soccer Coach Jim Millinder with a five-year contract extension through the 2005 season. Millinder, a two-time Pacific 10 Conference coach of the year, has led the Trojans to the NCAA second round the last three seasons.

Stefan Suter and Gerold Wiring of Pepperdine captured the flight “B� doubles tennis title at the Adidas College Invitational Sunday in Orlando, Fla.

Suter, a junior, and Wiring, a sophomore, defeated Ryan Heinberg and Ted Reuger of Duke, 8-5. Players from Pepperdine, Tennessee, Duke and Northwestern participated in the three-day tournament.

The two softball teams that met in last season’s NCAA title game earned the top spots in the USA Today preseason top 25 poll, with UCLA ranked first and Oklahoma second. Oklahoma beat UCLA, 3-1, to win its first NCAA title, but the Bruins look forward to the return of U.S. Olympian Stacey Nuveman, who was a redshirt last season.