Sports

PREP VOLLEYBALL

When it comes to City Section volleyball, Westside teams continue to dominate. On Friday, University won its second consecutive 4-A Division championship and Fairfax won the 3-A title, giving the Coastal Conference and the Westside a clean sweep.

The duo of 6-foot-5 outside hitter Mike Rupp (19 kills) and 6-6 outside hitter Mike Williams (12 kills) helped University dominate Bell, 15-3, 15-8, 15-13, and win its sixth title and fifth under Coach Neal Newman.

“It was a great win for us,” Newman said. “Last season we had an outstanding setter in Jamie Strofs who players rallied around. This year, everyone had to step up and do their share to help us win.”

Fairfax made a significant lineup change to upset two-time defending champion Marshall, 4-15, 17-15, 15-13, 15-9. The Lions lost to the Barristers in the 1993 final at Pepperdine.

Said Fairfax Coach Linda Fader: “Our serving. That’s what beat Marshall. They complained that they were down and off balance. I think our serving was so good, they could not run a play off their pass.”

Fairfax assistant Steve Cho, the team’s tactician, made a bold lineup change when junior Enric Lasola became the team’s only setter. He switched Lasola’s older brother Alben, another setter, to outside hitter. Alben Lasola had 30 kills and 10 blocks to lead the fourth-seeded Lions.

Seong Pak also did an outstanding job replacing middle blocker Charlie Maranan, who had leg cramps early in the fourth game. Maranan had 22 kills and 12 blocks.

“I thought we were done when Maranan got hurt,” Cho said. “Marshall’s strength is in the middle and you can’t set the middle without a good pass. So we took away their pass by serving to their weakest player.”

Prospects for a Southern Section championship were dashed Tuesday. Windward was defeated by Campbell Hall, 15-10, 17-15, 15-8, in a Division III second-round match.

PREP TENNIS

Beverly Hills boys’ tennis team tries not to look too far ahead, but when the Southern Section playoff pairings came out, the Normans began looking for their No. 1 nemesis: Santa Barbara.

The Normans (17-1), seeded No. 2, lost to seven-time defending champion and top-seeded Santa Barbara, 11-7, in a nonleague match May 7.

“If there is such a thing as a good loss, that was one,” said Beverly Hills Coach Jason Newman, whose team was placed in a bracket opposite the Dons (19-0). “Our kids showed we can be competitive with them.”

The Normans are led in singles by freshman Jose Liberman, whose only loss came against Santa Barbara’s Ian Carrera. The doubles team of junior Bobby Croll and senior P.J. Gopaoco is among the eight best teams in the Southland. The duo reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious Ojai tournament.

Junior Jordan Duboff is another outstanding singles player.

The Normans are favored to meet Santa Barbara again, but first they must beat Esperanza, a 15-3 winner over Ayala, in the second-round today at 3 p.m. Peninsula would be another stumbling block for the Normans if the two teams reach the semifinals on May 25.

“Peninsula is a tough match too,” said Newman, whose team received a first-round bye. “We cannot afford to overlook anyone.”

PREP SWIMMING

Santa Monica High boys’ swimming program appears on the rise again. The Vikings have four juniors on a team that finished fourth in the Southern Section Division II finals Saturday at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

Junior John Mitchell led the way with a first and a second place in the finals. Mitchell swam a school-record 53.04 second to win the 100-yard backstroke. He swam 1 minutes, 55.45 second to take second in the 200 individual medley.

Junior Tarik Bruno won the 100 breaststroke in a school-record 58.18 and took fifth in the 100 butterfly at 52.15.

Junior David Mason took sixth in the 50 freestyle (22.06) and seventh in 100 freestyle (48.07).

Junior Cortney Muhlbach, Mitchell, Bruno and Mason added another victory for the Vikings winning the 200 medley relay (1:38.12).

BASKETBALL

The Santa Monica College men’s basketball team received a commitment from a major recruit Tuesday when Saratoga High center Darius Tehranchi said he play for the Corsairs next season.

Tehranchi, a 6-foot-9 center, averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds at Saratoga. He was twice named to the El Camino League all-star team.

“Darius contacted us because he has an uncle who lives in the area,” Santa Monica Coach John McMullen said. “We’re fortunate to have a player who has good size and good work ethic.”

FOOTBALL

University running back Marco Pleas, Venice receiver Demetrius Posey, Westchester running back Jason Small, Westchester linebackers Chris Waddell and Edward Evans, and Culver City linebacker Sean Balkman are among more than 750 of the state’s top high school football prospects who will be tested at the third annual Southern California Reebok Preseason Combine Saturday at El Camino College.

Seniors-to-be will be measured for height and weight and will be evaluated in the 40-yard dash, 20-yard shuttle run, bench-press repetition and standing vertical jump. They also will be involved in position specific one-on-one drills.

The first group begins at 8 a.m. with an orientation meeting.

Scouts from 70 to 80 Division I schools will evaluate the players.

For the first time, players from Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, and Utah will be among the prospects evaluated.

In other recruiting news, three St. Monica football players--receiver Dwight Carter, quarterback Steven Pulley and linebacker Mike Bailey--plan to compete as non-scholarship players at San Diego State.

PREP GYMNASTICS

Marlborough’s Elissa Palmer won the Southern Section all-around gymnastics championship for the second time Saturday at Brea-Olinda High.

Competing against the Southland’s best gymnasts, Palmer scored 37.8 out of a possible 40 points to win the all-around championship for the second time.

The senior won the balance beam competition with 9.7 out of possible 10 points. She placed second in the vault (9.0), second in floor exercises (9.6) and second on the uneven parallel bars (9.5).

Palmer, who will attend Cornell University in the fall, also won the title in 1993 when she was a sophomore.

Palmer was one of six competitors to help Marlborough win the team title in the Southern California championships May 4.