COLLEGE NOTES : West Coast Conference OK, But Quake Shakes Official

By and large, the West Coast Conference, with three members in the San Francisco Bay area and its office just south of Candlestick Park, got off lightly in last week’s earthquake.

The quake, however, did leave a lasting emotional impression. WCC assistant Commissioner Don Ott, who grew up in Washington State and worked at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, said: “I’ve been in Mt. St. Helen’s (volcanic eruption), a major flood, tornadoes--and I’ll take any of them over a 7 (magnitude) quake.”

The conference office, and facilities at the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University and St. Mary’s College, suffered no serious casualties or damage.

One sporting event was affected. San Jose State was scheduled to play at USF in a women’s volleyball match the night of the quake. The visiting players were eating in the USF cafeteria when the quake hit at 5:04 p.m. The San Jose women were evacuated to USF’s baseball field along with the rest of the students. With power out, the match was postponed and the San Jose women boarded the bus for a three-hour ride home on the gridlocked freeway. The nonconference match has not been rescheduled and may be canceled.

Weekend games went off without a hitch, Ott said. He noted that the biggest problems now are logistics. The WCC, for example, has its media guides printed across the bay in Berkeley--normally a relatively easy drive up the 101 freeway and across the Bay Bridge. Now, with the Bay Bridge closed, getting to Berkeley has become an agonizing trip. And that will be an everyday story in the Bay Area for months.

Ott said the longest-lasting effect of the quake may be a widespread malaise he has noted. He said that while life “pretty much went on, it’s hard (psychologically) to get back to normal. There’s this feeling of, ‘What does it all matter?’ When I hear glasses clink now, I flash back to the quake. (Psychologists) are saying people here are having the same reactions as Vietnam veterans.”

Cal State Dominguez Hills will find out early next week if it will be the host site for women’s NCAA Division II soccer playoffs. The Lady Toros, who continue to be ranked second in the nation behind Barry College of Miami, Fla., conclude their season Saturday at San Diego State. With Monday’s 5-0 victory over Azusa Pacific, the Lady Toros had set a school record with 15 victories, 12 by shutout. After losing last week to Division I power UC Santa Barbara and receiving a tongue-lashing from Coach Marine Cano, the Lady Toros came back to score 13 goals in the next two games. With a strong finish, they expect to be invited to the final four.

Barry appears to be Dominguez Hills’ top competition as host site.

Anthony Blackmon, the four-year basketball standout from Cal State Dominguez Hills, appears to be adjusting to life as a professional in Japan. The 6-foot-7 Los Angeles native is starting at center for Toshiba in Kawasaki, a Tokyo suburb, and recently scored 49 points in one of his first games. Blackmon, the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Player of the Year the last two seasons, is working on a one-year contract for $75,000 that also provides room, board and transportation--sizable expenses in metropolitan Tokyo. As a gaijin (foreigner), Blackmon is also studying Japanese. Said Dominguez Hills Coach Dave Yanai: “He has made the transition to a different kind of environment very well.”

Add Toros: Yanai opened practice with a slightly different roster than he expected. Forward Segaro Bozart, a part-time starter last season, came up one unit short of required class hours and will not be eligible until mid-December. Two other lettermen decided not to return. Starting forward Kenyatta Kalisana decided to concentrate on academics in his senior year. Guard Bryan Dell’Amico, a part-time starter for two seasons, has left school for a year to work. Yanai said Dell’Amico is continuing to train and plans to return next fall.

Romance is still alive. Pepperdine basketball player Shann Ferch, a native of Bozeman, Mont., showed he has a grasp of Hollywood productions when he proposed to girlfriend Jennifer Crowell this summer. With the help of friends, Ferch placed a piano along the sand on Zuma Beach near the Pepperdine campus. He then suggested a stroll at dusk along the beach, where they happened upon the piano. Ferch, who had secretly taken piano lessons, played her a ballad he had written for the occasion, then proposed. They plan to marry next summer.

Waves Coach Tom Asbury can only hope Ferch is this smooth on the court.

College Notes: Dominguez Hills senior Joe Flanagan became the school’s career scoring leader in men’s soccer with a goal last week, giving him 81 points. His 34 goals are two short of the school mark. The Toros fell to 2-4-1 in the CCAA on Wednesday with a 1-0 loss to Cal State Bakersfield . . . The Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. will have a new look next spring. The WIVA is expanding to 12 teams with the addition of Brigham Young and will split into two six-team divisions, creating a postseason tournament for the title. One division will house Loyola Marymount, Hawaii, Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State, Stanford and USC. The other will include BYU, Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. WIVA members have won every men’s NCAA Division I volleyball title . . . Dominguez Hills senior setter Karen Sutherland set a school volleyball record with 43 assists in a five-game match against Cal State L.A.