OTHER SPORTS : Mission Official Hopes Building Funds Are Windfall for Sports

Although $8.5 million of Gov. George Deukmejian’s $39 billion, 1987-88 state budget has been earmarked for Mission College, none of the funding will be used for the college’s athletic program, school president Lowell Erickson said.

Athletic Director Phil Lozano is hopeful, however, the addition of a permanent classroom and administrative building, for which the money is intended, indirectly will help the college’s struggling athletic program. Storefronts in San Fernando have been used as makeshift classrooms.

“With the new building will come more development and more enrollment,” Lozano said. “And with those, comes more funding.

“It’s a very good thing for us, athletically. That the governor plans to improve the college can only help us. This is definitely a big positive for us.”

Mission competes in baseball and golf. Lozano said he expects to reinstate soccer and cross country next fall. Those sports were eliminated last year because of lack of funding.

Tough draw, quick exit: Pierce was the only community college tennis team represented last Saturday at a qualifying tournament for this weekend’s Adidas Invitational in Huntington Beach.

So it was no surprise when Nader Frarji, John Freeman, Robert Grundy and Alex Olaya all lost first-round matches to their four-year college opponents.

“We got some tough draws,” Pierce Coach Paul Xanthos said. “But we were fortunate to get our players in, and it was a good experience.”

It won’t be the last exposure to four-year college competition for the Pierce men, rated No. 1 in the state in the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Assn. preseason poll. Xanthos also has scheduled matches against Notre Dame, the UCLA junior varsity and a pair of matches at Hawaii during Easter vacation.

“It gives us a good opportunity to see how we stack up against top teams, and it gives my players top competition,” Xanthos said. “It doesn’t do any good to put them up against someone they’ll just rake right through.”

Matches against Saddleback and Orange Coast, the two top teams from the South Coast Conference, are also on Pierce’s nonconference schedule. Saddleback won the state championship two years ago and lost to Pierce last year in the semifinals of the Southern California Regional.

The rich get richer: When one considers how many quality players the College of the Canyons baseball team lost after it went 41-6 last season, it’s difficult to imagine it successfully rebounding in just 12 months.

Six starters who batted better than .300 and two pitchers who had a combined record of 29-1 have been lost to either graduation or professional baseball. Former Coach Mike Gillespie is now at USC.

But as the new season approaches--the first game is next month--Canyons once again appears to be the team to beat.

How good are the Cougars? “ Real good,” pitcher Chris Zavatsky said.

Complementing Zavatsky, who was 4-0 last season, is Fred Riscen, a left-handed transfer from Pierce who led the state in strikeouts (157) last season. Jeff Ward, who was 5-3 last season, and Chris Craft, a freshman from Quartz Hill, are expected to round out the staff.

Hitting? Canyons will have to replace five players who combined for more than 50 of a team total of 72 home runs last season, but the Cougars have added Peter Washington, a freshman from North Hollywood High. Last season, Washington batted .454 with 10 doubles, four triples, four homers and 31 runs batted in.

Valley College transfers Mark Gieseke (.379) and Ted Weisfuss (.320) should also provide offensive help.

Canyons also recruited two Santa Clarita Valley standouts, freshmen Ray Palagyi of Canyon and Chris Joy of Saugus. Last season, Palagyi hit .317 and Joy .434 with five homers and 26 RBIs. The Cougars also have Nate Milone (.428) and Roger Nix (.390) from Notre Dame. Returning are Len Hokanson (.333), Joe Pieper (.290) and Andy Cutchall (.309).