San Diego College Notebook : Local Women’s Tennis Teams Look Strong for Season

SAN DIEGO —  For the first time since the NCAA women’s tennis championships began in 1982, the San Diego State team failed to qualify for the championships last season.

The Aztecs also had their first losing season (11-14) since Carol Plunkett started coaching in 1976.

The outlook for this season didn’t look too good when SDSU’s top singles player, Monique Javer--ranked No. 1 in the nation most of her freshman year--decided to turn pro.

Plunkett, however, had one of the best recruiting seasons in Aztec history. Among the Aztecs’ first seven players, four are freshmen, one is sophomore and two are juniors.

And those additions are expected to make San Diego State one of the country’s best teams. The Aztecs are one of three San Diego women’s college teams who should fare well this season.

SDSU is ranked No. 18 and United States International University is No. 20 among NCAA Division I teams, and UC San Diego, the defending Division III champion, is the top-ranked Division III team. UCSD also won a national championship in 1985.

The Aztecs and USIU were selected to the 16-team NCAA tournament in 1986, but neither qualified last season, though both finished first in their conferences. SDSU won its third straight Pacific Coast Conference title, and USIU won the West Coast Athletic Conference. The Gulls are no longer a member of the WCAC.

Plunkett said she is not sure what position her players will be playing though the Aztecs open the season Jan. 19 in the Rivera tournament at Los Angeles. The leading candidate for the No. 1 singles player is freshman Julie Tullberg of Ojai, Calif. Tullberg is ranked No. 40 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn. preseason poll, though she has yet to play a college match. Plunkett will look to junior Kristin Hill, a returning starter, to provide leadership.

Two other freshmen--Kim Cook of Oxnard and Karen Cooper of Lima, Peru--also figure to be key players for the Aztecs.

At USIU, Kefi Binyamini of Tel Aviv, Israel, advanced to the final 16 at the NCAA championships last season. Binyamini, a senior, has been a starter since she was a freshman. The Gulls were 19-14 last season, but lost four of their top six singles players.

The only other starter returning from last season’s team is senior Bettina Wiencke of Wolfsburg, West Germany, who played at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Senior Julie LaBonte of Montreal returns after redshirting last season. LaBonte was 14-10 in singles in 1986.

USIU Coach Dave Trebisky is hoping that freshman Carol Curmi of Malta will help solidify the Gulls’ lineup.

UC San Diego, with four returning starters, did not need to bolster its team through recruiting. The Tritons are led by sophomore Christine Behrens, who reached the semifinals of the Division III national championships in singles last season. Behrens is ranked No. 2 in preseason polls. UCSD, which opens the season Jan. 23 at Redlands, also returns junior Nancy Calhoun and seniors Rhonda Meier and Julie Berman.

Several community college football players took advantage of the early signing date to commit to four-year colleges.

Two athletes have signed to play with Pacific 10 teams. Scott Weber, a San Diego Mesa College linebacker, will attend Arizona State and Curt Dykes, a Palomar guard, will attend Oregon. Weber also played at Helix High School and Dykes at Orange Glen.

Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. teams signed three area players.

Palomar safety Will Reed and San Diego Mesa cornerback Tony Jackson signed with San Jose State.

Cale Evans, San Diego City cornerback, signed with Cal State Long Beach. Evans also played at Kearny High School.

Doug Slate, San Diego Mesa tight end, signed with Western Michigan, a Division I school.

Quarterback Jeff Sturch, who set the national community college career completion record with 401 completions, will attend Stephen F. Austin, an NCAA 1-AA program. Sturch also attended Clairemont and Madison high schools.

Three players from Palomar signed with NAIA schools. John Self, a defensive lineman/linebacker, and David Veytia, a linebacker, will play at Baker Union of Kansas City, Mo. Self also played at Mt. Carmel and Veytia at Vista. Punter Craig McDonald will play at Pacific Oregon next season.

Other players will wait until the national letter of intent day on Feb. 10 to sign.

Players who are still visiting colleges or who are considering schools include: wide receiver Jim Courtney (Mesa College/Kearny), Nevada Las Vegas, San Jose State; wide receiver Ron Young (Mesa College/Patrick Henry), Cal State Fullerton, Washington State, Wyoming; defensive end Steve Daley (Mesa College/Kearny), Nevada Las Vegas, New Mexico; center Eric Patrick (Palomar/Vista), Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State; tackle Sam Masaniani (Palomar/San Marcos), Cal State Fullerton, New Mexico; cornerback Eddie Taylor (San Diego City/Clairemont), Fresno State, Nevada Las Vegas, San Jose State; safety Cory Batoon (San Diego City), Cal State Long Beach, Idaho State; safety George McKivens (San Diego City), Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and offensive lineman Pat Baker (San Diego City), Fresno State, Tulsa, UCLA.