Athletic Year Ends for USD as Program Looks for Help

Jose Luis Noriega’s ouster from the NCAA individual men’s tennis championships Friday closed the books on the 1989-90 athletic year at the University of San Diego, but Athletic Director Tom Iannacone will remain busy through the summer searching for and training an assistant.

The position, newly created, should be filled within a couple weeks, and the person is expected to start work Aug. 1.

Iannacone said duties will depend on the individual’s strengths, but Iannacone primarily is looking to ease some of the day-to-day workload he and assistant Dan Yourg carry.

Since Iannacone took over in the fall of 1988, he has created a number of new positions within the administration and improved office arrangements throughout. The whole department has been upgraded.

Meanwhile, nearly every Torero team has improved markedly in recent years.

Coincidence?

Noriega gave eventual champion Steve Bryan of Texas his toughest match of the tournament in the quarterfinals before losing, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

In the third set, Noriega suffered left leg cramps, caused by the combination of the grueling day and extreme heat.

In 103 degrees at Indian Wells, Noriega and Bryan played for 2 hours 22 minutes. Noriega had defeated Mike Brown of Arkansas in 2:17 in a round-of-16 match 2 1/2 hours earlier.

Bryan cruised, 6-0, 6-0, in an hour in his earlier match against Louis Ruette.

Three San Diego State athletes will compete at the NCAA track and field championships beginning today in Durham, N.C.

Pat Thiss will compete in the men’s hammer throw, Darla Vaughn in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and Gaylen Ames in the women’s triple jump.

Thiss, a graduate of Kearny High and Mesa College, set a school record with a throw of 204-feet-8 at the Western Athletic Conference championships at Fort Collins, Colo. The old record was set by his brother, Jim, in 1984.

Vaughn, a junior sprinter from Mira Mesa High, won the Big West 200 meters at Las Vegas but qualified for the NCAAs with a second-place 13.39 in the hurdles at the Mt. San Antonio meet earlier in the year.

Ames set a school record of 42-7 1/2 in the triple jump at Las Vegas.

Kipp Landis, a senior right-handed pitcher from Pepperdine and graduate of San Marcos, was recently named West Coast Conference baseball player of the week after allowing one hit to UCLA in 3 2/3 innings and five to Loyola Marymount in eight innings. He won both games.

Despite finishing 37-23 and one victory shy of tying Loyola for the conference title, Pepperdine did not make the 48-team draw for the NCAA playoffs.

Nan Haugen of Palomar College was named the California community college tennis coach of the year. Her 16-year record at Palomar is 259-48.

Palomar’s softball team, the defending state champion, was beaten twice in the title tournament this year by West Valley. Both scores were 1-0, with the first game going 17 innings.

Kenda Leffler, from San Marcos High, led the state in home runs with 15 and was named player of the year for the second consecutive time. Cami Allen (Orange Glen High) was the co-pitcher of the year, finishing 30-3 with a 0.30 earned-run average and eight no-hitters.