Cal State Fullerton - Titan Yearbook (Fullerton, CA)

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Season esurgent basketball programs §£ and the return to prominence of f the women ' s gymnastics pro- gram highlighted Cal State Fullerton ' s 1988-89 intercollegiate athletics year, which was capped by the largest num- ber of graduates (57) in the depart- ment ' s history. The men ' s basketball team over- came the disruption of losing its head coach and several players before the season to post a 16-13 record. It was embellished by five overtime victories including a dramatic one over Final 16 participant and conference champion UNLV. Interim coach John Sneed earned himself the job on a perma- nent basis and a three-year contract to boot. Forward Cedric Ceballos won All-Big West Conference honors and honorable mention Ail-American sta- tus. Women ' s basketball coach Marya- lyce Jeremiah also was rewarded with a three-year contract, the school ' s first multi-year pack for the coach of a women ' s sport, after guiding the Ti- tans to a school-record 21 victories and their first berth in the NCAA Championship Tournament. Fuller- ton had its best start ever at 11-1 and had a 10-game winning streak featur- ing a 17-point home win over UCLA. Sophomore center Gena Miller set a single-game scoring record with 38 points and the first-team all-confer- ence selection was among the nation ' s leaders in field-goal percentage and blocked shots. After missing the national cham- pionship meet in 1987 and 1988 for the first two times in the program ' s history, the women ' s gymnastics team finished sixth with a squad of under- classmen. Sophomore Lisa Dolan earned Ail-American honors in both the vault and balance beam for coach Lynn Rogers, who saw his team break or tie four school records including best team score — 192.25 vs. Auburn. The Titans beat eventual national champion Georgia in a dual meet in Athens and again at the UCLA Invita- tional. Bridesmaid roles befell the football and softball programs. Coach Gene Murphy ' s gridders finished 5-2 in the Big West Conference and settled for a 5-6 overall record including two losses on last-second field goals. Two other losses came at the hands of Fiesta Bowl-bound West Virginia and Holi- day Bowl-bound Wyoming. Three Ti- tans were selected in the National Football League Draft and three more signed free-agent contracts. The softball team, in what was sup- posed to be a rebuilding year, finished fourth in the final national poll. The Titans lost their final game of the year in extra innings to finish second in the Big West Conference at 28-8. They hosted a regional tournament but were denied a seventh trip to the Col- lege World Series by Cal Poly Pomo- na. The overall record was 47-15 and included coach Judi Garman ' s 500th win. In the 10 years of the program ' s existence, she is 515-136-3. The baseball team had another win- ning season but not the success to which the Titans are accustomed. Coach Larry Cochell lost Ail-Ameri- can pitcher Mark Beck on the eve of the season to shoulder surgery and Ail-American catcher Brent Mayne was hobbled by various ailments, but a porous infield defense was probably the biggest disappointment. Seven losses in the last eight games left the overall record at 30-27 and the Big West mark at 10-11 (fifth place), the worst performance by the Titans since 1973. Wrestling gained further promi- nence under coach Dan Lewis, who led the Titans to a 13-6 overall record, its best in eight years and a No. 25 national ranking. Highlights included a victory over Oklahoma and a school-record equaling four berths in the NCAA Championships, where No. 4-ranked heavyweight David Jones and No. 16 118-pounder Erin Millsap failed to place. Coach Dick Wolfe ' s men ' s gymnas- tics team and Heizaburo Okawa ' s fencing squads came up short on numbers and the quality they had couldn ' t overcome the lack of quanti- ty. Still, the gymnastics team had the 18 Titan ' 89

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1 : V Year In Review »J « : : i l 7 : j ' , • 8 s ' . Year In Review 17

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Highlights 1988-89 nation ' s 12th best scoring average at 272.89. Terry Carmichael and Eli Ro- driguez qualified for nationals with Rodriquez placing 23rd in the all- around. Valerie Berg in foil, Russell Bennett in sabre and Nils Ferry post- ed the Titans ' best finishes in the In- tercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California championships. Soccer also underwent some roster shuffling as a mid-season youth movement left the Titans in the mid- dle of the Big West pack at 4-5-1, good for fourth place. Coach Al Mistri ' s team defeated playoff-bound UNLV and tied champion Fresno State dur- ing 7-11-2 year that saw seven over- time games. An inaugural victory over county rival UC Irvine highlighted the wom- en ' s tennis season which concluded at 9-12 overall and 2-6 in conference. Sophomore Kelli Moore was a top scorer with a 19-6 record in singles and an 18-2 mark in doubles with partner Caroline Sporer. Coach Brad Allen ' s squad won one match at the Big West Tournament to place eighth in the 10-team field. Men ' s track and field returned to the Fullerton line-up and new coach John Elders made great strides with the men ' s and women ' s c ross country and track programs. In cross country, the women placed sixth out of nine teams in the Big West with Beth Rosi- palja the top individual at 18th. The men were fifth out of six teams be hind Jamie Oman and Refugio Es- trada, who ran 20th and 21st, respec- tively. In track, the men managed 11 points to finish seventh in a seven- team field. Freshman long jumper Jes- se Henderson placed third. The wom- en outscored UCSB to finish sixth led by Mary Kennery, who was second in the 3,000 meters and fourth in the 1,500 meters. A coaching change was made in women ' s volleyball after an 11-24 overall record and 0-18 Big West fin- ish. Former Colorado State assistant Jim Huffman was hired to replace Fran Cummings, who left after nine seasons. Off the fields and floors of competi- tion, progress was made towards a projected on-campus Sports Complex that will feature a fdotball soccer sta- dium, a baseball stadium and an all- weather track as well as new tennis courts. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early 1990. Construction began on an on-campus Marriott Hotel, the pres- ence of which makes the financing of the Complex possible. Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors went to punter Jim Sirois and Jill Ma- tyuch, who was a guard-forward on the basketball team and shortstop on the softball team. Sneed was the staff ' s choice as coach of the year. - Titan Sports Information Year In Review 19